2020 Misrepresentation in Business A CASE STUDY OF WATCH (PLAINTIFF – AMJAD) STUDENT NAME ----------------------------- Summary of the Case This case is related to misrepresentation in product selling as Amjad has gone to purchase a watch. He was interested in choosing an automatic watch. Spending Riyal Omani 250, he picked a watch, but unfortunately, the watch was not held an adequate condition, and its hands stopped moving. Amjad discovered that his chosen watch was not an automatic as it was a quartz watch. He also found that the salesman misrepresented him, so he has gone back to return the watch and claimed the refund. However, he heard another lousy news when the seller refused such a request for money back. With all such scenarios, Amjad needed a legal solution to cope with his issue. The objective of the Essay - An Advice to a Customer regarding Omani Consumer Law and Misrepresentation of Product Information Consumer Law’s Discussion The Consumer Protection Law of Oman was published as Royal Decree Number 81/2002 (along with legal enforcement guidelines released by Ministerial Decision Number 49/2007) is famously known as (the "Consumer Protection Law"). It is specifically ideal for tourists, business individuals and expatriates alike to comprehend the legislation is there for the protection of the consumer of products or services, as it's practical for someone to discover as well a target of a rapacious dealer (Al-Rimawi, 2013). Primarily, the Law of Consumer Protection is a statuary law supposed to be established that vendors and promoters follow by the standards of fair trading as well as integrity whenever working together with customers. The legislation fails to implement on b2b (business to business) professional transactions between companies. The Law of Consumer Protection needs that any business organization upholds the consumer protection principles for the protection of consumer’s interest by delivering excellent products or services (mold.gov.om, 2020). Mentioned below is the list of violations of such legislation: - Purposefully providing harmful items with no appropriate warning to customers; - Resisting or refusing to acknowledge goods return (omitting perishable items) which are through the least period of return-back which is for ten days from the date of purchase; - Resisting to uphold a present repairing/maintenance contract with the customer; - Misleading intentionally with incorrect promotion; - Declining to compensation (if customer bears any injury with that product's use); - Taking a higher cost instead of marketed; as well as - Denying to giving the proof of purchase to consumer (in shape or a voucher etc. through which consumer can observe the value and date of purchase) (Al-Rimawi, 2013). The Law of Consumer Protection is supposed to build up a higher-level fairness situation as well as uniformity for both customers and suppliers. It is further used to defend consumers towards monopolistic organizations and fraudulent service practices. CPL (The Consumer Protection Law) makes sure that individuals are provided with the ideal information. It is for the services and products which they purchase, hinders the firms from earning illegal profit by fraudulent practices, as well as keeps a fertile marketplace for new organizations to enter by limiting the extent for unethical or monopolistic practices of the business (Al-Froui, 2017). Following Consumer Protection Law's Article (1), the consumer is known as a legal or natural individual who receives a product or service regarding the free of charge consideration. Consequently, the Company or Provider or Seller is a statutory or natural person marketing in any specific product or service to such consumer. As per our example, misrepresentation or misleading is a marketing tactic that exclusively guides to make a fraud with the buyer. In the case of deficiency, it is a decrease in the products' worth. It may be a trigger to avoid the consumer taking his/her due advantage of the product. Similarly, it is unsuitable for the use of the product as the way from which the control of the consumer is not possible (Al-Rimawi, 2013). Moreover, the "Public Authority for Consumer Protection" (famously the "PACP") in March 2017 released the Decision Number 77/2017 (hereinafter, the "Regulation") focused on constituting the listed above Consumer Protection Law. Such bylaws plan to allow for interpretation as well as will function as a method to higher customer protection. The Regulation is split further into 5 Sections which are consisting of 52 articles overall incorporating not just with the consumer's rights but also the responsibilities of the provider (mola.gov.om, 2020). However, explicitly, what does the Omani Customer Protection imply in actual? The following are some facts one may know about the Consumer Protection Law of Oman: The "Regulation," is relatively improving the consumer position about the commercial transactions. In case of damaged goods or services, or if the products or services are not in that condition or meet that criteria, which was selected/appeared/determined at the time of purchase consumer is permitted to particular solutions. Through the protection of Consumer Law, the consumer has the right to exchange/repair the free of charge goods or services or, as for the last measure, develop the contract rescinded and therefore return or refund the products or services to the provider of that commercial transaction. Such solutions do not appear without limitations, though, and the customer needs to be in a position to give the receipt of the purchase and demonstrating the fact that any defects in the products are not triggered by the consumer her/himself (Al-Froui, 2017). Discussion a) Critical analysis of the case concerning the sale of goods and consumer protections in Oman The Consumer Protection Law of Oman promulgated through RD No. 81/2002 (for implementation through the Ministerial Decision 49/2007, which is called the "Law") is formulated for the protection of consumers, and the fair dealing in between providers and consumers as well as for the business transactional honesty implementation in the Sultanate of Oman. According to such a case, the consumer is an individual who can purchase or deal in business from which he/she wants some advantages. This Law is consequently applicable to all kinds of consumers, such as end-users, intermediaries, and other relevant beneficiaries of that critical transaction. Probably it is for both consumer or end-user and for the intermediaries who are in operations, and they all are among the ambit of the Consumer Protection Law. It is also noted that PACP has in previous periods accepted situations following end customers, including intermediaries (Al-Froui, 2017). According to the Consumer Protection Law under Article 2 regulates the following instances. Such instances considered the breach of CPL: - Manufacturing, production, distribution, or demonstration of hazardous or spoiled products. It may also include those with an expired quality or exercising or endeavoring to apply fraud, information, or misrepresentation to implement this product by using different sorts of printed material, advertisements, leaflets, and posters, or some other kinds of means. - Deceiving or attempting to misinform the individual by any means regarding the reality, quality, sort, origin, compounds, benefits, or associated with any product or service. - Delivering a product or interpreting expertise to the customer, which contrasts with the individual agreed on the contract. - Failing to inform the safety factor issues that could happen through that product usage or failure to notify the approach of use as well as immediate precautions. - Failure to produce the product or deliver the conformed service for the maturation date or inability to wrap it up with the completion date set. - Using unreliable or defective proportion, methods, hallmarks, stamps, or equipment of testing. - Using the erroneous procedure of measuring, weighing, or commodities inspection. - Using fraudulent or forged certificates for the quality of products or services or misrepresenting the certificate quality promised through the concerned authorities. - Failure to note the circumstances of delivery, sale as well as the approach of mechanical and electrical equipment. - Marketing and advertising that may misrepresent the customer concerning all the compounds of a product, the measure of the practical components, its kind, provider, quantity, method of production, manufacturing date, end user's outputs, and other relevant issues. - Offering good deals in rates while not prior approval receiving from concerned authorities. - Coordinating fake promotional schemes or those schemes lacking no previous consent or delaying the prize delivery (Al Shamsi, 2015). Any contract may not consider legitimate except if all parties have been in terms and condition agreement. In case the indicated terms and conditions may not be precise, then any contract relies upon a fake principle; also, the contract is unacceptable. Purposefully producing false reports, regardless of whether documented or verbally, by an obvious indication, or merely silence, constitutes fake misrepresentation whenever it includes a content effect with the deal. For our example, the watch company marketed a watch "ensuring" that its condition is good but fails to mention that they likely will not be repairable as well as this issue is based on unsatisfactory outcomes (Bridge, 2016). Regardless of the representation was developed without having an understanding of whether it has been real, it will produce a deceptive misrepresentation claim whenever it was developed