Q: Are there any regulations against commercial practices?
Dec 02 2009
Answered by: Marc Barber Ask a question
Since May 2008, The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 imposes a general ban on unfair commercial practices. Unfair commercial practices are broadly any that fail to meet the honest practices and good faith that can be expected of traders in your field.
The regulations also ban 31 specific practices, some of which are:
• making personal visits to the consumer’s home and ignoring the customer’s request to leave or not to return
• making persistent and unwanted, unsolicited phone, fax or e-mail contact
• falsely stating that a product or particular terms will only be available for a very limited time
• falsely claiming that you are about to close down or move premises
• promoting a product in such a way as to deliberately confuse it with some other manufacturers product
• falsely claiming or creating the impression that you are not acting for purposes relating to your business
• demanding immediate payment for or the return or safekeeping of unsolicited products
Contravening the regulations can result in fines and up to two year in prison, so make sure you familiarise yourself with these regulations – see the guidance on the Office of Fair Trading web site.
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