Vulnerable Consumers and the Law

Vulnerable Consumers and the Law
Author: Christine Riefa
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2020-10-27
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1000209709

This book charts the difficulties encountered by vulnerable consumers in their access to justice, through the contributions of prominent authors (academic, practitioners and consultants) in the field of consumer law and access to justice. It demonstrates that despite the development of ADR, access to justice is still severely lacking for the vulnerable consumer. The book highlights that a broad understanding of access to justice, which encompasses good regulation and its public enforcement, is an essential ingredient alongside access to the mechanisms of traditional private justice (courts and ADR) to protect the vulnerable consumer. Indeed, many of the difficulties are linked to normative obstacles and lack of access to justice is primarily a vulnerability in itself that can exacerbate existing ones. In addition, because it may contribute to ‘pushing’ already vulnerable consumers into social exclusion it is not simply about economic justice but also about social justice. The book shows that lack of access to justice is not irreversible nor is it necessarily linked to consumer apathy. New technologies could provide solutions. The book concludes with a plea for developing ‘inclusive’ justice systems with more emphasis on public enforcement alongside effective courts systems to offer the vulnerable with adequate means to defend themselves. This book will be suitable for both students and practitioners, and all those with an interest in the justice system.

Discrimination, Vulnerable Consumers and Financial Inclusion

Discrimination, Vulnerable Consumers and Financial Inclusion
Author: Cătălin-Gabriel Stănescu
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2020-12-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1000295192

This book addresses the questions of discrimination, vulnerable consumers, and financial inclusion in the light of the emerging legal, socioeconomic, and technological challenges. New technologies – such as artificial intelligence-driven consumer credit risk assessment and Fintech platforms, the changing nature of vulnerability due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the sophistication of digital technologies, which help circumvent legal barriers and protections – necessitate the continuous study of the existing legal frameworks and measures that are capable of tackling these challenges. Organized in two major parts, the first addresses, from multiple national angles, the idea of a human rights approach to consumer law, in order to replace the mantra of economic efficiency that characterizes financial services with those of human dignity and freedom from discrimination and from debt-induced servitude. The second tackles the challenges posed by increased usage of technology in connection with financial services, which tends to solve, but also creates, additional issues for consumers in general, and for vulnerable groups in particular.

Reflections on the Protection of 'Vulnerable' Consumers Under EU Law

Reflections on the Protection of 'Vulnerable' Consumers Under EU Law
Author: Lisa Waddington
Publisher:
Total Pages: 42
Release: 2014
Genre:
ISBN:

This article seeks to explore the concept of the 'vulnerable' consumer and to reflect on how EU law protects, or fails to protect, such consumers. Section I of the article considers the current situation with regard to the protection of 'vulnerable' consumers under EU law. The section first examines key EU consumer protection instruments to establish how they address the position of 'vulnerable' consumers, before proceeding to review relevant case law of the Court of Justice on this issue. Section II examines in more detail the concept of 'vulnerability' with regard to consumers, and considers the many different causes of vulnerability. This is linked to a discussion of the related concept of the 'average' consumers. The second part of the article reflects on how EU law could better provide protection to disadvantaged or 'vulnerable' consumers. The article concludes that the current 'one size fits all' category of 'vulnerability' found in EU law is inadequate to provide the protection for the many different kinds of disadvantaged consumers who can fall under the general category of 'vulnerable', and that more targeted measures, and a recognition of the diversity of all consumers, would provide greater levels protection.

Access to Justice for Vulnerable and Energy-Poor Consumers

Access to Justice for Vulnerable and Energy-Poor Consumers
Author: Naomi Creutzfeldt
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2021-07-01
Genre: Law
ISBN: 150993944X

How do ordinary people access justice? This book offers a novel socio-legal approach to access to justice, alternative dispute resolution, vulnerability and energy poverty. It poses an access to justice challenge and rethinks it through a lens that accommodates all affected people, especially those who are currently falling through the system. It raises broader questions about alternative dispute resolution, the need for reform to include more collective approaches, a stronger recognition of the needs of vulnerable people, and a stronger emphasis on delivering social justice. The authors use energy poverty as a site of vulnerability and examine the barriers to justice facing this excluded group. The book assembles the findings of an interdisciplinary research project studying access to justice and its barriers in the UK, Italy, France, Bulgaria and Spain (Catalonia). In-depth interviews with regulators, ombuds, energy companies, third-sector organisations and vulnerable people provide a rich dataset through which to understand the phenomenon. The book provides theoretical and empirical insights which shed new light on these issues and sets out new directions of inquiry for research, policy and practice. It will be of interest to researchers, students and policymakers working on access to justice, consumer vulnerability, energy poverty, and the complex intersection between these fields. The book includes contributions by Cosmo Graham (UK), Sarah Supino and Benedetta Voltaggio (Italy), Marine Cornelis (France), Anais Varo and Enric Bartlett (Catalonia) and Teodora Peneva (Bulgaria).

