Fair Go
Social Sciences, Level 4

The Learning Context:

In this unit students will use social inquiry to investigate the rights and responsibilities of consumers and businesses in New Zealand.
At the start of the unit students will experience an unfair consumer situation in the classroom as they are challenged to work in groups to make bubbles.  One group will be ‘sold’ an ineffective bottle of detergent which does not produce bubbles and they will not be able to return this to the class shop.   This activity provides a great starting point for a discussion about the rights of the consumer and unfair transactions.  
In the next part of the unit students will share their own consumer stories and identify a time when they purchased a faulty good, e.g.: stale chippies, toy with missing part, jeans with broken zip, etc.  Students will conduct an investigation in the school to find out what common problems children experience as consumers.  
Students will then research the rights and responsibilities of consumers and producers by looking at consumer laws.  They will identify the steps that people should take when they receive a defective good from a trader.
In the final part of the unit students will share their new knowledge about consumer rights with the rest of the school by producing a movie, digital slide-show or live presentation.  Students will need to show their audience a range of consumer scenarios and offer legal advice on each situation.    
NB:  Several resource sheets for this unit have been adapted from the ACE Consumer Resource found on the Ministry of Consumer Affairs website.  This ACE Consumer Resource offers further lesson ideas to extend the learning in this area of enquiry.  

Approximately 18 lessons  

Achievement Objectives:

SOCIAL SCIENCES CURRICULUM
Social Studies
LEVEL 4:
Through social inquiry and in a range of settings, students understand that:
•	Understand how formal and informal groups make decisions that impact on communities.
•	Understand how producers and consumers exercise their rights and meet their responsibilities. 
	
Enterprising Attributes:

•	Matching personal goals and capabilities to an undertaking
•	Working with others and in teams
•	Planning and organising
•	Collecting, organising and analysing information
•	Communicating and receiving ideas and information

Teachers to observe and collect evidence of these enterprising attributes in action.	

Social Sciences - Learning Outcomes:   

Students will 
1.	Identify and describe some typical consumer problems.
2.	Access, make sense of, and use information derived from consumer laws and regulations.
3.	Describe the rights and responsibilities of consumers and businesses.
4.	Explain how to make a complaint to a trader about faulty goods.
	
Resource Requirements: 
 
•	Consumer Organisations, eg:  
Consumer’s Institute, www.consumer.org.nz, 
Consumer Affairs, www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz, 
•	Video camera 
•	Digital camera
•	Role cards
•	Resource sheets, #1, #2, #3, #4, #5
•	Decision Making Grid	

Teaching and Learning Sequence

NB:  Teachers are encouraged to gauge the prior knowledge of their students before implementing each unit so that they can provide personalised and meaningful learning opportunities.  The teaching and learning sequence provided in each unit is to be viewed as a guide only.  Teachers will need to adapt this sequence to meet the needs of their students, school and community. 
The Future Focus issues of Enterprise, Citizenship and Sustainability can be explored during this unit. This Goods and services are created and sold to people to meet their needs and wants, and rules and laws have been created to guide people and businesses to enter into fair transactions.  Citizens’ values shape those laws, and Government enacts them. A sustainable society requires innovation and enterprise, entrepreneurship and good rules and laws!
The numbered activities listed below are learning steps rather than lessons.  Teachers may choose to combine two or three learning steps into one lesson.  Alternatively, they may spread one learning step out over several lessons.  This will be largely dependent on students’ prior knowledge and their subsequent learning needs.

Scene setting:
The teacher tells students that they are going to have a ‘biggest bubble competition.’  The students get into groups of 3 or 4 members and each group is given $10.00 (this could be monopoly money, maths currency or tokens) to purchase the necessary resources for bubble making from a ‘class shop’.  The teacher shows students the resources on sale which include small bottles of detergent, wire of various sizes, bowls, etc.  The items are priced so that students will need to spend all of their money to get their requirements.  The teacher makes sure that one bottle of detergent that is on sale is ineffective (ie: watered down).  Students make their purchases and work in groups to try and create the largest bubble.  The teacher then puts up a sign in the shopping area that says ‘no exchanges or refunds.’   Integrity  Equity

The group with the ineffective detergent will soon realise that their goods are faulty.  They will see the other groups experiencing success with their bubbles and will become quite frustrated.  

