BUSINESS LAW AND ETHICS ASSESSMENT

Carrie likes to do all her shopping online. She receives a weekly email from Eziebuy Ltd advertising its latest specials. She likes the Eziebuy company because it sells Australian products. The following statement from the company appears in the emails sent to Carrie by Eziebuy each week:

"We sell only Australian products. Think globally but buy locally! You will be getting the best deals and supporting the Australian economy."

Last Christmas, Carrie was most excited by the catalogue and amazed with the range of items for sale. She bought lots of presents for her family and friends but has been disappointed with the following:

a) Carrie bought an electric blanket for her parents for $150.00. Some fifteen minutes after her father plugged the blanket in and turned it on he smelt something burning. He discovered that the heating element in the blanket was faulty and had burnt through to the sheets and covers on the bed.

b) Carrie wanted to buy her brother David a razor that he could easily use on his business trips. She rang the Eziebuy sales line and asked the salesperson if the razor advertised could be used with batteries. The salesperson assured Carrie that the razor could be operated by batteries or via mains electricity supply. Carries purchased the razor for $59.95. David discovered that it would not take batteries.

c) Carrie ordered some wool for her Aunt Ellen. Ellen is a keen knitter and currently has a passion for alpaca. Carrie ordered twelve balls at $8.50 each. The wool was advertised as alpaca on the internet but Aunt Ellen immediately recognised it as angora and not alpaca.

On closer examination of her purchases, Carries found that the electric blanket was made in Korea, the razor was made in China and the wool was manufactured in India. She is not happy because the company advertised its products as Australian products.

She doesn't believe that she got the ‘best deal' or that her purchases are supporting the Australian economy.

When Carrie contacted the Eziebuy sales staff by ‘phone after Christmas to complain, she was referred to the buying cart of the Eziebuy website on which appeared the following:

‘Eziebuy Ltd offers no exchange or replacement for items purchased through this catalogue.'

When asked about the products being made overseas the salesperson said: "Oh well, they are mostly packaged or repackaged here and that gives us jobs."

You are asked to advise Carrie as to any action she could take against Eziebuy. Your discussion should be limited to a consideration of the Australian Consumer Law.

CONTENT AND ANALYSIS

Generally the content (or coverage of the topic) is assessed according to two main requirements. These are:

• Demonstration of a knowledge of the law, assessed according to accurate statement of legal principles

• Demonstration of an understanding of the law, assessed according to logical and coherent application of legal principles to the facts.

The following guidelines stem from the requirements stated above:

• It is not enough to discuss the facts in a general way without reference to legal principle/s.

• It is not enough to state relevant legal principles without explicitly applying those principles to the facts.

• Statements of legal requirements/ principles must be accurate. Use of your own words is encouraged but must convey the substance (meaning of) the legal principle/s.

• Merely reproducing the facts given in the problem will not attract marks. This problem commonly occurs in written introductions, where it would appear that the writer is not sure where to start.

• Answers should include an introduction, analysis and conclusion (but not include these headings as such).

• The introduction should contain statements of:
• The legal terms given to the relevant parties on the facts
• The nature of the action to be taken by the party advised
• The party who must prove the action (burden of proof)
• The relevant standard of proof
• The elements of the action requiring proof.

• The analysis should state:
• The elements requiring proof (from the legislation) and interpretation of those elements (from legislation and case authorities as appropriate)
• An application of the legal requirements (elements) and their interpretation to the facts in question
• A consideration of legal remedies available to the injured party should the action be proven.

• The conclusion should contain:
• A summary of previous discussion and conclusion as to the likelihood of proof of the action. No new material should be included in this part of an answer.
• Accurate and full reference to cases and legislation must be used.