London Trading Standards issue £370k fines to letting agents in three months – Local Government Lawyer

‘Trading Standards departments in London have issued fines amounting to around £370,000 to lettings agents in the last three months alone, it has emerged.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 27th September 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ryanair law breach leaves UK regulator CAA ‘furious’ – BBC News

Posted September 28th, 2017 in airlines, consumer protection, enforcement, news by sally

‘Ryanair has been threatened with legal action for “persistently misleading” passengers about their rights following thousands of flight cancellations.’

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BBC News, 28th September 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK pensions scheme calls on FCA to limit pensions freedoms – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 21st, 2017 in consumer protection, financial regulation, news, pensions by sally

‘The UK’s state-backed pensions scheme, the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST), has asked for limits to be put on pensions freedoms to protect its members from losing retirement savings.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 20th September 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

FCA moves to clarify scope of regulation of account information services under PSD2 – OUT-LAW.com

‘Service providers that help other businesses to pool information from different payment accounts on behalf of customers will not be subject to regulation under new UK payment services laws if they do not deliver the aggregated data to the customer themselves, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 19th September 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Change in disciplinary standard of proof “will incentivise barristers to deliver good services”, says consumer panel – Legal Futures

Posted September 12th, 2017 in barristers, consumer protection, disciplinary procedures, news, standard of proof by tracey

‘The Legal Services Consumer Panel has given strong backing to the Bar Standards Board’s (BSB) proposal to reduce the standard of proof in disciplinary proceedings from the criminal to the civil standard.’

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Legal Futures, 12th September 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Ofgem to tear up the rule book on energy customer contact – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 7th, 2017 in consumer protection, energy, news, regulations by tracey

‘The energy industry’s regulator is planning to tear up the rule book governing how suppliers must communicate with their customers in a radical shift away from the prescriptive dictats of the past.’

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Daily Telegraph, 6th September 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Will UK consumer law destroy the care home market? – The Guardian

Posted August 23rd, 2017 in care homes, care workers, competition, consumer protection, news by sally

‘Adult social care is on the financial ropes. Last year it was the introduction of the “national living wage”, this year it’s the requirement to backdate pay for sleep-in shifts. In both cases, the government is being urged to step in to prop up care providers.’

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The Guardian, 22nd August 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Christopher Boxall discusses and explains ‘Excursions’ – Park Square Barristers

Posted August 22nd, 2017 in airlines, appeals, consumer protection, costs, EC law, news, regulations by sally

‘The case concerned a claim by over 600 Turkish passengers against two airlines for failing to honour flights that they had booked to Cyprus. Legal advice was obtained and a meeting with solicitors was arranged by a committee at a local community centre, where CFAs were signed.’

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Park Square Barristers, 7th August 2017

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Tougher laws to protect 10 million Britons who book holidays online – The Guardian

Posted August 15th, 2017 in consultations, consumer protection, holidays, internet, news by sally

‘Travellers booking package holidays online are to receive greater protection if a holiday company goes bust, under government proposals to strengthen rules.’

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The Guardian, 14th August 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

TalkTalk fined £100,000 for putting customers at risk from scammers – Daily Telegraph

Posted August 11th, 2017 in consumer protection, data protection, fines, fraud, news by tracey

‘The UK’s data watchdog has hit TalkTalk with its second major fine in a year for failing to protect customers’ information from scammers.’

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Daily Telegraph, 10th August 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Court of Appeal rejects bid to invalidate CFAs signed at “chaotic” meeting of class action members – Litigation Futures

Posted July 25th, 2017 in appeals, class actions, consumer protection, contracts, fees, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has dismissed a technical challenge to conditional fee agreements (CFAs) signed by members of a class action during a meeting organised for that purpose.’

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Litigation Futures, 25th July 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

New guidance for the public and for professionals on immigration and asylum related legal issues – Bar Standards Board

Posted June 30th, 2017 in asylum, barristers, consumer protection, immigration, news, press releases by tracey

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today published two new guidance documents on immigration and asylum issues.’

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Bar Standards Board, 30th June 2017

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Watchdog clamps down on online gambling – BBC News

Posted June 26th, 2017 in competition, consumer protection, gambling, internet, news by sally

‘The competition regulator is to take action against some online gambling companies which it suspects of breaking consumer law.’

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BBC News, 23rd June 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Watchdog targets online gambling firms that ‘load the dice’ against players – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 23rd, 2017 in consumer protection, gambling, internet, news by tracey

‘Online gambling companies will have to change their “unfair” sign-up deals or face a legal challenge after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it was launching enforcement action against operators that it believes to be breaking consumer law.’

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Daily Telegraph, 23rd June 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

First opt-out class action withdrawn as potential costs outweigh damages – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 7th, 2017 in class actions, competition, consumer protection, costs, damages, news, tribunals by sally

‘The UK’s first ‘opt-out’ class action claim has been withdrawn on the basis that its costs would outweigh the potential damages available.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 5th June 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

‘Dramatic drop’ in reported pension scam cases, but losses increase – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 24th, 2017 in consumer protection, fraud, London, news, pensions, police, statistics by sally

‘The number of suspected cases of pension fraud reported to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has dramatically decreased over the past two years, even as the value of individual cases has soared, according to figures from the City of London Police.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 23rd May 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

FCA to review investment platform market – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 20th, 2017 in banking, competition, consumer protection, financial regulation, news, reports by sally

‘The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will carry out an investment platforms market study in the coming year, it has announced.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 20th April 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Let lawyers control supply of electronic legal documents, report says – Legal Futures

Posted April 12th, 2017 in consumer protection, documents, internet, legal services, news by sally

‘Lawyers should control the supply of “so-called standard electronic documents”, such as confidentiality deeds or contracts, a report has suggested.’

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Legal Futures, 11th April 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Collective Proceedings in the CAT: mobility scooters roll on for now – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

‘Last Friday the CAT handed down a judgment on the first ever-application for a collective proceedings order under the new regime introduced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The judgment will generally be welcomed by potential claimants, but it has a sting in the tail which may cause serious difficulties for class actions in other vertical infringement cases.’

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 6th April 2017

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

CAT gives judgment on the first ‘opt out’ competition damages collective proceedings – Blackstone Chambers

Posted April 6th, 2017 in appeals, competition, consumer protection, damages, news by sally

‘The Competition Appeal Tribunal (‘CAT’) gave judgment on 31 March 2017 on the first ever application for a Collective Proceedings Order under the new competition damages collective action procedures introduced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015.’

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Blackstone Chambers, 6th April 2017

Source: www.blackstonechambers.com