Section 246 — Meaning of “average consumer”: general
Extent: E+W+S+N.I.
This version in force from 2025-04-06
Snapshot: 2026-08-24
Reproduced from legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). Amendments made after 2026-08-24 may not be reflected — always check the official text .
(1) This section provides for how references to the average consumer are to be read for the purposes of this Chapter.
(2) The average consumer is—
(a) reasonably well informed,
(b) reasonably observant, and
(c) reasonably circumspect.
(3) The average consumer is to be treated as not knowing information in relation to a commercial practice where such information has been concealed by the trader (even if the average consumer might know the information from another source).
(4) Where a commercial practice is directed at a particular group, the average consumer is an average member of that group (and the attributes of the average consumer in subsection (2) are to be read accordingly).
(5) This section is subject to section 247.