Consumer protection involves a group of laws and agencies designed to ensure the rights of consumers, as well as fair trade, competition, and accurate information in the marketplace.
People with intellectual disability may be able to rely on particular:
- consumer protection laws when they make purchases or enter contracts for goods or services, and
- trade practices laws and principles that may afford additional protection where the person has been taken advantage of, especially if the person does not have the mental capacity to understand all the details of the transaction they are entering or its consequences.
Consumer rights cover a person’s capacity to enter into a contract, transactions involving necessary goods and services, overturning gifts, setting aside transactions and contracts, and misrepresentation or undue influence.