31 March 2008 - The Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) are planning to introduce new regulations to clamp down on unfair sales and marketing practices.
The proposed Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading (CPUT) regulations would close loopholes that rogue traders have previously been able to exploit by establishing a catch-all duty not to trade unfairly. In addition, the regulations would ban 31 types of unfair sales practices outright. If approved by Parliament, the CPUT will come into force on 26 May 2008.
Consumer Affairs Minister Gareth Thomas said that the law would be "good news for consumers and honest businesses". He promised that the law would better protect consumers, cut red tape and make it easier for Trading Standards and the Office of Fair Trading to interpret and enforce the law.
Many of the 31 banned sales practices are intended to stop scams involving deceptive unsolicited mailings, phone calls and e-mails. They include:
The Office for Fair Trading organised a 'Scams Awareness Month' this February. According to research by the consumer and competition authority, 3.2 million adults in the UK fall victim to a scam every year. Scams cost the UK consumer an estimated £3.5 billion per annum.