Supreme court grants permission for appeal against UK car finance ruling – The Guardian

‘The supreme court has granted permission for two car lenders to appeal against a landmark ruling on motor finance commission payments that has left firms fearing a potential £30bn compensation bill.’

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The Guardian, 11th December 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Pioneering collective action settles subject to tribunal approval – Legal Futures

Posted December 4th, 2024 in appeals, banking, class actions, compensation, consumer protection, news by tracey

‘The groundbreaking collective action brought against Mastercard has settled, subject to approval by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), it was announced yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 4th November 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Retired judge to front collective action against Google – Legal Futures

‘A retired deputy High Court judge is set to front a collective action worth billions of pounds alleging that Google has abused its dominant position in online search advertising.’

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Legal Futures, 25th November 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

FCA urges Supreme Court to act quickly over car finance mis-selling – Legal Futures

Posted November 15th, 2024 in appeals, consumer credit, consumer protection, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is to ask the Supreme Court to make a quick decision on whether it will hear the appeal against the recent decision on car finance mis-selling.’

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Legal Futures, 14th November 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Firm penalised £20,000 by SRA for 2022 compliance failings – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A small firm which failed to have in place a compliance officer for three years and missed transparency requirements two years ago has been fined more than £20,000.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 7th November 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Lloyds suspends commission payments after ‘seismic’ ruling on UK car finance – The Guardian

Posted October 31st, 2024 in appeals, banking, consumer protection, loans, news by michael

‘Lloyds Banking Group has scrapped commission payments across its £15bn motor finance arm after a landmark ruling on car loan misselling, as industry and Treasury officials hold urgent talks amid fears of contagion across the wider financial sector.’

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The Guardian, 30th October 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Axiom Ince: SRA faces enforcement action by LSB following damning report – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The solicitors’ regulator is to face unprecedented enforcement action under the Legal Services Act following the discovery of a catalogue of failures in its handling of the 2023 collapse of law firm Axiom Ince.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 29th October 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Axiom Ince: What the independent review recommends – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Carson McDowell review into the regulatory events leading up to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s intervention into Axiom Ince culminates with four pages of recommendations.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 29th October 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

UK advertising watchdog cracks down on misleading broadband price ads – The Guardian

‘The UK advertising watchdog has cracked down on marketing campaigns by telecoms companies including BT, EE, Virgin Media and O2 for misleading consumers about price rises added to their bills during their contracts.’

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The Guardian, 9th October 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

CA rejects public access barristers’ bid for outstanding fees – Legal Futures

Posted October 7th, 2024 in appeals, barristers, consumer protection, fees, news by michael

‘The Court of Appeal has rejected a bid by two public access barristers to be paid nearly £125,000 in fees after the lower courts found a key term in their retainers unfair.’

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Legal Futures, 4th October 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Nearly 500 law firms sanctioned for transparency failures – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has sanctioned 470 law firms in the past 18 months over failures to comply with its transparency rules.’

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Legal Futures, 1st October 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Dark patterns – Mills & Reeve

‘The ASA has banned Nike and Sky adverts, on the basis they use so called “dark patterns”. Dark patterns are a range of techniques which cross the line from legitimate advertising techniques to ones which unlawfully nudge consumers into making choices not in their best interests. These decisions come as the ASA joins the CMA in undertaking wider proactive investigations into online choice architecture that amount to unlawful dark patterns.’

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Mills & Reeve, 27th September 2024

Source: www.mills-reeve.com

Fashion brands face further greenwashing scrutiny – Kingsley Napley Criminal Law Blog

Posted September 26th, 2024 in advertising, competition, consumer protection, environmental protection, news by sally

‘Greenwashing continues to be a significant focus for the UK’s competition regulator as its scrutiny of the fashion sector continues.’

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Kingsley Napley Criminal Law Blog, 25th September 2024

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

DMCC Act overhauls UK consumer law enforcement and expands consumer rights – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 17th, 2024 in competition, consumer protection, enforcement, news, ombudsmen by tracey

‘Consumer protection laws, and particularly the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) enforcement powers, have been substantially strengthened by landmark new UK legislation which elevates directly enforceable consumer protection rules to the same status as competition law.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th September 2024

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Is cash king? The fundamental shift in retail banking, the FCA’s concerns and approach – Mountford Chambers

‘Fatima Jama explores the FCA’s new regulatory regime requiring banks and building societies designated by the Government to assess and fill gaps, or potential gaps, in cash access provision that significantly impact consumers and businesses.’ 

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Mountford Chambers, 5th August 2024

Source: www.mountfordchambers.com

Watchdog makes big cut to fraud compensation plans – BBC News

Posted September 5th, 2024 in banking, codes of practice, compensation, consumer protection, fraud, news by sally

‘The official payment watchdog has considerably scaled back proposed rules designed to force banks and payment companies to refund fraud victims.’

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BBC News, 4th September 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK insurance firms must ensure fair value of products following FCA review – OUT-LAW.com

‘Manufacturers and distributors of non-investment insurance products may need to re-consider the efficacy of their product value assessments and ensure they are fully aware of their responsibilities to consumers following the findings of a UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) thematic review.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 2nd September 2024

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

City watchdog raises concerns over £4bn life insurance market – The Guardian

‘The UK financial watchdog is to investigate whether insurance companies are ripping off “vulnerable” customers who take out policies designed to financially protect them and their families in case of serious illness or death.’

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The Guardian, 28th August 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Compensation for water customers in England and Wales to double – The Guardian

Posted August 12th, 2024 in compensation, consumer protection, news, water companies by tracey

‘Consumers in England and Wales will see the amount of compensation they receive for poor customer service from their water supplier at least double under new government measures to crack down on failing utilities companies.’

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The Guardian, 12th August 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Solicitors hit out at FCA over car finance mis-selling delay – Legal Futures

‘Solicitors representing clients with claims for mis-sold car finance have expressed frustration at the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) delay in completing its work on the issue.’

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Legal Futures, 1st August 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk