"Legal Decent and Honest"
Stuart Coverley's guide to the work of the NfCG Legislation and Consumer Affairs Committee
Two year guarantees - British consumers will get specific rights to repair or replacement for up to two years on new goods and one year on second-hand ones. The current UK remedy for damages will be maintained at six years. Under the EU Consumers Guarantees Directive a fault that occurs during the first six months will be assumed to have been there when the item was bought and manufacturers' guarantees will be legally binding. Consumers will have at least two months to complain after a fault develops. The retailer will still be responsible for the goods he sells, so if the goods were bought elsewhere in Europe the buyer will have to return them to that country unless the manufacturer agrees to provide repair facilities in other countries.
The Competition Bill - will radically reform and strengthen the law dealing with cartels and abuses of power. The Director General of Fair Trading will be able to deal swiftly with anti-competitive practices. A prohibition-based approach will ban anti-competitive agreements and will ease the position for those 10,000 registered agreements which are not significant in competition terms. It will provide for financial penalties of up to 10% of UK turnover where other firms have been damaged by proven anti-competitive practices.
Funeral firms under scrutiny - the Competition and Consumer Affairs Minister, Nigel Griffiths, has urged the funeral industry to develop a single ombudsman scheme to deal with complaints. Around half the funerals carried out in the UK are now under the Funeral Ombudsman Scheme with the majority of the rest coming under the scheme run by The National Association of Funeral Directors. Meanwhile the OFT is to set up an inquiry into the industry and its trade practices. Pressure to buy expensive coffins and 'compulsory' embalming are just two of the high pressure sales techniques used on vulnerable consumers.
Unfair terms - are under examination by the OFT. Banks that change interest rates and then lock their clients into uncompetitive accounts are the main subjects. The Director General says that if attitudes are not changed, then the banks and building societies risk enforcement action. "CLOSING DOWN" signs in a shop window for up to a year have been the subject of an undertaking to the DG by a firm in South Yorkshire.
A Community Legal Service - is proposed by the National Consumer Council in a recent consultation paper. This would give information, advice and referral to mediation or arbitration where applicable. It would be open to everyone and depend on new technology to supply answers. The document is available free from NCC and comments are requested by 29th July
The Better Regulation Task Force - has made key recommendations in the following areas where the Consumer Minister says he will be taking action about:
Searches when house buying - it can be difficult enough discovering whether a new road, by-pass or other detrimental development is planned for your area. A new hazard for the seller is the local ghost search. On buying a house the purchaser discovered that it had the reputation for being possessed by poltergeists. The seller had 'seen' the ghosts on several occasions and had reported the matter in written articles. Hence the seller (owner) had a duty to report the fact to the buyer as this meant that vacant possession would not be available! The judge allowed the contract to be rescinded.
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