Consumer Rights Act 2015 s.9 – Goods to be of satisfactory quality

(1)Every contract to supply goods is to be treated as including a term that the quality of the goods is satisfactory.

(2)The quality of goods is satisfactory if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would consider satisfactory, taking account of—

(a)any description of the goods,

(b)the price or other consideration for the goods (if relevant), and

(c)all the other relevant circumstances (see subsection (5)).

(3)The quality of goods includes their state and condition; and the following aspects (among others) are in appropriate cases aspects of the quality of goods—

(a)fitness for all the purposes for which goods of that kind are usually supplied;

(b)appearance and finish;

(c)freedom from minor defects;

(d)safety;

(e)durability.

(4)The term mentioned in subsection (1) does not cover anything which makes the quality of the goods unsatisfactory—

(a)which is specifically drawn to the consumer's attention before the contract is made,

(b)where the consumer examines the goods before the contract is made, which that examination ought to reveal, or

(c)in the case of a contract to supply goods by sample, which would have been apparent on a reasonable examination of the sample.

(5)The relevant circumstances mentioned in subsection (2)(c) include any public statement about the specific characteristics of the goods made by the trader, the producer or any representative of the trader or the producer.

(6)That includes, in particular, any public statement made in advertising or labelling.

(7)But a public statement is not a relevant circumstance for the purposes of subsection (2)(c) if the trader shows that—

(a)when the contract was made, the trader was not, and could not reasonably have been, aware of the statement,

(b)before the contract was made, the statement had been publicly withdrawn or, to the extent that it contained anything which was incorrect or misleading, it had been publicly corrected, or

(c)the consumer's decision to contract for the goods could not have been influenced by the statement.

(8)In a contract to supply goods a term about the quality of the goods may be treated as included as a matter of custom.

(9)See section 19 for a consumer's rights if the trader is in breach of a term that this section requires to be treated as included in a contract.

Definitions used in section 9 5

contract to supply goods: (4) A contract to which this Chapter applies is referred to in this Part as a “contract to supply goods”.
Defined in s.3(4) · see it in the full Act
Goods: (8) “Goods” means any tangible moveable items, but that includes water, gas and electricity if and only if they are put up for supply in a limited volume or set quantity.
Defined in s.2(8) · see it in the full Act; 42 In this Part of this Schedule “goods” does not include a document.
Defined in Sch.5 para.42 · see it in the full Act; “goods” has the meaning given by section 2(8);
Defined in Sch.5 para.35 · see it in the full Act
Consumer: (3) “Consumer” means an individual acting for purposes that are wholly or mainly outside that individual's trade, business, craft or profession.
Defined in s.2(3) · see it in the full Act
Trader: (2) “Trader” means a person acting for purposes relating to that person's trade, business, craft or profession, whether acting personally or through another person acting in the trader's name or on the trader's behalf.
Defined in s.2(2) · see it in the full Act; (8) In this paragraph “trader” has the same meaning as in Part 1 of this Act .
Defined in Sch.5 para.27(8) · see it in the full Act
producer: “producer”, in relation to goods or digital content, means—

(a)
the manufacturer,

(b)
the importer into the United Kingdom , or

(c)
any person who purports to be a producer by placing the person's name, trade mark or other distinctive sign on the goods or using it in connection with the digital content.

Defined in s.59(1) · see it in the full Act

Cases considering section 9 3

(1) Andrew France (2) Elusive Yachting Limited v (1) Discovery Yacht Sales Limited (2) Discovery Yachts Group Limited

[2019] EWHC 3552 (Comm) · 19 December 2019

Applies the implied term that the yacht must be of satisfactory quality. The first defendant was liable because the yacht was delivered with numerous serious defects and did not meet the required standard (see paras [8], [37]).

Alison Kynaston-Mainwaring v GVE London Limited

[2022] EWCA Civ 1339 · 19 October 2022

The Court of Appeal applied the satisfactory-quality requirement to the facts as found and held that the vehicle was not of satisfactory quality. The appellant did not pursue the statutory ground orally, so the court gave no further construction of section 9 (see para [15]).

Carl Nash v Volskwagen Financial Services (UK) Limited

[2023] EWHC 2326 (KB) · 21 September 2023

Applies section 9 as the statutory basis of the claim that the vehicle was not of satisfactory quality. The appeal was dismissed because the claimant failed to prove that a defect caused the fire, not because the statutory basis of the claim was unavailable (see para. [3]).

What each judgment says about section 9 is in the case-law panel in the full Act.

Explanatory note

61.This section provides that goods supplied under a contract to supply goods (as defined in section 3 above) must be of satisfactory quality. It details aspects of quality which may be considered when assessing whether the goods are satisfactory – although the section only gives an indication of such aspects, not an exhaustive list. This section corresponds to section 14 SGA, section 10 SGITA and sections 4, 9, 11D and 11J SGSA in so far as they relate to satisfactory quality. But as with all of this Part it only relates to trader to consumer contracts.

62.Subsection (2) provides that the test of whether or not the quality of the goods is satisfactory is determined by what a reasonable person would consider satisfactory for the goods in question, taking into consideration all relevant circumstances including any description, the price and any public statements by the trader or producer or their representatives, such as statements made in advertisements or on the labels of goods. For example, a lower standard might be expected of cheap or disposable goods in comparison to an equivalent item that cost more or was advertised as being particularly durable.

63.Subsections (5) and (6) provide that the circumstances to be considered include public statements about the goods, for example, any claims made in advertising or labelling. However, under subsection (7) such statements are not to be considered as relevant if the trader was not (and could not reasonably have been expected to be) aware of the statement or if the statement was withdrawn or corrected before the contract was made. The statement is also not to be considered if the consumer’s decision could not have been influenced by it.

64.Subsection (4) provides that if the consumer is made aware of a particular defect before making the contract then that defect will not be grounds for finding the goods to be unsatisfactory. If the consumer examined the goods before making the contract then a defect which should have been revealed by the examination will not be grounds for finding the goods to be unsatisfactory. If the goods were supplied by sample (even if the consumer did not actually examine the sample) then a defect which should have been revealed by a reasonable examination of the sample will not be grounds for finding the goods to be unsatisfactory.

All the explanatory notes for the Act

Amendments and notes

1 notes from legislation.gov.uk

Commencement

I9S. 9 in force at 1.10.2015 by S.I. 2015/1630, art. 3(a) (with art. 6(1))