The teacher calls a class meeting to discuss the situation.  The other students may suggest that the group exchanges their bottle of detergent at the class shop.  The teacher can then point out their policy of no exchanges or refunds.  It is likely that students will make statements about the unfairness of the situation and question whether the teacher is allowed to sell faulty goods.  

The teacher then explains the unit and learning outcomes to the students.  
	
LINKS TO BES
Best Evidence Synthesis

5.  Quality teachers link learning to real life experiences.

	

Getting Started:

1.	The teacher and students begin to create a vocabulary chart for display in the classroom.  The teacher introduces the terms ‘consumer’ and ‘retailer’ by referring to the bubble making experience.  These terms are added to the vocabulary chart with the definitions listed beneath.  Other words can be added to the vocabulary chart as the unit progresses.  Communicating and receiving ideas and information

2.	The teacher asks the students whether they have ever experienced ‘consumer problems’ in real life.  Students discuss this issue in small groups and then share back to the class.  The experiences are recorded on a large sheet of paper.  Learning Outcome 1  Communicating and receiving ideas and information

3.	The teacher and students look at the list of consumer problems and try to classify them into different categories.  Categories may include:  defective food items; toys that don’t work; electronic devices that break; faulty clothing, etc.  The students analyse the frequency of each type of consumer problem to determine whether one type is more common.  (LO 1)  Collecting, organising and analysing information

4.	The teacher asks students whether they think other students in the school have experienced similar consumer problems and suggests that they conduct an investigation to find out.  Students work in groups to come up with a list of questions that they could ask other students in the school to gather the required information.  Questions could include:  Have you ever bought food or drink that was stale, broken, mouldy, etc?  Have you ever bought a toy that didn’t work when you got it home?  Has your backpack or lunchbox ever broken when it was really new?  Have you ever returned something that you weren’t satisfied with?  What did the shopkeeper do? Have you not gone back, and why?  Etc.  (LO 1)   Collecting, organising and analysing information

5.	Students conduct their investigations around the school.  They may decide to just ask a random selection of students from different levels of the school to keep their investigations manageable.  (LO 1)   Collecting, organising and analysing information

6.	Students analyse the information that they have gathered from their investigation and work out what types of consumer problems are most common.  (LO 1)   Collecting, organising and analysing information

7.	The teacher explains to students that when a consumer has made a purchase they may have some rights under consumer law if the purchase goes wrong.  The teacher explains that the New Zealand government has introduced legislation to regulate the consumer market and that there are 2 key areas of consumer law:  Consumer Guarantee Act (CGA) and Fair Trading Act (FTA). 

The teacher and students explore the contents of the Consumer Guarantees Act and the Fair Trading Act by working through Resource Sheet 1 - ‘Rights and Responsibilities of Consumers and Businesses’*.  Further vocabulary, eg:  goods, proof of purchase, manufacturer, faulty, redress, acceptable quality, guarantee, etc, could be added to the vocabulary chart at this stage of the unit to assist students’ understanding.  Students are made aware of the various organisations that exist to provide the consumer with advice, eg: Citizen’s Advice Bureau, www.cab.org,nz, Standards New Zealand, www.standards.co.nz, Consumer’s Institute, www.consumer.org.nz, and the Commerce Commission,  www.comcom.govt.nz.  Learning Outcomes 2 and 3   Collecting, organising and analysing information

8.	Students work in groups and revisit some of the consumer problems that they or other children in the school have faced.  They use their knowledge of consumer law to discuss whether the consumer has the right of redress in each case. Resource Sheets 2 and 3* can be used in this process and students may need to access the websites listed in step 7 to gain further consumer advice.  LOs 2 and 3  Working with others and in teams, Collecting, organising and analysing information, Communicating and receiving ideas and information

