Description of the issue 2031 Related actions andor expectations

46 © ISO 2007 - all rights reserved

6.7 Consumer issues

1999

6.7.1 Rationale 2000

Consumers are among an organizations important stakeholders. An organizations operations and output 2001 have a strong impact on those who use its goods or services, especially when they are individual 2002 consumers. Consumers are referees in the competitive marketplace, and their preferences and decisions 2003 have a strong influence on the success of most organizations. Despite this, when bargaining, buying 2004 products or receiving services, individual consumers are often in a weaker position than the organizations 2005 with whom they deal. Moreover, they do not have the same level of bargaining power, expertise and 2006 amount of information concerning a specific product or service as organizational purchasers. Society 2007 expects an organization to treat its consumers fairly, assume responsibility for their safety when using its 2008 goods and services and provide access to essential goods and services at an affordable price. Unfair 2009 practices or the provision of dangerous products and services are incompatible with society’s expectations 2010 for the social responsibility of organizations. 2011 Furthermore, consumers play a key role in promoting sustainable development through sustainable 2012 consumption. An organization should enable consumers to consume in an enlightened and sustainable 2013 way. Sustainable consumption is, however, only possible if consumers have information about the 2014 conditions under which goods and services are produced andor delivered and only if consumers can 2015 compare the goods and services, for example, with respect to their energy efficiency. That means that an 2016 organization should provide consumers with relevant information and engage in awareness-raising 2017 campaigns to stimulate the demand for sustainably produced goods and services. If these preconditions 2018 are fulfilled, consumers can substantially stimulate demand for sustainable production and service delivery. 2019 Although fair operating practices are discussed, the emphasis in this subclause is on the relationship 2020 between organizations and individual consumers and not on the relationship between organizations see 2021 Clause 6.6 for Fair operating practices between organizations. 2022

6.7.2 Principles and considerations

2023 Editing Committee note: If there are any principles and considerations relevant to this core issue, they 2024 should be described here andor reference should be made to Clause 5.The following have been cited as 2025 principles within the text of this clause: principles of fairness and transparency, causer pays principle, 2026 collection limitation principle, sparsity principle, purpose specification principle, use limitation principle, 2027 security safeguards principle, openness principle, individual participation principle, accountability principle, 2028 principle of affordable access to essential goods and services. 2029

6.7.3 Consumer issue 1: Fair operating, marketing and information practices 55, 56 2030

6.7.3.1 Description of the issue 2031

In their dealings with consumers, organizations should be guided by the principles of fairness, transparency 2032 and care, especially towards vulnerable groups. Consumers however, are confronted daily with 2033 representations, omissions or practices that are deceptive, misleading, fraudulent or unfair. Such practices 2034 include untruthful or coercive marketing, discriminatory and unfair pricing and supply, and inappropriate 2035 targeting of vulnerable consumer groups, such as children, people who are illiterate, people with special 2036 needs, the seriously ill and the elderly. The effects of such practices are that some consumers may be 2037 harmed, consumers may not make choices that reflect their best interests and competition may be 2038 infringed. These problems are especially pertinent in dealing with consumers who are unaware of their 2039 rights and responsibilities and with illiterate consumers, who may be wholly dependent on information 2040 provided by the organization through advertising and other marketing practices. 2041

6.7.3.2 Related actions andor expectations

2042 In dealing with its consumers, an organization should: 2043 © ISO 2007 - all rights reserved 47  Not make any representations 3 , or engage in any practices that are likely to be deceptive, misleading, 2044 fraudulent or unfair, including omissions of information; 2045  Comply with any representations it makes regarding policies and practices relating to its transactions 2046 with consumers; 2047  Substantiate any publicly expressed or implied claims or representations upon request by providing 2048 underlying facts and information for as long as the representations are maintained and for a 2049 reasonable time thereafter; 2050  Not use unfair contract terms, such as the exclusion of liability, the right to unilaterally change prices 2051 and conditions, transfer of risk of insolvency to consumers or unduly long length of contracts; 2052  Not discriminate against consumers based on their religion, gender, race or their place of residence; 2053  Disclose prices, terms and conditions openly so that the information is easily accessible; 2054  Provide full and comparable information on: 2055  materials and hazardous chemicals contained in or released by products; 2056  the price of the product and any accessories; 2057  after-sales service including locations and costs; 2058  the quality aspects of goods and services using standardized test procedures, for example 2059 colour-fastness, washing performance and durability; 2060  the health and safety aspects of goods and services, including conformity to applicable laws 2061 and regulations as well as to relevant standards and other specifications; and 2062  the environmental aspects of goods and services, for example resource efficiency and energy 2063 consumption during use andor the full life cycle of the good or service 40; 2064  Provide tools that enable consumers, when necessary, to trace through the distribution process back to 2065 the producers of goods and services; 2066  Clearly identify advertising and marketing in any communications; 2067  Be particularly careful to use fair operating, marketing and information practices targeted to vulnerable 2068 groups; and 2069  Ask an independent committee of experts including stakeholders, to assess the organization’s 2070 advertising for fairness. 2071 2072 Box 11 Examples of good information practice 2073  Information on goods and services is based on scientific methodologies that are sufficiently thorough, 2074 comprehensive and reproducible to support the claim; 2075  Details are provided about the procedure, methodology and any criteria used to support the claims 2076 upon request to all interested parties; 2077  Information makes clear whether or not third parties have been involved in the conformity assessment 2078 of the goods and services and identify such bodies; 2079  Information is displayed so that people with reduced vision do not encounter difficulties reading it; 2080 2081 3 The term representation entails different forms of communication, including statements, advertisements and any expressed claims. 48 © ISO 2007 - all rights reserved Box 11, continued 2082  The location for obtaining information is highly visible, easy to access and user friendly, for example 2083 by: 2084  Making documents as short as possible by leaving out extraneous material; 2085  Highlighting critical information; 2086  Organizing information in a logical way, for example moving from the simple to the more 2087 detailed; 2088  Making it easy to find specific information in the document; 2089  Using plain and direct language; and 2090  Using a range of communication tools, including simple graphical illustrations. 2091  Information based on national, regional or international standards and other specifications is provided 2092 on accessibility, for example usability of goods and services for elderly and disabled persons. 2093 2094 6.7.4 Consumer issue 2: Protecting consumers’ health and security 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 56, 77 2095

6.7.4.1 Description of the issue