National Consumer Week ran from November 2 to 6 and provided an opportunity for consumers to brush up on their rights in relation to faulty and defective goods, contaminated foodstuffs, beauty treatments, medical products and devices, consumer claims and more.

However, the awareness campaign, which was run by Citizens Advice and the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), did raise some troubling issues. Foremost among these was a survey by Which? that revealed more than one-third of people remain unaware of their fundamental rights as consumers; in fact, the same number had not even heard of the Consumer Rights Act.

The Act, which became law in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on October 1 aims to clarify the rights of consumers and to give them confidence and understanding of their entitlement to a consumer claim in the event of problems related to faulty goods.

"Consumer law is now much simpler than ever before so that has to be good for consumers," commented a spokesperson with Trading Standards. "However, businesses now need to get up to speed with the changes on how it will affect them as the changes are relevant to every business that sells directly to consumers."

The spokesperson added that businesses may need to get contracts and returns policies updated.

It is important to remember that a product does not need to cause personal injury in order for a consumer to have a right to claim. In Scotland all the consumer needs to demonstrate is that the product was faulty on receipt for the retailer to become potentially liable for repair or replacement.

Consumer claims in Scotland

Thompsons' personal injury solicitors can help you ensure compensation if you have suffered injury or illness as a result of faulty, defective or contaminated products. We have won numerous awards for our services, and have a 90% success rate in the cases we take on. For more information about our services, click here.