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Fair trading and the Enterprise Act


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Fair trading and the Enterprise Act

Last updated | 04/11/2011

What the legislation does

Fair trading

Controls businesses which 'persist in a course of conduct detrimental to the interests of consumers'. The course of conduct may be persistent failure to give consumers their civil law rights (e.g. refunds for faulty goods), or may be a recurring series of criminal law breaches (e.g. misdescription of goods).

Enterprise Act

The Enterprise Act creates a mechanism under which Trading Standards can seek undertakings and eventually enforcement orders (civil interdicts) to stop infringements of a wide range of UK and European consumer protection laws.

No refunds

The legislation creates offences for the use of notices which purport to deprive consumers of their statutory rights
(e.g. "No refunds")

PKC advice leaflet [PDF:]
Further advice from tradingstandards.gov.uk 

Trader or not?

To combat, particularly, car traders selling cars through "small-ads" as if they were private sales, thus avoiding 'come-back' from dissatisfied purchasers the legislation also prevents traders from advertising goods for sale in the course of business without disclosing that the seller is a trader.

Recommended prices

The legislation prohibits suppliers of specified goods (that is to say, camcorders, cold food storage equipment, dishwashers, hi-fi systems, televisions, tumble dryers, video cassette recorders or washing machines) from recommending or notifying a price at which those goods should be resold.

Pyramid selling

The legislation also regulates Pyramid selling schemes.
More advice from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT)

Travel insurance

Travel agents are prohibited from discriminating in the price charged for a package holiday, or by imposing an additional charge, against a person who does not buy travel insurance in respect of that holiday from the agent or tour operator

Enforcement

Trading Standards monitor complaints and enquiries to determine trends in complaints and allow targeting of problem traders. Local advertisements in small-ads (newspapers, speciality publications, shop notice boards) are constantly tracked to establish level of trade by traders posing as private individuals. Visits to shops are made to ensure that ‘no refund’ and similar prohibited notices are not displayed. Visits may be carried out posing as customers to back-street dealers (e.g. car dealers).
Visits are also made to local traders to monitor car sales, travel agents.
Pyramid selling schemes appearing in area are investigated.


Premises affected

All retail outlets (where ‘no refund’ notices tend to appear with monotonous regularity). Potentially affecting problem traders in Perth & Kinross, UK and Europe. May result in complaints from other European countries resulting in requests for action against local traders. Local car auctions. Electrical goods retailers. Travel agents. All advertising media targeting Perth & Kinross area. Private dwellings where, for example, vehicles may be being sold by trader.

Key Legislation