Consumer Law and Policy in Kenya

This contribution seeks to examine the consumer protection law and policy in Kenya with a view to understand how consumer issues, such as product safety and product liability, are addressed as well as the remedies for defective goods. It also seeks to understand the available provisions on the safety standards of consumer products, such as mobile phones, by highlighting the consumer issues that arise for mobile phone users with particular reference to the services provided by mobile network operators (MNOs) – i.e., the financial services and products – and how the consumer protection regime has addressed them. It will conclude by examining how the Kenyan consumer law has manifested itself, either by its influence on other states’ consumer laws and policies or the way(s) in which its own laws have been influenced by foreign and supranational consumer laws. References will be made with regard to the influence by the European Commission (EC) Product Safety Directive, the EC Product Liability Directive, the EC Consumer Sales Directive and the EC Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. Furthermore, this contribution will highlight the challenges encountered with respect to the achievement of a consumer protection regime in Kenya, as a result of the fragmentation of the law and policies.     

Consumer rights of the elderly as vulnerable consumers in South Africa: some comparative aspects of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008

Although consumer protection is not a new concept in South African law, the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) now provides for a much more comprehensive and encompassing mechanism to protect consumers. Consumers are protected, not only in the provision of goods and services, the conclusion of contracts but also in the promotion and marketing thereof. The CPA further provides special protection to a particular type of consumer which is the vulnerable consumer and includes elderly consumers. Importantly, and for the first time in the history of South African law, the consumer is provided with eight core fundamental consumer rights. As this contribution is an attempt to provide an interdisciplinary analysis from a legal perspective, identification of what is considered to be an ‘elderly' consumer, needs to be assessed by referring to relevant empirical studies from both an international as well as South African perspective. The focus of this study is on the protection of the elderly as a category of vulnerable consumers in terms of the CPA. The investigation will attempt to show that the elderly is protected in terms of all eight of the fundamental consumer rights within the CPA. Special reference will be made to two fundamental rights of the consumer in terms of the CPA. First, the elderly consumer's right to equality in the consumer market (Part A of the CPA) which provides additional protection as the CPA also refers to the Constitutional right to equality. Second, the elderly consumer's the right to fair and responsible marketing (Part E of the CPA) which in terms of the research is compared with the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. Certain problems regarding elderly consumers are identified and the importance of consumer rights as well as the implementation of the correct consumer policy is argued.     

Reflections on Consumer Law and Policy in Seychelles

Consumerism only reached Seychelles after a wave of market-liberalization reforms adopted in 2008 as a response to a dire economic crisis. Consumer law is therefore only a recent phenomenon in the country. The main sources of inspiration for Seychelles legislation are the UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection, the EU Directive on unfair contract terms, and the South African Consumer Protection Act. Policy initiatives tend to be modelled either on other small island countries or on Commonwealth countries. The formal legal framework is overall modern and in line with international guidelines. However, the article identifies two sets of challenges encountered in practice. First, local standardization efforts fail to address the matter of poor-quality products entering the market, and this lack of local capacity is insufficiently complemented by reliance on international standards. Secondly, consumers seldom rely on the adjudicatory mechanism provided by consumer laws and informal settlement mechanisms are preferred, which comes at the cost of depriving consumer law operatives of precious interpretative materials, leaving areas of legal uncertainty. While policy guidance from the political sphere would be needed, it is unclear how much attention consumer matters will receive in the medium term.     

A review of national arrangements for consumer influence in product safety standardization in the EEA

Abstract

Cooperation between the EC and the EFTA countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) should, among other things, enable consumers to participate in and influence standardization. The EC New Approach presupposes the elaboration of standards to interpret or fill out the special safety provisions of various directives. The notion of safe products according to the Product Safety Directive can be supported by drafting relevant safety standards. Swedish experiences in some product fields show that results can be achieved through expert consumer participation. Consumer influence on standardization is a matter of great importance for product safety in the future.     

