Consumer protection and sale of goods legislation

• Author: Andrew Burgess
• Position: Senior Lecturer in Law, University of the West Indies
• Pages: 73-77

CASE NOTE

CONSUMER PROTECTION AND SALE OF

GOODS LEGISLATION

Debarros v.

Quality

Auto

Sales

Ltd.

(Supreme Court, The Bahamas, 1990)

ANDREW BURGESS*

All the territories in Caricom, except Dominica, Grenada and St.

Lucia, have enacted legislation based on the United Kingdom Sale of

Goods Act,

1893.1

Even though the introduction of this legislation

had nothing to do with consumer protection, it has been seen by

many as a source of legal protection of the economic interests

legitimately expected by consumers in purchase and sale of goods

transactions. The question of the extent to which this legislation

provides such protection was recently addressed in the Bahamian

Supreme Court case of

Debarros

v.

Quality

Auto

Sales

Ltd.2

In that

case,

the Court seemed to have been satisfied that the ambit of

protection available to consumers under the legislation was ample.

Indeed, Gonsalves-Sabola C.J. (Ag.), delivering

the

judgment of the

Court in Debarros, went so far as to declare:

"A consumer is not liable to take whatever it turns out he has

got; he is entitled to get exactly what he contracted and paid

his good money for. That is the law".

* Senior Lecturer in Law, University of the West Indies.

1 See Antigua - Cap. 371; Bahamas - Ch. 310; Barbados - Cap. 317; Belize -

Cap.

214; Guyana - Cap. 90:10; Jamaica - Cap. 349; Montserrat - Cap. 311; St.

Christopher-Nevis - Cap. 348; St, Vincent - Cap. 316; Trinidad & Tobago - Ch.

82:30.

It seems also that even where the U.K. Sale of Goods Act, 1893 has not been

enacted, its provisions still have very high persuasive force. As to this, see Ehrmann

v. Groome (unreported) S. Ct. Grenada, Suit No. 5 of 1971.

2 (Unreported) S.Ct. Bahamas, Suit No. 1227 of 1983, March 2nd, 1990.