Consumer Rights Bill welcomed despite fears on trading standards notice plan
Enforcers such as Trading Standards officers will be required to give reasonable notice to businesses when carrying out routine inspections under a draft Consumer Rights Bill published by the Government this week.
The measure is a key part of a Bill that will see eight pieces of legislation streamlined into one.
Consumer Minister Jo Swinson insisted that the Bill would enhance consumer rights and make them easier to understand.
The Trading Standards Institute (TSI) and the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) welcomed the increased clarity as well as measures helping trading standards to work across local authority boundaries.
However, TSI chief executive Leon Livermore said the Institute was concerned at the requirement to give reasonable notice.
“If trading standards officers cannot exercise their powers of entry without prior notification, it is clear that rogues can always stay one step ahead,” he argued.
"Ministers have given us assurances that they do not want to stop on the spot checks – we look forward seeing the detail of this and continuing to work closely with DBIS as we enter the pre-legislative scrutiny phase."
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills highlighted the following as key measures in the Bill:
- Faster and lower cost remedies for businesses who have been disadvantaged from breaches in competition law.
- Rights for consumers to: get some money back after one failed repair of faulty goods (or one faulty replacement); demand that substandard services are redone or failing that get a price reduction; and get a repair or a replacement of faulty digital content such as film and music downloads, online games and e-books.
- A set 30-day time period for when consumers can return faulty goods and get a full refund.
DBIS claimed that the draft legislation would mean businesses would have to spend less time and resource in understanding the law and training their staff.
Swinson said: “For too long the rules that apply when buying goods and services have been murky for both consumers and businesses. The situation is even worse in relation to digital content.
“It is about time consumers knew what their rights are and businesses have clearer information on what is expected of them when problems inevitably do arise. That is why we have put clarity and fairness at the heart of the proposed Consumer Bill of Rights.
“We want to make sure consumers are confident about their rights in everyday situations be it their washing machine breaking down or an online game they purchased always crashing. This will also benefit businesses as they are going to spend less time working out their legal obligations when they get complaints from customers.”
The TSI's Livermore said: "In this difficult economic climate clear and comprehensive consumer rights are more important than ever – as budgets continue to be squeezed in households and in local government, we need to see more empowered consumers, with the right tools and support to stand their ground in the face of unfair, dishonest or downright criminal business practices.
"Additional clarity of rights will not only help consumers but also millions of businesses who are often unsure of their legal obligations towards consumers and will therefore haemorrhage hard earned margins settling consumer disputes when there is no legal necessity to do so. Clarity of rights is a 'win-win' for everyone provided the Government draws the lines in the right place. ”
Livermore said the TSI welcomed the introduction of a set 30-day period for when consumers could return faulty goods and get a full refund, adding that this would bring “long overdue clarity to the current rules which are complex and confusing”.
NTSB chairman Lord Toby Harris said having effective enforcement powers was particularly important for its e-crime, Scambusters and illegal money lending teams, who worked on a regional and national basis.
He added: "We are particularly pleased with the proposals in the Bill to clarify the law enabling trading standards to work easier across local authority boundaries.
"This will help improve consumer confidence and protect law-abiding businesses from unfair competition posed by rogue traders operating across boundaries, causing some £4.8bn worth of consumer harm.”
A copy of the draft Bill can be viewed here.