Consumer laws tightened up
26 May 08
New legislation makes it tougher for businesses to act unfairly
New legislation protecting consumers by outlawing unfair trading comes into force today.
Hailed as the most significant change to consumer protection law in decades, the Consumer Protection Regulations 2008 bring the terms of the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive into UK law. They ban 31 types of unfair commercial practices outright, and also establish a general principle not to trade unfairly, use aggressive selling techniques or mislead consumers.
Banned practices include falsely claiming to have signed a code of conduct, falsely displaying a trust mark or quality mark, falsely stating that a product will only be available (or available or particular terms) for a limited time, "scare tactics" by misrepresenting the risk to the consumer or their family without a product, putting obstacles in the way of insurance claims, advertising exhorting children to get their parents to buy a product, and misleading after-sales information.
Vulnerable victims
Scottish Consumer Council’s legal officer, Sarah O’Neill, said: “Too often traders have been selling goods and services to customers knowing full well that what they’re doing is dishonest. It can be ‘special offers’ which are not actually in stock, selling goods that are already obsolete or competitions that nobody has a chance of winning.
“One current example of such unfair practices might be if a retailer in the Borders was offering analogue TVs to buyers just months ahead of the digital switchover.
“What has made it so distasteful has been the fact that victims of misleading and unfair practices are often those most vulnerable in society. This legislation signals a huge step towards putting the perpetrators of scams and mis-selling out of business."
Limited action
Ms O’Neill added that SCC’s only disappointment is that the UK Government chose not to extend the right of legal action under the regulations to consumers themselves.
She said: “While the Office of Fair Trading and trading standards officers will be able to take action against traders who breach the regulations, UK consumers, unlike those in Ireland, won’t be to claim compensation themselves when businesses act unfairly. We remain hopeful that this will be remedied soon.”
A survey by the UK Department for Business (BERR) found that in Scotland 96% of consumers surveyed supported measures to clean up misleading and unfair practices, and that eight out of 10 people have had to deal with a pushy salesperson who wouldn't take no for an answer.