Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright in all material published in PER/PELJ vests in the author, provided that authors grant, by submission of their contributions, permission that their contributions may be shared and adapted without restriction. An author furthermore agrees that the same contribution may not be published elsewhere without the written permission of the editor.
Anyone gaining access, electronically or otherwise, to a contribution to PER, may quote from such contribution, use the intellectual content thereof, share and adapt it, but subject to the following conditions:
you must give appropriate credit, provide a link and indicate if changes were made; and
the copyright of the author(s) may not be infringed in any way.
Main Article Content
An Analysis of the Dispute Settlement Mechanism under the <i>Consumer Protection Act</i> 68 of 2008
Abstract
This article critically analyses the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, which deals with the enforcement of consumer rights. The Act provides for various forums where consumers can seek redress in cases where their rights have been infringed, impaired or threatened. The article demonstrates that the consumer redress mechanism is an essential component of the Act. However, it argues that having various forums to do so may pose practical challenges, as this may cause confusion and may lead to forum-shopping in cases where an aggrieved consumer has to choose the appropriate forum to seek redress. It is proposed that section 52 should be amended and that section 69 should be purposively and narrowly interpreted to ensure that the consumer protection institutions are exhausted before approaching the ordinary courts.
KEYWORDS: Consumer: consumer rights: dispute settlement mechanism:
consumer protection institutions; enforcement and unfair terms.
