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Consumer LawyersDo you provide Consumer Law services?
Consumer law resourcesLawfinder: Law Resources: Consumer Find Consumer lawyersLawfinder: Solicitors: Consumer Enforcement(From BERR, February 2008) Regulations and laws are in place to protect consumers and businesses from unscrupulous vendors and rogue traders. The legislation is largely enforced by Local Trading Standards Officers, but other organisations and bodies, such as the Office of Fair Trading, may also investigate or take action. The Enterprise Act has increased the types of enforcement by adding Group Claims, Enforcement Orders (aka Stop Now Orders) and Super Complaints. It also sets down criteria for general, designated and community enforcers. Click on the left-hand menu items to find further information on how, and by whom, consumer protection laws and regulations are decided, policed and enforced. The areas covered include: Enforcement Orders (aka Stop Now Orders), Catch-up on all the latest consumer news from the Department by subscribing to our monthly E-Bulletin. Please click here and send us you first and last names and email address to be added to the circulation list. Enforcement Orders (also known as Stop Now Orders).Under Part 8 of the Enterprise Act, the Office of Fair Trading, Trading Standards Authorities, sectoral regulators and other designated enforcement bodies, can apply to the courts to stop traders infringing a wide range of consumer protection legislation where those infringements harm the collective interests of consumers Part 8 of the Enterprise Act replaced Part III of the Fair Trading Act 1973 and the Stop Now Orders (EC Directive) Regulations 2001. It also extended the scope of the Stop Now Order enforcement regime to include a wider range of domestic consumer protection legislation. These orders are known as Enforcement Orders (also known as Stop Now Orders). Breach of an Order is a contempt of court and could incur a fine or imprisonment. Enforcers can also use Enforcement Orders to clamp down on traders who fail to carry out a service with reasonable care and skill. The Office of Fair Trading is responsible for co-ordinating enforcement action under the Regulations. Further information on the role and responsibilities of the OFT is available on the OFT web site. Who can use Part 8 powers? Under Part 8 of the Act three types of enforcers are identified: (i) General Enforcers. In addition to the OFT, the Trading Standards Service in Great Britain and Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) in Northern Ireland are specified in Part 8 as having the power to act as general enforcers. (ii) Designated Enforcers. A designated enforcer is any public or private body in the UK which the Secretary of State designates in a Statutory Instrument, having identified the person or body has the protection of the collective interests of consumers as one of its purposes. The Secretary of State has designated the following bodies as Part 8 enforcers by a Statutory Instrument: • The Civil Aviation Authority A public body will only be granted designated enforcement powers if it is independent. By granting a public body designated enforcement powers, it is deemed that the body is conclusively identified as a public body for the purposes of Part 8. A private organisation may be designated as an enforcer only if it fulfils the criteria specified by the Secretary of State in a Statutory Instrument. (iii) Community Enforcers. Community enforcers are entities from other EEA states that are listed in the Official Journal of the European Communities. These enforcers may apply for injunctions in other member states. Consumer Group ClaimsWhat is a Consumer Group Claim? Section 19 of the Enterprise Act inserts a new section 47A into the Competition Act 1998 to empower certain ‘specified bodies’ to bring proceedings for claims for damages before the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT), on behalf of a group of two or more named individual consumers. Claims may only be brought before the CAT after the OFT or European Commission (or the CAT on appeal from the OFT) has ruled that an infringement has actually taken place. For a specified body to take a claim to the CAT on behalf of a group of consumers, each consumer must give his or her consent to the claim being brought by the specified body, and the claims must relate to the same infringement of competition law. In particular, the infringement that is relied upon must relate to goods and services that were received (or sought to be received) by the claimant otherwise than in the course of a business. Provided these conditions are met, it is also possible for existing claims being taken by individual consumers to be taken over by a specified body and dealt with together. In order to be designated as a specified body to bring claims on behalf of consumers, an organisation must meet criteria published by the Secretary of State. Designations are made by means of a Statutory Instrument. Applications for designation should be made in writing and contain the information concerning the criteria set out in the guidance. If you require further information on applying for specified status please contact: John Madill |
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