Developments in Consumer Protection in India

This paper surveys the major developments in the field of consumer protection in India since 1984, when the statutory provisions for regulating unfair trade practices were incorporated for the first time.Among the developments described in the paper is the strengthening of provisions for consumer protection through amendments to the Act regulating restrictive and monopolistic trade practices (the MTRP Act). Public-sector undertakings and co-operative societies have been brought within the purview of the Act, and consumers have obtained the right to participate in inquiry proceedings before the MRTP Commission.Consumers and their associations have been given the right to seek redress of grievances arising out of the violation of certain pieces of legislation, including the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986, was enacted in order to provide speedy and inexpensive redress of consumers' grievances. Redress can now be sought before any consumer court also for negligence or deficiency in medical services.The Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986, has strengthened the measures for the standardisation and quality control of manufactured goods.A Consumer Welfare Fund has been set up to provide financial assistance to voluntary consumer organisations and for the general development of consumer movement in the country. A spurt in voluntary consumer organisations in different parts of the country can also be observed.Other developments include the establishment of a separate Department of Consumer Affairs in the Union Government and the setting up of a Consumer Product Testing Laboratory.     

The Impact of “Consumer Cringe” on Developing Regional Trade Blocks

Abstract

The continuing development of regional trade blocs, such as COMESA (The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa), ECOWAS (The Economic Community of Western African States) and the resurgence of a new EAC (East African Co-operation), will depend significantly on consumer confidence in products from within the region. Ninety-six Commerce undergraduates from Tanzania estimated the preference patterns, among relevant home market segments, for a range of consumer goods produced in Tanzania, East Africa, and the West. For each comparison, the three goods were described as identical in terms of the “4 Ps” (Product, Promotion, Price, and Place). Tanzanian consumers were consistently reported to prefer Western foreign goods over equivalent regional imports, with home-produced goods faring least well of all. Such “consumer cringe” (which has also been identified in West Africa and South America) suggests that at least in terms of the East African Co-operation (EAC), regionally-produced goods can indeed be relatively attractive, provided a bias in favor of Western goods can be addressed by appropriate marketing initiatives.     

Umweltgefährdung — kein Thema für Verbraucherinformation?

One might assume with a certain degree of confidence that organisations and institutions involved in consumer policies would accord particular significance to the problem area “environment and consumer behaviour,” both in their public activities and in policy making. It might also be expected that they would formulate information policies to exert a positive influence upon the attitudes and behaviour of consumers towards the environment. However, a quantitative content analysis of publications seems to indicate the contrary. Consumer organisations in the Federal Republic of Germany rarely and unevenly inform their public about the interrelated aspects of problems in the area of “environment and consumer behaviour.” New and proposed laws and political events still determine the narrow scope of environmental reports. Information about basic interrelationships between “the environment and consumer behaviour” or about the possible negative environmental effects of increasingly questionable consumer behaviour is rare.     

Zielsetzungen und Instrumentarien der europäischen Verbraucherrechtspolitik: Eine Analyse von Entwicklungen im Bereich des Zivilrechts