carelessly. In our case, the party generating the representation is functioning recklessly entirely to stimulate another party within the contract. While using our given Amjad watch example, suppose the watch company blatantly promises that in case it will provide all kinds of services regarding repair or any other fault resolution even though it is a fake claim according to our example. If other manufacturers are performing included with this specific watch repairing matter, the careless misrepresentation will have a substantial effect on the agreement. Some other sorts of negligent misrepresentation, where one party may fail to provide enough accuracy assurance of representation, as well as innocent representation, which further considers neither fraud nor negligent (Al Shamsi, 2015). b) Explanation of the rights of Amjad as a consumer The Commercial Protection Law yields as a consumer who needs directly to discover ideal information about a device (that also includes facts towards pricing, manufacturing, expiry date, the manufacturing country, the functions, and attributes. The leading aspects of the goods, the level of performance, directions to use as well as after-sales service, guaranteed safety and health, selffreedom, choice freedom, receipt of the product and the exchange or return of the defective product). Amjad's rights are considered for being responsibilities incumbent on the supplier. The Commercial Law protects Amjad to the level when the purchase situations tend to be illegal (or unfair) or undertake to treat the supplier of the civil responsibility to his/her customers, such as Amjad. Such situations might be proclaimed null and void, even when such situations are available in contracts' standard form, announcements, or documents. Furthermore, Amjad's rights are based on the Commercial Law, (under Royal Decree Number 26/1977 promulgating regulations of Commercial Agencies, as revised (the "Agency Law"). Such Law also demands Omani sales representatives to provide consumers (such as Amjad) with the assurances which are usually offered by the actual producers or the vendors of the product. As per our example, the quartz watch instead of an automatic watch, which Amjad needed), the repair and maintenance of the watch, etc.. Those are delivered or sold by the mentioned in example case shopkeeper (representative of sales, etc. ) with all required supply products (mola.gov.om, 2020). Finally, the Law promulgated in 2017 delivers the PACP, which has a significant discretion margin as well as allows the constant investigative authority and determines that Amjad's rights must be protected. As mentioned in chapter four of the CPL of 2014, the competences with the PACP are aiming to provide the power to, whatsoever times if considered necessary, to explore the commercial activities. Moreover, the PACP is within according to Article forty-six (of the LAW) sanctioned to enforce administrative charges for activities against the Law, as in our case of the misrepresented watch (mola.gov.om, 2020). c) Explanation on the legal measures Amjad could take against watch shop Therefore, as a consequence of countless legal rulings that Royal Courts of Oman have currently released for violators that varied from cheat, rate manipulating, involved in objectionable items and not giving after-sales services to , the PACP has risen understanding in the Sultanate through alerting the businesses, dealers (as our case watch shop) as well as manufacturers to avoid from scam, price manipulation and refusal of after-sales services to clients. This Law also forced that organization must avoid to sell any item which might come with damaging negative impact on clients and also forced to avoid selling misrepresented goods. As per our case, Amjad purchased a watch, and supplier refused to repair it, Amjad simply can report the matter under the PACP to any court of Law. Accordingly, PACP also launched a media campaign that alerted the consumer (like Amjad) to beware of any fake transactions and do not buy any fake product or any misrepresented product from a supplier in the Sultanate. The major aim of such campaigns is to educate consumers to explore their commercial rights, which assures by the Government of Oman in any violation, such as misrepresentation case of watch selling with Amjad. While to prevail the law support in such watch case of fraudulent misrepresentation, Amjad must be in a position to provide below mentioned elements' proof: 1) Amjad has to prove that he purchases a watch from the supplier and that was a misrepresentation (as per the Law, any representation is a task which might be turned into a factual statement) 2) Amjad also needs to prove that the representation was bogus. 