Gym chains forced to improve contract terms – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 10th, 2013 in consumer protection, contracts, news by tracey

“Three leading health and fitness operators have been forced to improve their contracts for customers after an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).”

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Daily Telegraph, 10th September 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Interest-only mortgage providers must treat struggling borrowers fairly, warns regulator – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 2nd, 2013 in codes of practice, consumer protection, interest, mortgages, news by sally

“Mortgage providers must be able to demonstrate that they have treated customers fairly in cases where those individuals are unable to repay the capital sum owed at the end of the term on an interest-only mortgage, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 30th August 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Fraudsters to get police tip-off before searches under new trading laws – The Independent

Posted August 28th, 2013 in bills, consumer protection, fraud, news, notification, trading standards by sally

“Criminals will profit from the ‘unintended consequences’ of new laws meant to protect consumers, the Trading Standards Institute (TSI) is warning.”

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The Independent, 27th August 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

OFT blasts carpet and furniture stores for misleading price cuts – Daily Telegraph

Posted August 23rd, 2013 in consumer protection, news, sale of goods by sally

“Britain’s six biggest carpet, bed and furniture chains are being investigated by the Office of Fair Trading for exaggerating price cuts.”

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Daily Telegraph, 23rd August 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Premium rate customer service phone lines to be banned – Daily Telegraph

Posted August 7th, 2013 in consumer protection, news, telecommunications by sally

“Premium rate customer service phone lines are to be banned in a Government crackdown, but banks, train operators and airlines have been let off the hook by ministers.”

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Daily Telegraph, 6th August 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Banks win mis-selling case at appeal court – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted August 5th, 2013 in appeals, banking, consumer protection, financial advice, interest, news by sally

“The Court of Appeal has dealt a blow to businesses bringing claims against banks for allegedly mis-selling interest rate swaps products by dismissing a claim against the Royal Bank of Scotland.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 5th August 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Will the recast Cosmetics Regulation provide greater protection for consumers in relation to cosmetics and personal care products? – Doughty Street Chambers

Posted July 31st, 2013 in advertising, consumer protection, EC law, health & safety, news by sally

“Eloise Power writes about EC Cosmetics Regulation (Regulation EC No 1223/2009) and Commission Regulation (Regulation EU No 655/2013) now in force.”

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Doughty Street Chambers, 24th July 2013

Source: www.doughtystreet.co.uk

OFT forces payday lenders out of market – The Guardian

“Almost a third of the payday lenders ordered to clean up their practices have opted to withdraw from the industry, the Office of Fair Trading has revealed, as the deadline for firms to respond passed.”

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The Guardian, 30th July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Civil way – New Law Journal

“Without prejudice, legislative obit, mum’s the word & child support facelift.”

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New Law Journal, 19th July 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Updates begin: Government proposes greater protection for consumers of digital content – Technology Law Update

Posted July 24th, 2013 in compensation, consumer protection, copyright, internet, news by tracey

“Online providers may be aware that currently, a consumer who buys a CD or DVD has greater protection than one who purchases exactly the same content by downloading it from the internet. The UK Government has recognised a need to update the law and published a Draft Consumer Rights Bill on 12 June 2013, which gives protection to consumers of digital content. ‘Digital Content’ is defined broadly in the Bill and will include, for example, video and music downloads, e-books, apps and online games.”

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Technology Law Update, 22nd July 2013

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

Green—Swan Pharmaceuticals CR, as v Státni zemědělská a potravinářská inspekce, ústředni inspektorát (Case C-299/12) – WLR Daily

Posted July 23rd, 2013 in advertising, consumer protection, EC law, food, law reports by tracey

Green—Swan Pharmaceuticals CR, as v Státni zemědělská a potravinářská inspekce, ústředni inspektorát: (Case C-299/12) ;  [2013] WLR (D)  292

“In order to be considered a prohibited ‘reduction in disease’ claim within the meaning of article 2(2)(6) of Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods (OJ 2006 L404, p 9) as amended, there was no requirement that the claim expressly state that the consumption of a category of food, a food or one of its constituents “significantly” reduced a risk factor in the development of a human disease. Moreover, pursuant to the transitional measures in article 28(2) of the Regulation, a commercial communication appearing on the packaging of a food could constitute a trade mark or brand name thereby attracting the protection afforded by the transitional provisions, provided that it was protected, as a mark or name, by the applicable legislation, that question being for the national court to determine. The benefit of article 28(2) applied only to foods bearing a trade mark or brand name which fell to be considered a nutrition or health claim within the meaning of the Regulation and which, in that form, existed before 1 January 2005.”

WLR Daily, 18th July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Insurer fined over £7m for mis-selling monthly add-on policies – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 18th, 2013 in consumer protection, financial regulation, fines, insurance, news by tracey

“High Street insurer Swinton has been fined over £7 million for its ‘aggressive’ mis-selling of monthly add-on insurance policies to telephone customers, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 18th July 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Swinton Insurance fined £7.4m for mis-selling – BBC News

Posted July 17th, 2013 in compensation, competition, consumer protection, fines, insurance, news by sally

“One of the UK’s largest insurance companies, Swinton, has been fined £7.38m for mis-selling policies.”

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BBC News, 16th July 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Pension liberation test case gets underway at High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 17th, 2013 in consumer protection, fraud, news, pensions, retirement by sally

“A test case to establish whether a number of pension schemes which allowed members access to their savings before the minimum retirement age were legal has begun at the High Court.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th July 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Belgian Electronic Sorting Technology NV v Peelaers and another – WLR Daily

Posted July 12th, 2013 in advertising, consumer protection, domain names, EC law, law reports by tracey

Belgian Electronic Sorting Technology NV v Peelaers and another: (Case C-657/11);   [2013] WLR (D)  275

“Article 2(1) of Council Directive 84/450/EEC of 10 September 1984 concerning misleading and comparative advertising, as amended, meant that the term ‘advertising’ covered the use of a domain name and that of metatags in a website’s metadata. By contrast, the registration of a domain name, as such, was not encompassed by that term.”

WLR Daily, 11th July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

New rules to protect customers from rogue claims firms – Ministry of Justice

“Customers taking on the services of claims management companies (CMCs) will be better protected as tough new rules come into effect.”

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Ministry of Justice, 8th July 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Can you spot the difference? New research published on the impact of lookalike products – Technology Law Update

“We are continually hearing about the inherent value of a brand. A well established brand helps customers identify the product they’re buying and can reassure them about the quality they can expect. It is therefore no surprise that other companies often try to piggyback off well established brands in order to sell their similar product.”

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Technology Law Update, 5th July 2013

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

Mobile phone insurance complaints firm fined by FCA – BBC News

“A firm which deals with complaints for Phones 4U has been fined £2.8m for wide-ranging failures in dealing with gripes about mobile insurance policies.”

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BBC News, 3rd July 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ofcom to investigate BT for over-charging Anytime customers – The Guardian

Posted July 1st, 2013 in consumer protection, news, ombudsmen, telecommunications by tracey

“BT has been accused of over-charging its customers – possibly by millions of pounds – after adding an extra 1p to the cost of calls to mobiles for some customers on its most popular package.”

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The Guardian, 28th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Banks obliged to cancel recurring payments – The Guardian

“Banks will be required to cancel continuous payments often used by gyms and payday lenders when asked to do so by customers, following an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).”

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The Guardian, 28th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk