SALE OF GOODS ACT 1979

Sale of Goods Act 1979

Sale of Goods Act 1979

Introduction

This paper critically analyses the provisions of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, Section 14(2), in wake of the decision of the court in the landmark case of in BRAMHILL AND ANOTHER V EDWARDS AND ANOTHER (2004) ECWA CIV 403. In this particular case, the court held on to its decision that “not withstanding the goods were ''illegal to use in the UK''. No breach could have been established and even if a breach could have been established, no award of damages would have been made”.

Firstly, we will describe in what context the word 'satisfactory quality has been used in the Act. Under section 14(2) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as amended (SGA), "Where the seller sells goods in the course of a business, there is an implied term that the goods supplied under the contract are of satisfactory quality." This means that a consumer can require the business from which you purchased goods, to right to wrong caused.

Sales of Goods Act 1979

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 offers additional protection to consumers and purchasers in contracts for the supply of goods. The Act implies such terms automatically into any contract between buyer and seller and makes guarantees to the buyer regarding the quality, suitability and standard of the goods supplied. Sections 12-15 of the Act handle different aspects of the implied terms being; Title (s.12), Correspondence with Description (s.13), Satisfactory Quality (s.14(2)), Fitness for Purpose (s.14(3)) and Goods sold by Sample (s.15).

It is possible for sellers to expressly remove the 'implied' terms by incorporating a negating term in the contract, but these are strictly assessed in accordance with the Unfair Contract Act 1977 and may be disallowed if the court deems them unreasonable. There are also similar requirements of quality under Sections 12-16 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 in relation to businesses providing a service (as opposed to selling a product).

What is satisfactory quality?

Section 14(2) only applies to contracts where the goods are sold in the course of a business (e.g. from a shop), otherwise the buyer is deemed to have bought the goods regardless of quality. This section inserts an implied condition that the goods are of a satisfactory quality. It does not apply however, where the seller has drawn the buyer's attention to those defects, or where the buyer has had an opportunity to examine the goods and the defects should have been apparent.

This is objective section 14(2A) of the SGA reads: (2A) "for the purposes of this Act, goods are of satisfactory quality if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances." Additionally, by section 14(2B) of SGA a court will take into account:

Fitness for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied.

Appearance and finish

Freedom from minor defects,

Safety

Durability

Other factors are taken ...