3) Amjad need to prove that the representation (purchasing of the watch) was either based on his knowledge or to be fake or watch provider made it recklessly without any information given to Amjad 4) Another point that needs to prove is that the representation came to be intentional. 5) Amjad depends upon the representation. 6) Amjad suffered damages due to the relying on such a watch, as he was sure that watch is automatic while that watch was quartz (mola.gov.om, 2020). The PACP (Public Authority of Consumer Protection), which promulgating after a long time awaiting such LAW as Consumer Protection Law. According to the Commercial Protection Law, Article 17 reveals that Amjad may place a report to the Royal Courts for any small or big agreement, process, or cognition that might violate the conditions of the Law. The Royal Courts are then liable for obtaining complaints regarding anti-competition as well as misrepresentation practices and refusal of any after-sales services, which is not provided by the supplier or seller in the Sultanate. Amjad can take relief from Courts, and Royal Courts can penalize the organization under Commercial Laws in such cases (oman.om, 2020). Still in present days, undoubtedly, a minimal source of information is available on such small matters in the Sultanate and for actual proceedings of the courts. A piece of critical evidence regarding the Commercial Laws' working and its interpretation or implementation in the Sultanate can further be found in mistrust judgment as well as other same decisions. The Consumer Protection Law or (the PACP) can provide (and Amjad needs to decide on it), in case of Commercial Protection Law's violation to avail the repair facility from the court. Courts' final decision must be published in the daily newspapers, specifically in the Arabic Language. The violator is liabled to pay all kinds of expenses to the plaintiff (Amjad) according to the Commercial Protection Law. Conclusion Remedies for Amjad Just to be discovered accountable for fraudulent misrepresentation, Amjad must experience quantifiable damage due to the fraudulent activity or statement. It is essential, as the Royal Courts will articulate their remedies in line with the plaintiff's harm or (as Amjad's damage of watch and that is irreparable) loss. Therefore, in the majority of cases of fraudulent misrepresentation, the remedy is going to be in the form of financial damages. The amount will be determined based on damage's amount or (plaintiff) Amjad’s loss. It is essential to understand that different parties might be presented accountable and forced to pay costs to the plaintiff (Amjad). For instance, the watch salesman may be instructed by his manager to carry out a fraudulent declaration. His manager or employer will also be held according to the secondary liability legal rules. Similarly, if many persons are involved in making a misrepresentation to the plaintiff (Amjad), or maybe they assisted in making the misrepresentation happened. In that case, they all may be mentioned in the court's ruling if a claim will be applied by the plaintiff (Amjad) to accused (watch-company) and accordingly prosecuted for remedies and losses. Amjad can knock the court's door, and as per his misrepresentation case (discussed above), he can avail of all such treatments (against the fraudulent misrepresentation) from the court of Law in the Sultanate. Therefore, Amjad can be avail remedies as per his actual losses, stemming from the false misrepresentation may be professed. It needs to behold in view, however, that the courts of Oman have a significant level of legal discretion, with Amjad case regulation to reference, therefore it is impossible to keep out the chance that the watch provider company may find misrepresentation lacking intention. However, the diction associating with misrepresentation in traditional whole contract clauses need always to be written considering the smaller concept of the expression under Omani Law. Any endeavor to reduce or omit negligent liability or innocent misrepresentation (either planned or unplanned) may be at best redundant and, in the worst-case confusing, as well as any aim to expel responsibility for a scam could be nullified according to the Article 182 of the Civil Code. References Al Shamsi, A., 2015. Torts: Negligent Misrepresentation: Duty Arising from Contract to Persons Not Parties. Law Review, 29(5), p.648. Al-Froui, Q., 2017. Fraud. Misrepresentation by Silence. Law Journal, 27(5), p.701. Al-Rimawi, L., 2013. Omani Business Markets: A Comparative Study of Commercial Contract. Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law Online, 5(1), pp.88-128. Bridge, M., 2016. Innocent Misrepresentation in Contract. Current Legal Problems, 57(1), pp.277-304. Heiss, H., 2016. The Principles of Commercial Contract Law. Journal of Commercial Contract Law, 8(2), pp.28-35. Ministry of Legal Affairs - Sultanate of Oman. 2020. Mola.Gov.Om. 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