Notable consumer protection methods

The relationship between the consumer and the supplier of goods is special. It is not a contractual relationship. In particular, the supplier of goods if providing low quality goods can affect a lot of buyers, and consumers do not have much authority to protect their rights in the most ideal way. Therefore, Vietnamese law has promulgated the Law on Consumer Protection to introduce methods requiring suppliers of goods to be responsible to consumers. So what are the rights and obligations of the suppliers in each consumer protection method? 

1. Warranty of goods

Goods, components, or accessories are guaranteed by the agreement between the trader of goods, services and the consumers. However, there are cases where the trader of goods, services is required to perform the warranty in accordance with the law, for example: pursuant to Article 4.2 Decree 116/2017/ND-CP, vehicles are required to be warranted with a warranty period of at least 3 years or equivalent to 100,000 km.  

Pursuant to Article 21 Consumer Protection Law 2010, in case organizations or individuals trading goods implement warranty policies, the trader must pay attention to the following responsibilities: 

• Provide consumers with the receipt of the warranty, clearly stating the duration of the warranty; 

• Provide consumer with similar goods, components or accessories for temporary use or provide other forms of settlement accepted by consumers during implementation of the warranty; 

• Exchange new similar goods, components or accessories or take back goods, components or accessories and return money to consumers in the case where time for warranty implementation run out while failing to repair or solve the error;

• Exchange new similar goods, components or accessories, or take back the goods give money back to consumers in the case where the warranty is implemented 03 times or more within the warranty duration as to goods, components or accessories without fixing the error;

• Bear the cost of repairs and bear freight to transport goods, components or accessories to the place of warranty, and freight to transport them from the place of warranty to the residence of the consumer; 

2. Recall defective goods

Pursuant to Article 22 Consumer Protection Law 2010, upon detection of defective goods, the organizations, individuals manufacturing or the organizations, individuals importing the goods shall promptly take all necessary measures to stop the supply of defective goods in the market. At the same time, inform publicly about the defective goods and the recovery of the goods by at least 05 consecutive issues of daily newspaper or 05 consecutive days through the radio or television in area where such goods are circulated. 

The organizations, individuals manufacturing or the organizations, individuals importing the goods must implement the recovery of defective goods in line with the publicly informed report and bear the expenses incurred in the recalling process. 

After finishing the recall, the organizations and individuals must report the results to the provincial state management agency for the protection of consumers’ interests where the recovery of the defective goods take place. 

3. Compensation for damage caused by defective goods 

Organizations and individuals trading goods shall be liable for damages in the case where defective goods, which supplied by them, cause damages to life, health, properties of consumers, even if the defects are not known to or not caused by those organizations or individuals (Article 23.1 Consumer Protection Law 2010). The compensation shall comply with the regulation of civil laws (Article 23.3 Consumer Protection Law 2010).  

However, organizations and individuals trading goods shall be exempt from compensation if they can prove that the defects of the good could not be detected with the scientific and technical knowledge at the time organizations or individuals trading goods supplied the defective good to consumers (Article 24 Consumer Protection Law 2010).  

4. Consumers make complaints to state management agencies to protect consumers’ interests

Upon discovering that violations of laws on protection of consumers’ interests by organizations or individuals trading goods and/or services cause damage to the interests of the State, the interests of many consumers, public interest, the consumers, social organizations may request verbally or in writing to the State management agency on protection of consumers’ interests of the district where the transaction take place to handle (Article 25.1 Consumer Protection Law 2010). 

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