Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982

The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (c 29) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that requires traders to provide services to a proper standard of workmanship. Furthermore, if a definite completion date or a price has not been fixed then the work must be completed within a reasonable time and for a reasonable charge. The Act was partially superseded by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, insofar as that Act applies, i.e. between trader and consumers, for contracts entered into from 1 October 2015.[1] The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 remains in force in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, however only Part IA of the Act, which creates provisions analogous to Part I of the Act, and Part III, which deals with the Act's commencement etc., apply to Scotland.

Overview

The Act applies to "relevant contracts for the transfer of goods", being those where one person agrees to transfer property in goods, i.e. ownership of the goods, to another person;[2] the Act also applies to contracts for the hire of goods.

The Act does not, however, apply to any "excepted contract", which includes sales of goods (covered by the Sale of Goods Act 1979, for trader to trader contracts, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015, for trader to consumer contracts) and Hire Purchase Agreements.[3]

When applicable, the Act implies terms into "relevant contracts for the transfer of goods" and "relevant contracts for the hire of goods".

In summary, into "relevant contracts for the transfer of goods" the Act implies the following terms:

Title[4]

  • The transferor must have the right to transfer the property in the goods, i.e. ownership unencumbered by any security, at the relevant time under the contract when transfer must be made.
  • This applies unless the contract or the circumstances imply only the rights the transferor possess at the relevant time are due to be transferred; however it is also implied that the difference between unencumbered ownership and what is actually being transferred has been disclosed to the receiver.

Description

Definition of Reasonableness

The definition of reasonableness given in the Act is opaque. The Act states that a reasonable time (section 14(2)) and a reasonable charge (section 15(2)) are "questions of fact", but it does not explain how the "fact of reasonableness" is to be determined. However, the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and its concomitant case law provided a number of guidelines.

References
  1. "Consumer Rights Act 2015". Which? Consumer Rights. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  2. Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, c.29, s1.
  3. Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, c.29, s6.
  4. Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, c.29, s2.


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