Consumers should have a clear and easy route to redress if they fall victim to misleading and aggressive trading practices. That is what the Law Commission wants to see and, in a consultation launched on April 12, the Commission is asking for feedback on ideas on how the law can be changed to achieve it.
Scams and rip-offs are common. Many of the victims are among the most vulnerable in society, with housebound and older people facing a particular threat from high-pressure, doorstep selling. But, under the existing laws that govern misleading and aggressive practices, it is difficult, if not impossible, to get your money back.<br><br>Research conducted by Consumer Focus suggests that two-thirds of us have been targeted by unscrupulous traders. We have been duped or pressured into buying a product we donโt want, that doesnโt meet our needs or isnโt what we were told it was. Or we have received aggressive demands for money, maybe for parking offences we havenโt committed or debts we have never owed.<br><br>If a trader misrepresents a product or service, it may be possible for consumers to get their money back. But the law is far from clear โ there are over seven possible routes to redress โ and consumers face particular difficulties if the misrepresentation doesnโt amount to a breach of contract.<br><br>It can be even harder for consumers to seek redress if traders have used high-pressure selling tactics or other aggressive practices. The aggressive debt collector or the doorstep salesman who ignores a request to leave may be breaking the law but it is still unclear whether consumers would have any rights to compensation.<br><br>David Hertzell, the Law Commissioner leading on this project for England and Wales, said: โWhen we buy goods that are faulty, we know we can get our money back. But when weโre misled about a product or fall victim to high-pressured sales tactics or aggressive demands for money, itโs very unclear what remedies are available to us.<br><br>โThe Law Commission believes consumers should have a clear right to redress for misleading and aggressive commercial practices. Simplifying the law will give more confidence to consumers and help drive rogue traders out of the market place, where currently they damage the reputation and livelihood of good, honest businesses.โ<br><br>Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: โThese proposals are valuable and will help to fill gaps in consumer protection law, where bad practice and downright rip-offs so often slip through the net.<br><br>โProblems caused by misleading or aggressive selling practices are common; Citizens Advice Bureaux across England and Wales dealt with thousands of enquiries about scams and unfair practices last year. Vulnerable consumers, such as elderly and disabled people, are particularly at risk. When you are short of cash, as many CAB clients are, rights to redress when traders act unfairly are a must.โ<br><br>The consultation is open until 12 July 2011.
Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice said: โWe warmly welcome proposals, published today by the Law Commission, which seek to create a new law under which individuals can bring their own legal action against companies where they have been the victim of unfair commercial practice.
โWe particularly welcome the Commissionโs thorough consideration of how existing regulation applies to the growing retail practice of threatened โcivil recoveryโ – an issue on which we have been campaigning for two years – and its recommendation that, to avoid any doubt, the practice should be covered by its proposed reform of consumer protection legislation. We are also delighted that the Law Commission has confirmed that there is no legal basis for โfixed sumโ demands such as those demanded in every single alleged shoplifting related case we have examined.โ
The Commissionโs provisional suggestions are outlined in the consultation paper, โConsumer Redress for Misleading and Aggressive Practicesโ, which is available on the Commissionโs website –