9.	The students explore the protocol to follow when making a complaint about a faulty good by reading Resource sheets 4 and 5*.  Students then work in groups to role-play the return of goods based on a given scenario.  The students will need to include a consumer and retailer in the role-play.  Role-plays are shared with the class and the action taken in each role-play is evaluated and discussed.  Learning Outcome 4   Working with others and in teams, Collecting, organising and analysing information, Communicating and receiving ideas and information

10.	The teacher explains to students that they are going to share their new knowledge about consumer rights with the rest of the school.  The teacher and students discuss how they could do this, eg: make a movie, produce a slide show, plan and organise a live presentation for assembly, etc.  A Decision Making Grid can be used to decide on the mode of delivery.  Suggested criteria for the Decision Making Grid could include: the time it would take to plan and produce, access to resources, skill base required, suitability for audience, etc.  A decision is made.

11.	Students brainstorm the range of jobs they think will need to be done to plan and stage their presentation.  Jobs could include:  script writing, designing story boards, filming, taking photographs, acting, editing, etc.  Students accept a job that suits their strengths and skill base.  Planning and organising, Matching personal goals and capabilities to an undertaking

12.	Students rehearse and/or prepare their presentation making sure that they are:
•	 educating their audience about consumer law 
•	showing their audience what to do to solve a range of consumer problems.  Learning Outcomes 3 and 4   Planning and organising, Matching personal goals and capabilities to an undertaking, Working with others and in teams  Excellence

13.	Students present their learning to the rest of the school.  

Links to Citizenship
•	Why do we have consumer laws and regulations in New Zealand?
•	What are our rights as consumers?
•	What are our responsibilities as consumers?
•	What steps would you take if you purchased a faulty good?
•	What agencies and organisations can you contact if you have a problem with a purchased good?
•	Do you think the existing consumer laws are fair? 

Links to Values 
•	Why do some people not bother to exercise their rights as consumers and return faulty goods?
•	If every person chose not to return goods, what would become the attitude of producers/sellers and the longer term consequences for consumers?

Reflective Questions:

Exploring what it is to be innovative and enterprising
•	What step/s were you doing when you used each of the Enterprising Attributes?  Break each attribute into its separate words and refine your answers.
•	How could you improve on using the Enterprising Attribute/s for next time? 
•	Can you transfer this learning to your other topics?
	LINKS TO BES
Best Evidence Synthesis

8.  Quality teachers ensure tasks and classroom interactions provide support and guidance to facilitate student learning.

3.  Quality teachers recognise and build on students’ prior knowledge.

8.  Quality teachers develop all students’ information skills; ensuring students have ready access to resources to support the learning.

2.  Quality teachers encourage learners to work as a community.

5.  Quality teachers allow students sufficient opportunity for practice and application.

2.  Quality teachers encourage and support student motivation.

	

Possible Assessment Activities (Teacher):  

Learning Outcomes 2, 3 and 4:  Students complete the Consumer Quiz which is located on the Consumer’s Institute website (www.consumer.org.nz) to demonstrate their knowledge about consumer law and rights, OR the students are given a range of consumer scenarios and have to explain what the consumer’s rights are in each case.   	

Resource Sheet 1 

‘Rights and Responsibilities of Consumers and Businesses’

Discuss each right or guarantee with the students using the information provided here:

CONSUMER RIGHTS		Example you could discuss with students:	
1)  Consumers have the right to expect that 
goods that they purchase from a trader are of an acceptable quality.

Acceptable quality includes goods being fit for normal purpose (use), safe, durable (able to last), and free of minor defects (problems).

CONSUMER GUARANTEES ACT	Acceptable quality:
If the 2nd time you wear a new jacket the zip breaks, or the stitching comes undone, then it is not of acceptable quality.

Goods of acceptable quality must be:
1) fit for their normal purposes (uses) eg: the zip must zip
2) acceptable in finish and appearance
3) free from minor defects (problems)
4) safe to use
5) durable, eg: must function for a reasonable time after you bought it.

Standards of acceptable quality can vary for different products and the consumer needs to consider the nature of the goods, how they are used and the price paid for them to determine whether a fault is acceptable or not.	
2) Consumers have the right to expect that
goods they purchase from a trader are fit for a particular purpose (use) that the consumer has discussed this with the seller.

CONSUMER GUARANTEES ACT	Goods must be fit for a use the consumer has specified (stated or described).

You are going to do lots of outdoor activities during winter and want a waterproof jacket. You tell the shop assistant this and they help you select a jacket.  When you go out in the rain, water seeps through the jacket and your clothes get wet.  The jacket is not fit for its particular purpose.	
3)  Consumers have the right to redress (to have the problem ‘put right’) if the goods and services they bought do not meet their guarantees (eg, if the goods are faulty).

CONSUMER GUARANTEES ACT	The consumer who bought the jacket that was not waterproof after they asked for a waterproof jacket has a right to have the problem ‘put right’.	
4)  Consumers have the right to expect NOT to be misled or deceived (tricked or lied to) about the goods or services they are buying.

FAIR TRADING ACT	Under law, businesses must make sure they do not mislead or deceive (trick you or lie) in advertising a product or in information supplied with a product.

You could use buying a cellphone to explain this right.  You are attracted to a particular cellphone by the advertising.  The cellphone has to do what it says in the advertising.  Before you use the cellphone for the first time you have to do a number of things to make it operate.  The information supplied with the cellphone has to tell you what to do to make it work.	
5)  Consumers have the right to expect that goods they purchase will be safe to use.

FAIR TRADING ACT AND CONSUMER GUARANTEES ACT	You could use a new car for an example of a product that is safe to use.  The consumer has to know that the car’s brakes will work, that the engine won’t burst into flames, etc.	
6)  Consumers have a right of redress (to have the problem ‘put right’) if the goods they purchase are short weight or measure.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ACT
FAIR TRADING ACT
CONSUMER GUARANTEES ACT	If you buy a 3kg bag of potatoes you can expect to receive 3kg and not 2.5 kg.	

Resource Sheet 2 

‘What Does the Law Say?’ – Scenario Sheet

Scenario	Does the consumer have the right to redress? YES/NO	Why or Why not?  Where possible state the law that applies	
Example:

Joe buys a remote controlled car for his younger brother.  They are playing with it on the table when it crashes to the floor.  The car is damaged and no longer works.	

No	

If the car is broken by the people who bought it, the seller does not have to fix it or replace it.

Consumer Guarantees Act	

			

			

			

			

Resource Sheet 3 

‘What Does the Law Say?’ - Information Sheet

Would you pay $150 or $15 
for a T-shirt?

Businesses can choose the prices for the goods or services they are selling.  The consumer decides whether or not they will buy the goods or services at that price.

Consumer choice	What if I’ve changed my mind?

If you buy goods but decide you don’t like them once you get home, the shop does NOT have to take them back.  However, some shops will let you take them back and will give you a refund or a credit note.  They may do this for a range of reasons – eg, for an advantage over other businesses, to build customer loyalty or to encourage you to return to buy at that store.

Consumer responsibility	Are sale goods really cheaper?

If a shop says it is having a sale, the sale price of the goods must be less than the original price.

The shop can’t mislead consumers about the price the ‘reduced’ goods were before the sale – eg, sell the goods for $20.00 before the sale and then in the sale say the goods were ‘$25.00 reduced to $15.00’.  

Fair Trading Act	
Can I use it for this?

(Fit for a particular purpose) You need a watch that is waterproof.  You are told by the sales assistant that a watch will be suitable for diving but on the first dive water gets into the mechanism and it stops working.

If a sales assistant, product information or advertising material tells you goods are fit for a particular purpose you need them for, the goods must be fit for that purpose. 

Consumer Guarantees Act	Is it safe?

Goods that are sold must be safe (when the consumer uses them properly).  Sometimes businesses find that goods they sold are not safe and they ask customers to return the goods so the business can fix them or give the customer their money back.   

