Legal Decent and Honest
Stuart Coverley's guide to the work of the NfCG Legislation and Consumer Affairs Committee

On your Doorstep

If a salesman calls uninvited on your doorstep and you then sign a contract for a sum over £35, you are entitled to a 7-day cooling off period during which you can cancel the contract. Some firms attempt to get round this by the canvasser presenting a form ("a leading sheet") whereby the customer signs that he requested a visit from a sales representative. Other firms fail to notify the customer of the right to cancel. A consultation paper from the Department of Trade and Industry (Dti) presents proposals to amend the Consumer Protection (Cancellation of Contracts Concluded Away from Business Premises) Regulations 1987 to prevent such malpractices.

Too much packaging

From the beginning of May a section of the European Directive on Packaging makes over-packaging illegal. It states: "Packaging shall be so manufactured that the packaging volume and weight be limited to the minimum adequate amount to maintain the necessary level of safety, hygiene and acceptance of the packaging to the consumer" . Perhaps those large cereal packets half full, even allowing for a shake down in transit, and too big for the cupboard shelf will now miraculously shrink in size?

Before you buy by mail order you expect to be given full and clear details of what you are about to purchase. A Dti consultation paper on Distance Selling precedes the likely implementation of an EU Directive of 1997 and states that unless it is a third party sale, this information must be given before the contract is signed. Failure to do so is likely to make the contract unenforceable. Other sections deal with reimbursement and cancellation of the agreement. Substitution of goods would only be allowed where the customer has been informed of this, though he would not expect a pair of trousers to be replaced by a jacket! There is also an important query as to -whether one should have to opt in or out of receiving unsolicited mail or telephone calls.

Will Electrical Goods be Cheaper?

A new Order under the Fair Trading Act 1973 will ban the fixing of recommended retail prices by manufacturers. This will allow a trader to cut prices, but the large high street chains base their prices mostly on what their competitors are charging. Perhaps we shall find that stores will now increase the number of special offers on a limited range of appliances different from that of their rivals. We await the outcome with interest.

Unfair Contract Terms

It is proposed that consumer organisations should be able to prosecute on behalf of members of the public, when a contract appears to include unfair terms being enforced by a commercial firm. In a reply to the consultation paper NCC suggests that the Court itself should have absolute discretion to decide whether or not to hear a consumer protection body, which may not have the necessary "legal personality". A qualifying period of two years' existence appears over long when a new organisation may come into being because of a local abuse. The exclusion of political organisations may be too wide where such a body is "all party". The Court should also decide what is "a rival concern", as charities and other groups sell goods and services in order to raise funds.

Bumping up the compensation

New proposals put up by the European Commission would increase the compensation for those denied boarding on both scheduled and charter flights. It would rise from 150 ECU (£100) to 185 ECU (£123) for flights up to 3,500 km and from 300 ECU (£200) to 370 ECU (£246) for longer flights. It would be paid in cash unless the passenger agreed in writing to a voucher or other services. Its acceptance depends on the agreement of the Transport Ministers.

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