Consumer Protection Act compliance, made simple

Marketing and prices

A business should be able to show that it can answer yes to these: Are your advertisements, quotes and sales claims truthful, so that nothing false, misleading or deceptive is said or implied about your goods, prices or services? Do you display a price for every item or service you advertise for sale, and charge no more than the displayed price? If you advertise a sale or a reduced price, is the reduction real, and is the period of the offer and any limit on stock made clear? Do you avoid high-pressure, harassing or unfairly persuasive selling, and avoid taking advantage of a consumer who cannot properly protect their own interests? If you sell by direct marketing (phone, door to door, email or messaging), do you let people opt out, avoid contacting them at unreasonable times, and keep your list lawful under POPIA as well? Do you give consumers a five business day cooling-off period on direct-marketing sales (unless the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act applies instead), and refund within 15 business days?

Contracts and plain language

A business should be able to show that it can answer yes to these: Are your contracts, terms and notices written in plain language that an ordinary consumer, with average literacy and little experience of what you sell, could understand without undue effort? Are the terms that limit your liability, make the consumer take on risk, require them to indemnify you, or ask them to acknowledge a fact brought clearly to their attention before they agree? If an activity or facility carries an unusual risk, or a risk of serious injury or death, do you point out its nature and effect and get the consumer's signature or initials? Have you checked your standard terms for unfair, unreasonable or unjust terms, and for terms the Act prohibits, such as ones that waive the consumer's rights under the Act? If you sell on fixed-term agreements, do you tell the consumer in good time before expiry, and avoid automatic renewal that disadvantages them? Do you give consumers a written record of each transaction showing your name, VAT number (if any), address, the date, a description of the items, unit prices and quantities, and the total with tax shown?

Delivery, quality and returns

A business should be able to show that it can answer yes to these: Do you deliver goods or perform services on the agreed date and time (or within a reasonable time if none was agreed), at the agreed place and at your own cost for delivery? Do goods stay at your risk until the consumer accepts them, and can the consumer examine them on delivery? Do your goods meet the standard of being safe, of good quality, free of defects and fit for their purpose? If goods fail the quality standard within six months of delivery, do you repair, replace or refund at the consumer's choice, at your cost? Do your price tags, labels and packaging accurately describe the goods, including any required trade description or labelling? If you sell reconditioned, used or grey-market goods, do you say so clearly? If you are a producer, importer, distributor or retailer, do you understand you can be liable for harm caused by unsafe goods, whether or not you were negligent, and have you checked your product liability cover?

Services and complaints

A business should be able to show that it can answer yes to these: When you undertake a service, do you complete it on time, give timely notice of unavoidable delays, and perform it in a manner and quality people are generally entitled to expect? If you need goods to do the work, are they free of defects and of the expected quality, and do you return a consumer's property in at least as good a condition as you got it? If a service falls short, do you remedy the defect or refund a reasonable part of the price, as the extent of the failure warrants? Do you have a simple way for consumers to complain, and do you answer within a reasonable time and without retaliating against someone who asserts their rights?

How can I check where my business stands on Consumer Protection Act?

Take the free self-assessment. It scores each area, lists your gaps with what to do about each one, and does not say you are compliant. You can save the result to ComplianceDesk to turn each gap into a task with an owner and a due date.

Is this guide written by a lawyer?

No. It was assembled from the public sources listed below and has not been reviewed by a lawyer. Treat it as a starting point and check the current law before relying on it.

How many controls does ComplianceDesk track for Consumer Protection Act?

17, organised into 6 categories, ready to assign to an owner as soon as you activate the framework.

Can I track Consumer Protection Act alongside other frameworks?

Yes — most teams activate several frameworks at once. Controls that overlap across frameworks can share the same evidence, so you don't collect the same document twice.

How long does it take to set up Consumer Protection Act in ComplianceDesk?

Activating Consumer Protection Act instantly seeds its full control library. Most teams assign owners and get their first controls moving within a day.