Consumer Guarantees Act (goods must be of an acceptable quality)
Fair Trading Act
(product safety standards are to prevent or reduce the risk of injury)	Is that weight correct?

If you buy goods by weight or liquid measure, you are entitled to get what you pay for.  You can check that they are correct by weighing or measuring them.  If they are not correct, the shop should sort the problem out.  

Consumer Guarantees Act
(good must match their description)
Fair Trading Act
(prohibits misleading and deceptive conduct)
Weights and Measures Act	
What if I damage the goods?

If you damage the goods, it is your responsibility.  The business has no responsibility to fix the problem.   

Consumer responsibility 	What if I don’t follow the instructions?

You are responsible if you damage the goods or they become unsafe as a result of your actions.  The business has no responsibility to fix the problem.   

Consumer responsibility	What if the goods don’t work or are faulty?

Goods that are sold by a trader must be of acceptable quality.  

Acceptable quality includes goods being fit for normal purpose (use), safe, durable (able to last), and free of minor defects.    

Consumer Guarantees Act

	

Resource Sheet 4

‘Fixing a Problem with Faulty Goods’ – Background Information

The shop assistant or manager will know that under the Consumer Guarantees Act they must put the problem right.  The shop assistant or manager should be polite and courteous, and not require the consumer to answer lots of questions that are not relevant to the situation.  They may ask about the use of the product to ensure that it has not been misused.  They may request proof (such as a shop receipt) that the item was purchased from the shop.

It is in the interest of the shop assistant or manager to treat the customer with courtesy so that they return, and the shop gains a good customer service reputation.  

Under human rights legislation the shop assistant and manager should treat all customers the same regardless of age, gender, race, etc.  However, you may know of examples where shop managers did not treat people well because of their age or ethnicity.

Consumers are often not confident when they take back faulty goods, so the shop should not make it difficult for the consumer to explain their problem.  Many shops recognise that they can have an advantage over their competitors if they develop a reputation for dealing with problems easily and effectively, and may use this in advertising and promotion about themselves.

Stores do not have to give refunds if a person decides to change their mind about a purchase.  They do have to give the consumer a refund if there is a substantial fault with goods and the consumer wants their money back.  Stores that feature blanket “No Refund” sings might be breaking the law.  

Resource Sheet 5

‘Fixing a Problem with Faulty Goods’ – What You Can Do

Before you go to the shop … get organised…get the facts together

1.	Write down:
•	The problem
•	Any information you can remember about the purchase if you do not have the sales receipt (eg: date of purchase, the amount you paid for it, who served you, etc)

2.	 Find out your legal rights under the CONSUMER GUARANTEES ACT.  Remember if the fault is minor, the shop can decide whether to repair the goods, replace the goods or give you a refund.  If the fault is serious, you are entitled to choose the solution.

3.	Collect anything in writing that can help rove your case, eg:  sales receipt, advertisement, etc. 

4.	Plan what you are going to say:
•	Keep it simple.
•	Explain the facts.  “I bought this sports bag here last week but the strap has broken.”
•	Tell the trader what you want done about the problem.  “I would like the strap fixed please and I need to be sure that it won’t break again when I carry my sports gear.”

5.	Practice what you are going to say.  Consider whether you want to take a friend or adult for support.  If you do want support then arrange for them to come with you. 

•	Speak first to the sales assistant.  Many shops have a policy of quickly sorting out complaints and the sales assistant may be able to resolve it for you.  However, the sales assistant may need to call the manager.  If you do not have a successful conversation with the sales assistant, you can ask to speak to the manager.
•	Stay calm and polite.
•	Explain the problem and tell the retailer what you would like done about the problem.
•	Remember your legal rights.
•	Don’t enter into arguments about whose fault the problem is.
•	Don’t let the retailer say that the goods must go back to the manufacturer.  The retailer must fix the problem.
•	Keep repeating what is wrong with the goods and/or service and what you want done about it.
•	If you are not making progress, thank the manager and leave the store and plan what to do next.