back to menuWhat do you consider to be the most unfair practices used by elements of the motor trade? The Office of Fair Trading would like help in producing a short list which could be publicised as a warning to consumers.
The OFT lists many examples of unfair practices, such as misleading advertising or price claims, pretending to be a private seller, not showing a business name at premises or on stationery and making statements that contradict a written contract. No doubt you can think of some of your own. Write to the Editor about them!
You might think that everyone knows what Coca Cola is, or even Sprite, with its massive sugar content. However, in London Borough of Hackney Council v Cedar Trading Ltd., the judgement was that the use of this latter name did not exempt the product from the Food Labelling Regulations and was not sufficiently precise to inform the purchaser of its true nature.
The cans had been lawfully sold in Holland but when imported into this country the descriptive names and list of ingredients in Dutch were not considered to be adequate labelling.
The reference by the Director General of Fair Trading to the Competition Commission includes all companies in the UK with at least ten stores, where more than 600 square metres are devoted to grocery sales, and more than 300 square metres devoted to food and non-alcoholic drinks.
The most important issues to be investigated are the nature, extent and existence of barriers to entering the market, the extent to which land values affect the cost structure of competing firms, and the relationship between multiples and their suppliers. Exactly how you can define excess profits in business where the clothing and electrical trades can have a markup greater than 50%, remains to be seen.
Advice is now available from the Office of Fair Trading on www.oft.gov.uk. The pages cover consumer rights, choosing a supplier, transactions and what to do if things go wrong.
There are also tips on what to watch out for if you are buying from abroad, though the main advice is about buying from UK suppliers. There is also information about the EU Distance Selling Directive which is due to be implemented by the 4th June 2000.
A paper prepared for the Legislation Committee suggests that compulsion to take part in pension schemes is acceptable. All of us have a duty to earn our living and to provide for our retirement. Those not working, for good reason, should be given modest credits by the state.
The scheme should be approved by authority and have independent trustees, the majority of which must not be from the employers. Charges should be strictly controlled and there should be no withdrawal of "surpluses" by employers under any circumstances.
There is no legal requirement to specially label genetically modified tomato or vegetarian cheese made with GM yeast cell rennet. These are considered to be ‘normal’ equivalents. There is little or no trace of the rennet in the cheese itself.
The other two GM products so far approved, soya beans and four types of maize, have been classified as ‘different from normal’ and foods containing them have to be labelled. The exceptions are when neither protein nor DNA resulting from the genetic modification is present. Examples are corn or soya oils, soya lecithin (used as an emulsifier to prevent oil and water separation in products such as mayonnaise) and in additives and flavourings.
The Food Labelling (Amendment) Regulations 1999 came into force on 19th March. It requires that when a food contains a GM ingredient, the list of ingredients must include, for example, the words "produced from genetically modified soya (maize)" or the words must appear in a prominently displayed footnote related by an asterisk (*). Alternatively they must appear clearly in the label. On some products noted so far the asterisk has been difficult to see.
For caterers the regulations come into force on 19th September.
Privately owned caravans on fixed sites will be protected by a new Code of Practice issued by the British Holiday and Home Parks Association and the National Caravan Council. It does not apply to touring caravans or permanent homes.
Complaints in the past have been about big increases in site fees, not being able to sell the caravan on site without paying huge commissions to site owners, and the lack of a complaints mechanism. Agreements will last ten years, increases in site fees will be investigated independently and caravans can be sold on site to third parties. The Code will also apply to Northern Ireland where the General Consumer Council helped set it up.
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