The law and consumers

1. Adrian Wallwork. Business Options. Oxford University Press, 2001.

2. David Cotton, Sue Robbins. Business Class. Longman, 2006.

3. Leo Jones. Richard Alexander. New International Business English. Cambridge University Press, 1996.

4. Leo Jones. New Progress to First Certificate. Cambridge University Press, 1997.

5. Michael McCarty, Felicity O’Dell. English in Use. Cambridge University Press, 1994.

BASICS OF LAW

ОСНОВЫ ПРАВА

МИНСК

CONTENTS

Part II

UNIT 9. The law and consumers

UNIT 10. Employment law

UNIT 11. The law in business

UNIT 12. Contracts

UNIT 12.1. Commercial activities and types of contracts

Contract: Subject of the contract. Prices and total value

UNIT 12.2. Discussing prices and terms of payment

Contract: Terms of payment.

UNIT 12.3. Discussing delivery and transportation

Contract: Delivery dates. Marking and packing.

UNIT 12.4. Discussing guarantee and arbitration

Contract: Guarantee and arbitration

UNIT 12.5. Discussing sanctions and force majeure circumstances. Insurance (indemnity)

Contract: Sanctions. Force majeure. Insurance

UNIT 12.6. Discussing general conditions of sale. Assignment and third-party rights

Contract: Other conditions. Legal addresses

UNIT 9

THE LAW AND CONSUMERS

LIST OF WORDS

arbitrate disputes	intermediate stipulations
ask for a replacement or refund	make purchases on impulse
bait-and-switch	malpractice suit
breach	mediate a settlement
bring suit on behalf of	merchantable quality
caveat	mislead
caveat emptor	misuse
caveat venditor	money-back guarantee
cease and desist order	negligence
class action suit	product liability
common sense	product liability suit
comparison shopping	puffing
consent decree	pursue an action
consumer law	restitution
discharge	sales receipt
exemption clause	sue on behalf of
express	try to fix the product yourself
give somebody the runabout	underprotected
go to court	warranty
halt illegal practices	warranty coverage
implied term	withhold information

Ex. 1. Complete the table.

Verb	Noun	Adjective
exempt	—	—
—	express	—
—	stipulation	—
—	sense	1. — 2. —
protect	1. — 2. — 3. —	—
—	liability	—
breach	—	—
consume	1. — 2. —	—
mediate	1. — 2. —	—

Ex. 2. Match the following words with their definitions.

breach, stipulation, protect, suit, common sense, warranty, exemption, caveat, negligence, liability

1. Failure to do something which you ought to do, or failure to show proper care and concern for something that you are responsible for.

2. Freedom from a duty, service, payment, etc.

3. A stating or statement of conditions.

4. Practical good sense and judgement gained from experience, rather than special knowledge from school or study.

5. Keep somebody safe from injury, damage, loss or other unpleasant effect or events.

6. Legal responsibility for something such as a debt or crime.

7. An act of breaking, disobeying, or not fulfilling a law, promise, or duty.

8. A warning, caution; let him beware.

9. A guarantee or promise made by a seller or manufacturer concerning the quality or performance of goods offered for sale.

10. A civil proceeding; the act or process of suing in a court of law

Ex. 3. Complete the sentences using the appropriate form of the words from ex. 1 and ex. 2.

1. The accident was caused by the ______ of the other motorist.

2. They declare tax ______ for house-owners.

3. She came with the ______ purpose of causing trouble.

4. She agreed, but with several ______ that she would be allowed a share in the profits.

5. Although she is not very academic she’s got plenty of ______.

6. The Common law has always ______ individual rights.

7. Parents or guardians may avoid ______ for their children's crimes if they satisfy the court that they have done everything they can to prevent it.

8. This new decision represents a ______ of our original agreement.

9. This wrecked car is still under ______.

10. I intend to correspond with you by her ______.

Ex. 4. Supply the correct preposition if necessary.

INFLUENCES ¹⁾ ___ CONSUMERS

Smart consumers understand the factors that influence ²⁾ ___ their shopping habits. They think ³⁾ ___ whether they need the product, whether they can afford it, and how they can purchase it carefully. They also know the difference ⁴⁾ ___ wanting and needing a product. Of course, sometimes all consumers splurge and buy things they really don’t need. But smart shoppers don’t spend so much ⁵⁾ ___ things they want that they can’t afford what they really need.

Consumers often buy things ⁶⁾ ___ response ⁷⁾ ___ advertising. A great deal ⁸⁾ ___ television, radio, newspaper, and magazine advertising is geared ⁹⁾ ___ specific groups ¹⁰⁾ ___ people. For example, sellers know that teenagers are an extremely important market ¹¹⁾ ___ their goods and services, and so they develop specific ads ¹²⁾ ___ this audience. Advertising ¹³⁾ ___ teens has been stepped up as studies have shown that today’s parents make fewer buying decisions ¹⁴⁾ ___ their children. The ads, which are often purchased ¹⁵⁾ ___ shows or publications that particularly appeal ¹⁶⁾ ___ teens, are designed to increase sales ¹⁷⁾ ___ the products advertised. Many ads provide useful information ¹⁸⁾ ___ products or announce the start ¹⁹⁾ ___ a sale. However, ads may also attempt to influence ²⁰⁾ ___ you to purchase a product that you do not need or want or that you cannot afford.

Ex. 5. Supply the sentences with missing words given below.

court, complaint, range, research, be accustomed, right, demand, profit, consumer, institution, discontent, standard

Not surprisingly, ¹⁾ ______ law has grown most quickly in wealthier industrialized countries where people ²⁾ ______ to asserting their rights and have a wide ³⁾ ______ of information available to them. In Britain, the magazine Which? has been publishing independently ⁴⁾ ______ information about products, services and legal ⁵⁾ ______ for thirty years, and popular television programs discuss consumer ⁶⁾ ______. If a ⁷⁾ ______ consumer is forced to take legal action, there are judicial ⁸⁾ ______ which enable him or her to do this without spending a lot of money. In developing countries where manufacturers often have low ⁹⁾ ______ margins, consumers often have to accept lower ¹⁰⁾ ______ unless they are rich or have important friends. But there are changes here, too. The Chinese government, for example, has responded to a growing ¹¹⁾ ______ for better quality goods by setting up special ¹²⁾ ______ to deal with complaints.

Ex. 6. Test your criminal slang. Below there are four conversations. The conversations include 14 slang words. The definitions of the words are given below. Read the conversations, and use the context to match the words to the definitions given below.