Will proposed new legislation improve consumer rights? Karen Clubb reports
In August 2012, Jo Swinson, minister for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), announced the publication of the draft Consumer Protection Regulations from Unfair Trading (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (CPAR) aiming to place “clarity and fairness at the heart” of the proposed Government reforms. The proposed regulations will amend the previous Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/1277) (CPR 2008), which implemented the Council Directive 2005/29/EC on Unfair Commercial Practices.
The draft CPAR resulted from a wider government review of UK consumer law, which aimed to streamline and reduce the complexity of the current legislative and regulatory framework for consumer law. These changes aim to improve consumer protection, ensuring that consumers are better informed of their rights to prevent situations where “consumers are paying up” or being pursued for debts that they may not legally owe. The CPR 2008 criminalised a range of unfair commercial practices, but offered no redress for consumers; its remedies were confined to civil enforcement by local trading standards services through Pt 8 of the Enterprise Act,
