back to menuThe Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 now apply, having come into being on 1st October. They allow other organisations such as Consumers' Association, statutory regulators and trading standards departments, besides the Director General of Fair Trading himself, to take action against the use of unfair terms.
Scams and undesirable practices are again rearing their ugly heads among some estate agents. The Office of Fair Trading reports that some are forgetting their legal obligations to customers by insisting on them taking linked financial services from their or they will not be put on a 'preferential service list', or even that their offer will not be passed on to the vendor until 'qualified' by the agency's financial adviser. This means that sellers are not made aware of all offers that have been made. The Director General adds "I also want to stop the practice of misleading sellers that they have to sign agreements with estate agents. Clients should be told that these are negotiable contracts with the agent and not a regulatory requirement."
Unusually the Doncaster Magistrates were ordered to pay the costs of a case they were judged to have mishandled. The Money Advice Association reports that a 70-year-old pensioner had stated at her Means Enquiry that her need to have her hair done weekly took precedence over paying her full Community Charge. She was committed by the Magistrates in her absence to the maximum penalty of 90 days in prison on the grounds of 'wilful refusal to pay'. The Court of Appeal stated the principle that punishment is a means to extracting payment and committal is the last resort for exceptional circumstances, after enquiries have been made. Orders backed by a threat of imprisonment should be made payable within a 2-year maximum and debtors cannot be committed to prison in their absence.
"The Government is determined to tackle car dealers who sell vehicles that are stolen, 'cut and shut' and cars with clocked mileage" (will it soon be kilometrage?), says the Consumer Affairs Minister, Dr Kim Howells. "The proposals in the Consumer White Paper will give local Trading Standards Officers greatly increased powers to deal quickly and effectively with cowboy car dealers" [but will it give them the people to enforce these powers? - Ed]. The new powers will allow courts to grant injunctions against specific practices carried out by individual traders and to ban for a specified period traders with a history of ignoring their legal obligations. Judging by the recent case of the plumbers fined for contempt of court for breaking injunctions to trade fairly in 1994 and 1997, new powers are urgently needed.
The new edition of the OFT 'A Buyer's Guide' takes on a new shape which more easily fits into the pocket, where you will surely wish to keep it at all times. It was revised in December 1998 but not printed until July 1999.
In a foreword John Bridgeman, Director General of Fair Trading, says "This booklet gives you advice about how to tackle your shopping and service problems. You will find general information about your legal rights and how to make a complaint, along with advice on dealing with specific problem areas such as cars, furniture and holidays." It is not so much making a complaint that is the difficulty, it is getting someone to listen to it and take action! There is a list of addresses where you may get help, but too often the problem trader is not a member of a trade association.
The rules introduced under the Financial Services Act 1986 regarding 'polarisation' should be kept for life insurance and personal pensions, says the OFT'. These require that those offering advice must be either independent of any product provider or tied to a provider and must make known to any client which is true. The rules should be scrapped for unit trusts and open-ended investment companies where there seems no reason why an adviser should not be tied to more than one company.
Before you go window shopping on the Internet some firms insist on your giving not only your name and address but also your credit card details. This is before you have even decided to buy anything. The Editorial Accountant of the Sunday Times was caught this way when his credit card bill showed repeated payments for items that he had not ordered or received. His book bill alone was for £718 with more to follow. When he tried to cancel his credit card he was told this was not possible in view of his alleged debts. His liability was a maximum of £50 under the Banking Code. It can require considerable persuasion to get the false debts investigated. The lesson is never to give your card details away until you order something, unless you are sure that a secure system is in place.
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