Objectives and instruments of European consumer policy: An analysis of developments in the area of civil law. The paper discusses the relationships and conflicts between the objectives pursued by European consumer policy and the means which are at its disposal. As a first step, the theoretical assumptions of this policy are analysed by an evaluation of the EC Programme for a Consumer Protection and Information Policy of 1975 and of the draft directives on product liability, on misleading and unfair competition, on doorstep sales, and on correspondence courses. It is suggested that the European approach toward consumer protection largely corresponds to the policies prevailing at the national level: Consumer protection is seen as a supplement to the traditional market and competition policy which used to be restricted to regulating competition between producers or suppliers of goods and services, whereas the new policy focuses on the relations between producers and consumers. Nevertheless, consumer policy adheres to the basic presumptions of market economy. It presupposes that the demands of the consumer have to be articulated and satisfied via market processes. It therefore primarily relies on regulations directed against misleading advertising, on protecting justified expectations as to the quality of goods or services by providing redress for losses sustained, and by endeavours aimed at securing a more rational behaviour of the individual consumer. The most important means to promote this policy on the European level are the directives which aim at consonance among national laws (Art. 100 EC Treaty). This is indicative of a market orientation of consumer policy in so far as the harmonization of law is seen as a device for overcoming discriminating effects or distortions of competition created by the differences among national laws thereby furthering a better functioning of the Common Market (Art. 3 h EC Treaty). This accordance of consumer policy and harmonization policy does not rest on firm ground, however. In consumer policy it becomes more and more obvious that the efforts to protect the interests of the consumer lead to further interventionist activities. This process also reveals the need for systematic adjustments or consultations between consumer policy and other fields of politics. A harmonization policy which is primarily centered on breaking down trade barriers and on overcoming discriminating effects of competition cannot respond to the needs and problems of such interventionist activities. Therefore, the harmonization of consumer law should be conceived as a process of formulating broader policies directed at a congruous development of the economic sphere and at an improvement of the living conditions in the Common Market (cf. Art. 2 and the preamble of the EC Treaty). Legal techniques which might be adopted to support such an orientation are (a) in the EC directives to lay down minimum standards for the national legislation, (b) to use a conflict-of-laws approach which would allow to respect and try to coordinate legitimate interests in the application of national consumer policies, and (c) the development of special rules responding to the international aspects of the exchange between producers and consumers. At present, however, European policy gives hardly any attention to the chances and problems of such an approach requiring a complicated coordination of the various legal techniques.     

A brand preference and repurchase intention model: the role of consumer experience

Consumer brand preference is an essential step towards understanding consumer choice behaviour, and has therefore always received great attention from marketers. However, the study of brand preference has been limited to traditional marketing focusing on functional attributes to maximise utility. But now the shift to experiential marketing broadens the role of the brand from a bundle of attributes to experiences. Technological advancements have helped to increase the similarities between brand attributes and product commoditisation. Consequently, consumers cannot shape their preferences among brands using rational attributes only. They seek out brands that create experiences; that intrigue them in a sensorial, emotional and creative way. This study seeks to develop a model that provides an understanding of how brand knowledge and brand experience determine brand preference and to investigate its impact on brand repurchase intention. Accordingly, exploratory focus group discussions are employed followed by a survey of mobile phone users in Egypt. The findings provide insights into the relative importance of consumer perceptions on different brand knowledge factors in shaping brand preferences. It also demonstrates the significance of consumers’ experiential responses towards brands in developing their brand preferences that in turn influence brand repurchase intention. The model therefore offers managers a new perspective for building strong brands able to gain consumer preferences.     

Consumer safety policy in the EFTA countries

In this article, the author briefly outlines the present consumer safety laws in EFTA member countries. It seems that the EFTA countries are well prepared to adapt to the future EC Directive on Product Safety. Further, the author suggests that in the future, information on product safety matters should be diffused in a West European Safety Information Exchange System.     

Unfair Terms in Contracts: Proposals for Reform in the UK

The English and Scottish Law Commissions have made radical proposals for simplifying UK law on unfair terms in consumer contracts, combining the Regulations that implement the Directive and the earlier legislation into a single instrument that is to be written in language that would be clear and accessible to consumers and businesspeople. The article discusses some of the difficult policy choices involved in combining the different approaches of the two existing instruments, what is needed in order to make the legislation understandable to the lay person, and the extent to which the case of Commission v The Kingdom of the Netherlands requires Member States to use the language of the Directive when implementing it. The Law Commissions also proposed to extend the broader controls found in the Directive to business-to-business contracts, but the proposals did not find favour with the business community.     

