Consumers warned over deregulation of legal services – The Guardian

Posted April 6th, 2011 in complaints, consumer protection, legal ombudsman, legal services, news by sally

“The legal ombudsman has warned that consumers will need to take even greater care checking the regulatory status of firms offering legal services when the legal world experiences its equivalent of the big bang this autumn.”

Full story

The Guardian, 6th April 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ofgem to tackle ‘complex and unfair energy bills’ – BBC News

Posted March 21st, 2011 in competition, consumer protection, energy, news by sally

“Regulator Ofgem has told energy firms they must offer simpler tariffs to help consumers compare prices.”

Full story

BBC News, 21st March 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Merger of Competition Commission and OFT meets with muted response – The Lawyer

Posted March 17th, 2011 in competition, consultations, consumer protection, mergers, news, quangos by sally

“Competition lawyers have offered a lukewarm response to Government proposals to streamline and improve the UK’s competition regime.”

Full story

The Lawyer, 16th March 2011

Source: www.thelawyer.com

New investigations regime will accompany new premium rate code, says regulator – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 11th, 2011 in consumer protection, news, telecommunications by sally

“The way premium phone rate companies are investigated for breaches of the industry code will be changed this spring, regulator PhonepayPlus (PPP) has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 10th March 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Rollover contracts with leaving penalties to be banned, says Ofcom – OUT-Law.com

Posted March 11th, 2011 in consumer protection, news, telecommunications, unfair contract terms by sally

“Telecoms firms will be banned from automatically signing customers up to renewed contracts with minimum contract periods, telecoms regulator has said. It said that 15% of home phone users are tied into such contracts.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 10th March 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Ofcom will assess UK’s networks from March until May to comply with DEA – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 10th, 2011 in consumer protection, internet, news, reports, telecommunications by sally

“Telecoms regulator Ofcom will assess the quality of the UK’s telecoms networks for a two month period before delivering its first infrastructure report to the Government in August, it has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 9th March 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

ISPs must advertise average broadband speeds, not ‘up to’ speeds, says Ofcom – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 2nd, 2011 in advertising, consumer protection, internet, news by sally

“ISPs should be forced to advertise the typical speeds available on internet access packages and not the theoretical maximum currently advertised, telecoms regulator Ofcom has said. They should also not be allowed to cap ‘unlimited’ services.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 2nd March 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Consumer expectation the vital element in contract fairness, says OFT – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 25th, 2011 in consumer protection, contracts, news by sally

“Companies whose small print changes the basis of consumer deals will face investigation by consumer regulator the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), it has said. According to the OFT, one in five consumers had experienced a contract problem in the last year.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 24th February 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

OFT warns misleading ‘money advice’ firm

Posted February 22nd, 2011 in advertising, consumer protection, debts, internet, news by sally

“The OFT has ordered Money Advice Direct Limited (MADL), a firm that introduces struggling borrowers to debt management companies, to stop using misleading advertising that presents it as a source of free help.”

Full story

The Guardian, 22nd February 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Financial watchdogs get new powers – The Guardian

Posted February 17th, 2011 in banking, competition, consumer protection, financial regulation, news by sally

“Investors and consumers will be given greater protection by new financial watchdogs which will have the power to ban retail products and reveal pending enforcement actions against banks and brokers.”

Full story

The Guardian, 17th February 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Gold-buying websites forced to change trading practices – The Guardian

Posted February 14th, 2011 in consumer protection, internet, news, unfair commercial practices by sally

“The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has clamped down on gold-buying websites, forcing three firms to make changes to their business practices and two to cease trading altogether.”

Full story

The Guardian, 14th February 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Credit and debit card surcharges ‘are excessive’ – BBC News

Posted February 11th, 2011 in banking, complaints, consumer credit, consumer protection, news by sally

“A super-complaint is to be launched about the ‘murky practice’ of surcharges levied on customers who pay by debit or credit card.”

Full  story

BBC News, 11th February 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Office of Fair Trading v Purely Creative Ltd and others – WLR Daily

Posted February 4th, 2011 in causation, consumer protection, law reports, unfair commercial practices by sally

Office of Fair Trading v Purely Creative Ltd and others [2011] EWHC 106 (Ch); [2011] WLR (D) 34

“For the purposes of applying the causation test in regulations 5 and 6 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 the combined effect of all relevant misleading acts and omissions had first to be ascertained, and then subjected to the test whether, taken in the aggregate, it would probably cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision which he would not otherwise have taken.”

WLR Daily, 3rd February 2011

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Holiday Atol protection set to be expanded – BBC News

Posted February 3rd, 2011 in consumer protection, holidays, news by sally

“More holidaymakers are set to be protected from losses when a travel company goes bust, the government has confirmed.”

Full story

BBC News, 3rd February 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

High Court backs OFT’s action against scratchcard promoters – OUT-Law.com

Posted February 3rd, 2011 in consumer protection, gambling, news, unfair commercial practices by sally

“A series of linked scratchcard promotion companies must fundamentally change the way they do business or stop operating after the High Court ruled their promotions were unlawful.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 3rd February 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Silent calls face threat of £2m fine, says Ofcom – BBC News

Posted February 1st, 2011 in consumer protection, fines, news, telecommunications by sally

“Companies that use automated telephone calls that leave householders hearing nothing can now be fined up to £2m.”

Full story

BBC News, 1st February 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Banks launch PPI challenge in high court – The Guardian

Posted January 25th, 2011 in banking, complaints, consumer protection, insurance, news by sally

“High street banks will launch a high court challenge today against rules controlling their handling of complaints about payment protection insurance (PPI).”

Full story

The Guardian, 25th January 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Blog network promises to label promotional content after OFT investigation – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 15th, 2010 in advertising, consumer protection, internet, news by sally

“Consumer protection watchdog the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has forced a network of bloggers to make it clear when companies are paying it for coverage. The OFT investigated Handpicked Media under consumer protection laws.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 14th December 2010

Source: www.out-law.com

OFT backs replacement of criminal penalties with civil ones – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 26th, 2010 in competition, consumer protection, Law Commission, news by sally

“Competition law and consumer watchdog the Office of Fair Trading has welcomed a legal reform proposal that would reduce its reliance on criminal law but has said that proposal should be less rigid to allow it to protect consumers.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 25th Novmber 2010

Source: www.out-law.com

Ofcom launches second TalkTalk investigation – The Guardian

Posted November 24th, 2010 in complaints, consumer protection, internet, news, telecommunications by sally

“Inquiry follows claims company mis-sold phone service and switched some internet users to its service without their consent”

Full story

The Guardian, 23rd November 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk