The AECOSAN, the Autonomous Communities and the associations promote the fundamental rights to help the consumer
Date: 15 marzo 2017
Section: Consumo
Spanish Agency for Consumer Affairs, Food Safety and Nutrition
- Article 51 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 for the first time ever, expressly regulates, consumer and user rights.
- This law recognises the following consumer rights: the protection of health and safety; protection of social and economic interests; redress for damages suffered; to information and education in consumer affairs; to representation and advisory hearings; to the protection of rights using efficient procedures
The United Nations (UN) declared the World Consumer Rights Day in 1983, which celebrated the speech made by president John F. Kennedy on 15 March 1962 in which he recognised the consumer as a key player in the production process and listed their basic rights.
The Spanish Agency for Consumer Affairs, Food safety and Nutrition (AECOSAN), the Autonomous Communities and the Board of Consumers and Users, to mark this day, are promoting basic consumer rights, demanding their protection and respect.
BASIC CONSUMER RIGHTS
The Spanish Constitution guarantees consumer rights and freedom in this area and, in Article 51, it requires the public authorities to protect the safety, health and economic interests of consumers,
to promote consumer education and information and to foster consumer organisations and users.
The protection of consumer and user rights is essentially supported by Royal Decree 1/2007, approving the consolidated text of the General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users and by the consumer protection laws enacted by the Autonomous Communities according to their respective authorities.
This legislation recognises the following consumer rights:
- Right to the protection of health and safety.
- Right to the protection of their social and economic interests.
- Right to redress for damages suffered.
- Right to education and information in consumer affairs.
- Right to representation and advisory hearing.
- Right to the protection of their rights using efficient procedures.
WHO DEFENDS THESE RIGHTS?
If any of these rights has been violated, a claim should be submitted to the supplier of the good or service. If the supplier does not address your claim, you can submit a claim seeking redress for the damages, through any of the following offices:
- Directorate General for Consumer Affairs of the Autonomous Communities.
- Municipal Offices for Consumer Information
- Consumer and User Associations
- Consumer Arbitration Courts.
To publicise this information and make it available to all consumers, the Aecosan has created a space in its Web for World Consumer Rights Day:
BOARD OF CONSUMERS AND USERS CONFERENCE
To celebrate this day, on Tuesday a conference of the Board of Consumers and Users (CCU) was held at the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality (CCU), and was opened by the director of AECOSAN, Teresa Robledo, who recalled the importance of promoting and developing consumer and user rights.
Since 1991, the Board of Consumers and Users, the representative and advisory body at national level of the most representative consumer associations, has been working on the defence of consumer and user interests, influencing the decisions taken regarding consumer affairs adopted by the public powers. For more than 25 years it has been giving voice and participating in Public Administration decisions through its representative organisations.