Exploring the impact of mobile money services on marketing interactions in relation to consumer well-being in subsistence marketplaces – lessons from rural Cambodia

Abstract

The mobile phone has increasingly become a channel for providing access to formal financial services. There is a need to understand how financial service offerings, increasingly accessed through mobile phones, impact marketing interactions, specifically marketing exchange activities and social network relationships, to enhance consumer well-being (CWB) in subsistence marketplaces. Through interviews and contextualised observational research in rural Cambodia, findings reveal that the impacts of mobile money services on marketing interactions in relation to CWB can be categorised at two distinct levels. The first-level impact is the actual physical money transfer transactions as part of the marketing exchange activities which leads to the second-level impact on the social network relationships at interpersonal, social group and cultural levels. Drawing from these insights, policy-makers and industry stakeholders can formulate strategies and develop innovative service offerings through mobile phone technology to enhance CWB in subsistence marketplaces.     

The Development and Testing of a Measure of Skepticism Toward Environmental Claims in Marketers' Communications

Marketers' claims about the environmental effects of products and their packaging are becoming more pervasive. Consumer organizations, government, and marketers have long realized that consumers receive such claims with some degree of skepticism. An investigation of how consumer skepticism affects the response to “green” marketing claims would be facilitated by a reliable and valid measure of skepticism. This paper describes a two-stage research project and the resulting four-item measure of skepticism toward environmental claims made in advertising and on packages. The scale has acceptable levels of reliability and validity.     

Conventionalists,Connectors, Technoisseurs and Mobilarti: Differential profiles of mobile marketing segments based on phone features and postmodern characteristics of consumers

The high penetration of mobile phones amongst the South African population presents mobile phones as an attractive interactive marketing communication medium. This paper argues that the access and actual use of different phone device features can be productively used as a segmentation approach, which may enable marketers to be more effective in planning interactive marketing communication plans. This study, based on 330 students, developed segments derived from mobile phone usage patterns using cluster analysis. The outcome revealed four clusters that were named: Connectors, Conventionalists, Technoisseurs and Mobilarti. Connectors made daily use of a full range of communication functions. Conventionalists were inclined to limit their use of mobile phone features to talking and texting. Technoisseurs were found to use a whole range of sophisticated mobile phone facilities. Mobilarti were identified as a group of expert users; using the full range of functions available to them on their phones, despite recording the lowest percentage of smartphone ownership when compared to the other groups. These groups were further profiled by analysing attitudinal and behavioural variables pertaining to two newly developed postmodern dimensions, which were introduced in the study as mobile importance as an attitudinal aspect, and social transformation as a behavioural outcome. For marketers, an understanding of the proposed segments, as well as the differences in attitudes towards mobile importance and social transformation behaviours, coupled with typical financial and social realities of these segments, allow targeting strategies that are more clearly actionable.     

An Exploration of U.S. Consumer Perceptions and Affect: Two Forms of a Soy-Based Food Product

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on a consumer comparison of fresh tofu and frozen tofu, and the investigation of consumer perceptions of and responses to, both products. A literature review of consumer perceptions and attitudes toward soy products was carried out. Consumer perceptions and affect were then qualitatively investigated using separate focus groups composed of “soy-users” and “health conscious” consumers. Extensive taste tests of the product, using five different recipes, comparing and contrasting frozen versus fresh forms of tofu were conducted to obtain sensory evaluations. The results indicate that many consumers are unfamiliar with the product, yet tofu is perceived to be an acceptable food for those inclined to use soy-based products, as well as those who are otherwise healthy eating conscious. In taste tests, it was found that the recipes in which tofu was disguised were preferred. In addition, frozen tofu was generally found not to be perceived as markedly different from the fresh product. Implications of the findings for marketing fresh and frozen forms of tofu are discussed.     

Mobile phone: marketplace icon

The mobile phone is an essential component of early twenty-first century societies, markets, and economies. The mobile handset in particular has become the synechdocal symbol of major socio-economic transformations the world over. Through an abbreviated history of mobile handsets, touching on each of the first three generations of mobile phones, this Marketplace Icon installment traces the evolution of the look, feel, and function of mobiles from the earliest analog “bricks” to the latest digital smartphones. Based on this history, the frictions of technologies, bodies, individuals, and institutions emerge as key forces in the construction of mobiles and mobility. In light of these, the possibility of an end to the iconic mobile phone era is augured and some contours for a new era of mobility are suggested, one in which handsets are less prominent and consumer embodiment is taken more seriously as the true heart of mobility, mobile technologies, and mobile markets.     

