The legal and practical framework of being a consumer. Consumer Rights Act 2015 — what you’re entitled to when goods are faulty, services are sub-standard, digital content fails. How to complain effectively. Refund rights, returns, distance-selling regulations. Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act (the credit-card protection on purchases £100–£30,000). What to do when a company won’t engage — the Financial Ombudsman, the small-claims court, ADR schemes.
Scams and financial fraud — recognising the patterns. Phishing emails. Investment scams. Romance scams. Identity theft. AI-generated voice scams (the new 2026 frontier). What to do if you’ve been scammed (Action Fraud, your bank’s fraud line, immediate steps to limit harm). The shame that often comes with being scammed, and the importance of help-seeking despite that shame.
Tested by
Cross-curriculum
- RSHE — Online Safety (online scams, sextortion, romance scams overlap)
- Relating Intelligently — Module 4 (AI’s symbolic mimicry — relevant for AI voice scams)
- Relating Intelligently — Module 5 (the power-and-consent frame applies to consumer relationships)
- Citizenship — Rights, responsibilities, and equality (statutory rights are also consumer rights)
- Functional English — Reading (reading the small print is functional reading)
Suggested evidence types
- Annotated terms-and-conditions of a real product
- Drafted complaint letter to a company or service
- Scam-recognition exercise — a portfolio of real (anonymised) phishing emails or scam scenarios with the learner’s analysis
- Reflection on a moment when the learner has resisted a sales pressure tactic — what worked