Dork Adore » Consumer Rights

Dork Rant: Misleading beauty advertising

Emma Cossey — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:00:19 +0000

I’ll be the first to put my hand up and confess to being a bit of a pushover when it comes to the persuasive powers of advertising. Any advert that suggests a product is ‘brand new’ ‘revolutionary’ or ‘the next big thing’ is sure to catch my attention.

Heard of those hair removal mitts that claim to be a pain- and soap-free way of removing hair? I bought one. Two hours later, my legs were indeed hair free. Unfortunately they were also covered in an itchy red rash that lasted 3 more days. With a little more research, I discovered that this was a common reaction.

Except the brand hadn’t exactly mentioned that on the product packaging.

This isn’t the first time a beauty brand has omitted vital information, or mentioned it in such a fleeting manner that most people miss it.

Sit down for a couple of hours of Saturday night TV and you’ll be ambushed with adverts for volumising shampoo and mega lengthening mascaras. Tempting products until you notice the tiny note that flashes up, informing the viewer that the model is using fake eyelashes or hair extensions. Blink, and you’ll miss it. Which I’m sure is the general idea.

The cosmetics market seems to take advantage of the weak returns policy by making claims they can’t back up. Most make up counters won’t allow you to return products if you’ve used them, so once the product is sold they can wash their hands of responsibility.

The USA has a much better returns policy, so why can’t the UK follow suit? Perhaps they have something to hide.

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GHD hair straighteners – How to spot cheap fakes

Katie — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:00:32 +0000

The day I spent £90 on a haircare product was a big day for me. I was brought up in a household that still embraced the glory days of 1950s Austerity Britain and the very idea that you could spend that much on something that did your hair secretly appalled me.

Still, once you’ve broken the seal on these things, so to speak, it’s impossibly to go back. And since I still use my beloved GHDs all the time (though less zealously than the Zoe Lucker heyday of hair straightening), I think it’s safe to say that the “cost per use” has now reduced the expense to a barest minimum. Or that’s what I tell myself anyway.

But if the thought of spending all that money on straighteners makes you want to tear your hair out (possibly self-defeating), you may be tempted by the many sites out there promising cheap GHDs. Thing is, a lot of those cheap GHDs are fakes.

And if you don’t want to invite dangerous fire hazard into your haircare regime, it’s worth finding out how to spot a fake before you get burned.

Kiss and Makeup has a handy guide to how to spot a fake. You can read the full article here, but the basic advice is:

Limited Editions. Be wary of anyone selling the “limited edition” baby pink versions. They haven’t been made since 2005, so they’re unlikely to be real GHDs. You can see there are loads of these on eBay. Selling for around £60. The same goes for purple, gold, white, dark and Radiance gift sets. They are all sold out.
Cost. Spend £90+ on them. They really don’t come any cheaper. These are potentially very dangerous objects to have in your house. They use 240volts to heat up to over 200 degrees and if they’re not properly made and tested, they pose a serious fire risk.
Pay by credit card. If you do get sucked in by a fraud, it’s going to be hard to get your money back. If you’ve paid by credit card, you are covered by the Consumer Credit Act, which means your card company will give you your money back. Read our article on buying online for more advice.
Check the contact info. If you visit a site that has no UK landline number (answered by a real human), UK address that can be checked on Royal Mail website, and both a VAT and Company Registration number, it’s not a genuine GHD reseller.
Avoid dodgy packaging and websites. If the website is poorly written, with strange english and ropey-looking product packaging, it’s not a genuine GHD reseller.
Ask GHD. GHD has a useful website checker for you to verify that the reseller site you want to use is genuine. And if you’ve already bought GHDs and think you might have fakes, enter the hologram code here and you can find out.
Use CompareGHD. If you want the cheapest prices, but don’t want to end up with fakes, CompareGHD is an approved GHD comparison site, and only includes approved GHD resellers.

There’s even more advice on how to spot fakes on the CompareGHD site.

Beware of bargain GHDs [Kiss and Makeup]

Image: GHD Precious, Limited Edition 2009 Christmas set.

More Consumer Rights advice on Dork Adore.

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Out of warranty and out of pocket? Not necessarily

Emma Cossey — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:00:36 +0000

There has long been a theory that gadgets are created to fail the minute they come out of their warranty so you can’t claim for the cost of fixing or replacing them. This “built-in obsolescence” theory is most often applied to mobile phones, although household appliances such as kettles and toasters, as well as other portable gadgets like music players and cameras, all seem to suffer a similar affliction.