South African Complaint Forums in the Retail Industry: a Survey of Literature and Some Lessons from the EU

South African consumers receiving poor service in the retail industry want to complain, but have limited or no knowledge of the available consumer complaint forums. The consumer complaint forums in the retail industry can generally be divided into those established in terms of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 and other complaint forums. Before consumers can decide which forum they want to lodge their complaint with, they first need to identify possible complaint forums and then measure each forum according to certain factors. This study made a unique contribution by identifying possible factors which a consumer can refer to in this regard. In developing these factors, guidance was taken from the EU Consumer ADR Directive and the ODR Regulation. The factors suggested in this study included the following: the cost of and time spent on lodging a complaint, the effective functioning of the complaint forum, transparency in the operation of the complaint forum, the relief that a consumer may obtain from the complaint forum, and the user-friendliness of the complaint process. The National Consumer Tribunal, the National Consumer Commission, the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud, and ordinary civil courts were assessed using the above factors. A limitation of this study was that not all complaint forums could be assessed in terms of these factors, due to the lack of publicly available information. This study found that even though South Africans now have more complaint forums at their disposal, this does not translate into positive outcomes for aggrieved consumers. The strength of these forums lies in the buy-in received from both consumers and retailers. True consumer power arises through collective action after careful investigation, and resolving individual complaints may not result in the change of consumer policy which is actually what is required in the long run.     

Unfair Contract Terms Under Greek Law: Case Law Developments

This note examines a decision by the Greek Supreme Court which offers an interpretation of the unfair term provision in consumer protection law. The case concerned a class action by a consumer organization against a commercial bank. The decision makes a breakthrough in two related respects. First, the Court not only interprets the national law in the light of the EU Directive on Unfair Contract Terms, but also adopts rules of interpretation and reasoning that run parallel to the latest European discussion on unfair contract terms. Second, in an unprecedented manner for Greek case law, it declares a large number of contractual clauses to be unfair, hence broadening consumer protection significantly. Most commercial banks in Greece are now under an obligation to modify their pre-formulated contracts in order to comply with the Court's interpretation of the provision on unfair terms in the Consumer Protection Act.     

Consumer Decision-making Processes in Mobile Viral Marketing Campaigns

The high penetration of cell phones in today's global environment offers a wide range of promising mobile marketing activities, including mobile viral marketing campaigns. However, the success of these campaigns, which remains unexplored, depends on the consumers' willingness to actively forward the advertisements that they receive to acquaintances, e.g., to make mobile referrals. Therefore, it is important to identify and understand the factors that influence consumer referral behavior via mobile devices. The authors analyze a three-stage model of consumer referral behavior via mobile devices in a field study of a firm-created mobile viral marketing campaign. The findings suggest that consumers who place high importance on the purposive value and entertainment value of a message are likely to enter the interest and referral stages. Accounting for consumers' egocentric social networks, we find that tie strength has a negative influence on the reading and decision to refer stages and that degree centrality has no influence on the decision-making process.     

Can Bonus Packs Mislead Consumers? A Demonstration of How Behavioural Consumer Research Can Inform Unfair Commercial Practices Law on the Example of the ECJ’s Mars Judgement

The use of psychological findings in EU internal market regulation has gained interest, particularly in the area of unfair commercial practices. This study investigates consumer perceptions of bonus packs containing an oversized indication of the “extra” volume in the package, such as in the Mars case. The Mars case serves as a standard reference in EU unfair commercial practices law which is used as a benchmark to determine the “average consumer.” Our study demonstrates how an experiment can be set up to provide empirically based insights on whether a practice is “deceptive.” Results of our experiment show that consumers overestimate the extra volume when confronted with an oversized indication compared to control conditions, which is first empirical evidence that this practice is potentially deceptive.