Consumer Rights Act Litigation: Goods, Services, Digital Content, Consumer Guarantees and Unfair Terms

Consumer Rights Act Litigation

Goods, Services, Digital Content, Consumer Guarantees and Unfair Terms

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 sits at the centre of modern consumer litigation. It governs the rights and remedies available when goods, services or digital content fail to meet the required standards — and it continues to generate important practical questions for lawyers advising businesses, consumers, regulators and those involved in disputes.

The Act is familiar in outline, but its detailed operation can be far from straightforward.

What does satisfactory quality require in practice? When is a product not fit for purpose? What remedies are available where goods, services or digital content fall short? How do repair, replacement, price reduction, termination and damages interact? And how do the unfair terms provisions sit alongside the consumer guarantees?

This practical, litigation-focused session presented by Professor Christopher Willett, Professor of Commercial and Consumer Law at the University of Essex, examines the key rights, remedies and dispute issues arising under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, with particular attention to the arguments that arise in real cases.

The session will be informed by Professor Willett’s direct experience working with the UK Government on the Consumer Rights Act 2015, giving delegates a valuable insight into the policy, structure and intended operation of the legislation.

It will include recent case law, worked examples, practical scenarios and an opportunity for questions.

Price and Booking Details

Price: £199 + VAT for the first delegate

Per-organisation licence: you and up to 10 colleagues from the same organisation may attend at no extra cost — even if they are viewing from different locations or at different times.

So, if 11 people from your organisation attend or watch the recording, the cost per delegate is just £18.09 + VAT.

Small firm rate: £99 + VAT for organisations with four or fewer partners.
This is for one delegate place, with no additional free places.

All delegates receive:

The full recording of the session
Downloadable slides
A certificate of attendance on request
Full course materials

To book your place, simply click the booking button on the top right.

If you do not yet know all your delegate names, you can still reserve places now and add the remaining free delegates later.

Who Should Attend?

This course is ideal for:

-Consumer law practitioners
-Commercial litigators dealing with consumer disputes
-In-house lawyers advising businesses that sell to consumers
-Regulatory lawyers
-Trading standards and enforcement professionals
-Solicitors advising on goods, services or digital content claims
-Lawyers acting for retailers, suppliers, platforms, service providers or consumers.

What You Will Learn

By the end of the course, you will:

-Understand the key rights and remedies under the Consumer Rights Act 2015
-Be able to analyse claims involving goods, services and digital content
-Understand how satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose and conformity operate in practice
-Know when repair, replacement, price reduction, termination and other remedies may be available
-Understand the relationship between consumer guarantees and the unfair terms regime
-Be aware of recent case law developments and their practical implications
-Recognise common litigation arguments and evidential issues
-Apply the Act more confidently to real-world disputes and advisory situations

Topics Covered

This focused 2-hour session will cover the main areas of difficulty and practical importance, comprising:

Goods: Quality, Fitness for Purpose and Description

What “satisfactory quality” means in practice
Fitness for particular purpose
Goods matching description or sample
Defective goods and evidential issues
Practical examples of common disputes

Remedies for Defective Goods

Short-term right to reject
Repair and replacement
Price reduction
Final right to reject
Termination issues
How remedies operate in sequence
Common tactical and practical problems

Services Under the Consumer Rights Act

Reasonable care and skill
Information binding the trader
Reasonable price and reasonable time
Remedies for defective services
Repeat performance and price reduction
Litigation issues in service disputes

Digital Content

The statutory regime for digital content
Quality, fitness and description requirements
Remedies where digital content is defective
Damage caused by digital content
Practical issues arising from modern digital products and services

The Unfair Terms Regime

The fairness test
Transparency and prominence
Core terms and price terms
The grey list
How unfair terms arguments arise in litigation
Interaction with consumer guarantees and statutory remedies

Consumer Guarantees and Litigation Strategy

How consumer rights operate in practice
Common pleading and evidential issues
Defences and trader arguments
The practical significance of statutory wording
How the Act affects settlement strategy and dispute resolution

Recent Case Law and Practical Developments

Important recent decisions
Emerging litigation trends
Practical implications for advisers
Lessons for drafting, compliance and dispute handling

Worked Examples and Real-World Scenarios

The course will include case analysis, practical examples and real-world scenarios to help delegates apply the legislation confidently in practice.

There will also be an opportunity for questions.

Why This Course Matters

Consumer Rights Act disputes are often deceptively simple. A consumer says goods were defective, a service was inadequate, or digital content failed to work as expected. But beneath those apparently straightforward complaints lie detailed statutory provisions, structured remedies, evidential questions and tactical choices.

For businesses, the consequences can include refund claims, repeat performance obligations, regulatory exposure, reputational damage and wider customer complaints.

For advisers, the challenge is to identify quickly:

-what right has been breached,
-which remedy is available,
-whether the trader can resist the claim,
-whether the term relied on is fair,
-and how recent case law affects the outcome.

This course is designed to give practitioners a clear and practical understanding of how Consumer Rights Act claims work in litigation and advisory practice.

Presenter

Professor Christopher Willett is Professor of Commercial and Consumer Law at the University of Essex, where he specialises in consumer protection, unfair trading, and advertising and marketing law. He worked closely with the UK government on the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and was one of the authors of the European Commission's Fitness Check on EU Consumer and Marketing Law, influencing key reforms. Author of influential works including Fairness in Consumer Contracts: The Case of Unfair Terms, he has published widely on consumer rights and unfair practices, with his research frequently cited in academic and practitioner texts. Chris has extensive experience delivering training for lawyers, regulators, and industry, and is recognised for his clear, structured approach to explaining complex consumer law issues and their practical implications.

Important Notes About Booking

-Please ensure that, when booking, colleagues’ email addresses are entered entirely correctly, as errors may mean they do not receive joining instructions.

-Payment can be made by credit or debit card or by invoice. The option to pay by invoice appears below the pay-by-card option in the booking form.

-If you do not yet have the complete list of who will be attending, you can book for those you know will attend and add the others later.

-If you would like to submit questions in advance, please send them to david.jacobs@legaltrainingconsultancy.com

The Legal Training Consultancy

The Legal Training Consultancy is a full-service training consultancy with a large portfolio of conferences, courses and trainers.

Over the years, we have been responsible for putting together a vast number of law and management-related conferences, webinars, seminars, videos and e-learning modules — altogether more than 2,200.

The Legal Training Consultancy provides practical, specialist online training for lawyers and other professionals, delivered by leading experts and designed to help delegates apply the law confidently in practice.