Buyer Be Faintly Cautious

The old Latin maxim caveat emptor (buyer beware) states the English common law position relating to the sale of goods and the supply of services. This position has been eroded over time by the imposition of a statutory framework implying terms automatically into every consumer contract for the sale of goods and/or the supply of services.

This raft of English legislation, beginning with the Sale of Goods Act 1893, sought to address the perceived imbalance of power between a consumer and a trader, both in terms of their respective levels of knowledge and economic power. It was recognised that although consumers were, to some extent, protected by the ordinary common law of contract a clearer, more instantly accessible form of protection was required. It simply was not realistic to expect individual consumers to launch costly legal proceedings against large vendors for the recovery of small sums.