Information Obligations and Disinformation of Consumers

Information Obligations and Disinformation of Consumers
Author: Gert Straetmans
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 565
Release: 2019-09-05
Genre: Law
ISBN: 3030180549

This book focuses on recent developments in consumer law, specifically addressing mandatory disclosures and the topical problem of information overload. It provides a comparative analysis based on national reports from countries with common law and civil law traditions in Asia, America and Europe, and presents the reports in the form of chapters that have been drafted on the basis of a questionnaire, and which use the same structure as the questionnaire to allow them to be easily compared. The book starts with an analysis of the basic assumptions underlying the current consumer protection models and examines whether and how consumer models adapt to the new market conditions. The second part addresses the information obligations themselves, first highlighting the differences in the reported countries before narrowing the analysis down to countries with a general pre-contractual information duty, particularly the transparency requirements that often come with such a duty. The next part examines recent developments in the law on food labelling, commercial practices and unfair contract terms in order to identify whether similar traits can be found in European and non-European jurisdictions. The fourth part of the book focuses on specific information obligations in the financial services and e-commerce sectors, discussing the fact that legislators are experimenting with different forms of summary disclosures in these sectors. The final part provides a critical appraisal of the recent developments in consumer information obligations, addressing the question of whether the multiple criticisms from behavioural sciences necessitate abandonment or refinement of current consumer information models in favour of new, more adequate forms of consumer protection, and providing suggestions.

The Yearbook of Consumer Law 2007

The Yearbook of Consumer Law 2007
Author: Geraint Howells
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2007
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780754647331

The Yearbook of Consumer Law provides a valuable outlet for high-quality scholarly work which tracks developments in the consumer law field with a domestic, regional and international dimension.

Consumer Theories of Harm

Consumer Theories of Harm
Author: Paolo Siciliani
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2019-09-19
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1509916873

It has long been thought that fairness in European Consumer Law would be achieved by relying on information as a remedy and expecting the average consumer to keep businesses in check by voting with their feet. This monograph argues that the way consumer law operates today promises a lot but does not deliver enough. It struggles to avoid harm being caused to consumers and it struggles to repair the harm after the event. To achieve fairness, solutions need to be found elsewhere. Consumer Theories of Harm offers an alternative model to assess where and how consumer detriment may occur and solutions to prevent it. It shows that a more confident use of economic theory will allow practitioners to demonstrate how a poor standard of professional diligence lies at the heart of consumer harm. The book provides both theoretical and practical examples of how to combine existing law with economic theory to improve case outcomes. The book shows how public enforcers can move beyond the dominant transparency paradigm to an approach where firms have a positive duty to treat consumers fairly and shape their commercial offers in a way that prevents consumers from making mistakes. Over time, this 'fairness-by-design' approach will emerge as the only acceptable way to compete.

Consumer Vulnerability and Welfare in Mortgage Contracts

Consumer Vulnerability and Welfare in Mortgage Contracts
Author: Irina Domurath
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2017-11-30
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1509913416

This book advocates a new way of thinking about mortgage contracts. This claim is based on the assumption that we currently live in a political economy in which consumer debt fulfils a social function. In the field of housing this is evidenced by the expansion of mortgage credit through which consumers are to purchase residential property as a means of social inclusion and personal welfare. It is suggested that contract law needs to adjust to this new social function in order to avoid welfare losses in terms of default, over-indebtedness, and possibly eviction. To this end, this book analyses theoretical contract law frameworks and makes concrete proposals for contract law in the EU legal order.

Internationalization of Consumer Law

Internationalization of Consumer Law
Author: Mateja Durovic
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 97
Release: 2016-11-11
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3319453122

This book examines the institutions that are producing consumer law at the international level, the substantive issues enshrined in these laws, and the enforcement mechanisms meant to ensure effective protection. The majority of existing research is devoted to the comparative perspective, between countries or between the US and the EU. This book investigates the forceful activities of international and regional organizations, and shifts the focus of research to the internationalization of consumer law, which is largely neglected in particular in the Western-centered political and legal debate. Much of what constitutes consumer law today is focused on banking and finance, and more broadly the financialization and digitalization of the global economy, and society has created a shift in international consumer law production. This book investigates the role that international organizations have on the creation and enforcement of consumer law, and will be of interest to consumer lawyers, practitioners, and officials in organizations such as the United Nations, European Union, and World Bank.

Consumers in European Private Law

Consumers in European Private Law
Author: Joasia Luzak
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022
Genre:
ISBN:

This is an introduction of future students of (European) consumer law to its main concepts, such as average and vulnerable consumers, unfairness, product risks. Upon reading you may expect to start being able to place this research area within the legal architecture of European Private Law. You are encouraged to think about the impact of selected issues on consumer protection, including such issues as consumer apathy in enforcing their rights, digitalisation and climate change. Throughout, you are given points for reflection to encourage further reading and help with understanding the content.