Maybe it’s just sheer bad luck – after all, it’s hard to believe a manufacturer really could create an electronic device with a built in death-date (unless there’s a special suicide technology no one told us about) – but a warranty does seem to be more like a death warrant than a clean bill of health.

Despite this, there are still options if your new gadget does fail outside of its warranty.

Here’s our handy guide to warranties and what your rights are.

Firstly, we need to define what a warranty is. According to Trading Standards:

A guarantee is considered in law to be an agreement to provide some benefit for a set period of time in the event of the goods or services being defective. A warranty provides the same sort of cover that a guarantee does, but often you have to pay extra for it. As both are contracts, warranties and guarantees give you the right to make a legal claim against the person issuing them.

All well and good, but what if you don’t have a warranty or the problem with the product occurs after the warranty finishes? A common misconception is that there’s nothing you can do, but the people at Trading Standards disagree.

Thanks to the Sale of Goods Act 1979, consumers have a right to expect a product to comply with its description and reach a certain level of quality and durability. Usually this is around 6 months, although certain products, like a new car or washing machine, would have a far longer expectancy — up to 7 years. Should the product fail to reach these basic expectations, the consumer can request a replacement, repair or refund.

This is regardless of whether the warranty has run out of not.

Should the trader refuse to do either, you have the option of taking them to court. You can also claim for certain goods if you bought them on a credit card. Should you wish to take this route, you can speak to the Citizens Advice Bureau who can explain what the next steps will be.

It’s worth bearing in mind that some things are excluded from this Act. Cosmetics usually get away with it, as a product cannot be returned once it has been opened for hygiene reasons (which is perhaps why they get away with making such bold claims!) The Act also has limited say over a purchase if you buy it from a private seller, auction or have been given the product as a gift.

But if your laptop fails the day after the warranty finishes, or your washing machine does its last white wash just two years after you brought it home, don’t assume there’s nothing you can do. If you’ve paid good money for a product, you have every right to expect it to make it past its first birthday.

You can find even more information over on the Trading Standards website. And there’s a handy complaints letter template you can fill and download in on the Consumer Direct site.

Image [Flickr: Bludgeoner86]

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Distance purchases act: a handy guide to buying online

Emma Cossey — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:00:55 +0000

Did you know that if you order something online and you change your mind when it arrives, you’re legally entitled to a full refund – no matter what the website’s returns policy is? All to often, people believe that if they buy a product online and it’s not what they wanted, it’s their fault and there’s little they can do about it. But there’s a handy law that it’s worth knowing about if you ever find yourself trying to get your money back.

The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 were created to make sure consumers have a right to:

receive clear information about the supplier, the goods or services and the sale before deciding to buy;
confirmation of this information in writing;
a cooling off period of 7 working days in which to withdraw from the contract; and
protection from payment card fraud.

What is a distance contract?

These regulations apply to any distance contract. A distance contract is a contract for a good or service through an organised sales or service scheme by the supplier (i.e a website) where both participants communicate without being face to face.

What are the requirements of the regulations?

Give consumers certain information prior to conclusion of the contract.
Give consumers confirmation in writing or in another durable medium which is available and accessible to the consumer (email is acceptable, but providing the information on a website is not), of the prior information and also provide consumers with additional information
Refund consumers within a certain time period.
Perform the contract within a certain time period.

It’s worth bearing in mind that the regulations do not apply to some forms of distance selling. The sale or transfer of land or buildings are not covered, as well as the selling of financial services. Services carried out by automated machines, i.e photo booths are not covered, and any contract carried out over a pay phone or an auction are exempt.

Cancellations and Refunds

Under the regulations, the consumer can cancel a distance contract by notifying the supplier in writing. The regulations also allow the consumer to request a refund, although it’s worth bearing in mind that you may have to bear the postage costs.

So if you order something online and it’s nothing like you wanted, or you order a service online that doesn’t reach your expectations, you have every right to request a refund. Even if you’ve simply changed your mind, you can still request a refund under the 7 day cooling off period.

You can read more here on the Distance Purchases Act.

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Dork Adore » Consumer Rights

Dork Rant: Misleading beauty advertising

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GHD hair straighteners – How to spot cheap fakes

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Out of warranty and out of pocket? Not necessarily

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Distance purchases act: a handy guide to buying online

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