Enhancing Thai Consumer Protection Through a Legal Problem on Consumer Guarantees and Remedies

Abstract

          When the complicated social market increased, the growth of mass production and consumption in the current century led to recognition that consumers were vulnerable and that their ability to negotiate or stipulate standards of the quality in respect to supplying goods or services was limited, or non-existent. One of the umbra problematic factor of Thai consumer rights is “consumer guarantee” which should be automatic and basic fundamental rights.

          For Thailand, the data from the report of statistic of consumer’s complaining 2019 shows that the consumer goods and services are ranked first. Furthermore, the concerning substantive and procedural laws in Thailand are aimed to apply with the indemnification approved approach rather than the preventive approved approach. Nowadays, the problem of defect or faulty goods is always resolved by general sale contract under the Thai Civil and Commercial Code (C.C.C.), the liability on defect of goods, sections 472-474 which are almost not up to date as in current situation. The definition of ‘defect’, ‘minor defect’, ‘latent defect’ are not resolved by the current law. However, it also has a new draft Act on the liability of the defect goods, but it is limited to the new product, the second-hand goods or the supply of services do not enact to consider the consumer protection rights. The explication between terminology and scope of enforcement of ‘guarantee’ and ‘warranty’ either legal or commercial is vital for consumer to easily understanding. In case of remedial process damages from the products or services must be used by the general law (C.C.C. and Civil Procedure Code) which has slowly process, expensive and inappropriate measure to protect the vulnerable consumers and the Consumer Protection Case Procedure Act (CCPA) trends to determined court’s discretion at will on the defect goods in section 41. It does not enact explicitly and obvious detail or approach to remedy the exploited consumer. The historic “Ford” court order was the interesting case study for consumer guarantees.

          The researcher will propose to enhance and strengthen Thai consumer protection law by proposing a new provision called “the Consumer Guarantees and the Remedies” on the current Thai consumer protection Act B.E. 2522 (C.P.A.) and also propose to set up the correspondent legal Institute in the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) as the new Committee on Consumer Guarantee in section 14(4) by the virtue of sections 3 and 4(5) of the current Thai C.P.A. to accomplish and fulfill the best interest of consumers.