"I sometimes wish that people would put a little more emphasis upon the observance of the law than they do upon its enforcement" - Calvin Coolidge

Have you ever bought something only to have it fall apart the first time you used it? Or have you ordered something and found it wasn't anything like the model or sample you were shown at the store? If so, have you wondered just what your rights were as a consumer and what steps you should take to correct the situation?

In this section, you will be looking at some of the legal aspects involved in being a consumer. When you've finished the section, you should be able to explain the chief protections the law provides you as a consumer and identify specific pieces of legislation that provide this protection. 

Lesson 1: Common Law Protection

Imagine that you are shopping for a new car. The salesman assures you the model you're looking at has a six-cylinder engine and four-wheel drive. Knowing very little about cars, you take him at his word and buy the vehicle. You pay for it and drive it off the lot, only to discover when you get home that it has a small four-cylinder engine and front-wheel drive. Legally, would you have any grounds to go back to the dealership and demand your money back? If you answered yes, you'd be right. The law does offer protection to consumers in cases like this and in other situations where they'd otherwise be at the mercy of unscrupulous merchants.

Contract Law

Most of the protection that the common law offers consumers lies in the law of contracts . Contract law is one of the major areas of legal studies. Of course, much of the law of contracts doesn't relate directly to consumer transactions; many contracts don't involve selling goods and services at all. Still, if you're to get good grounding in consumer law, it's important first to understand the basic protections offered by the law of contracts.

Implied and Express Contracts

• Express Contracts are agreements in which the terms are specifically laid out orally or in writing. When you agree to buy a used truck for $5000 or to shovel a neighbour's snow all winter for $100, you have created an express contract. 
  
  

• Implied Contracts are agreements in which the terms are evident from the circumstances but are not explicitly stated. When you order a hamburger or give your money to a bus driver, you are making an implied contract. In the first case, you are agreeing to pay the asking price for the burger, and in the second case the driver is agreeing to drive you to your destination-providing it is on the route.