Bizhack.net

April 2008 should see the implementation of the “Unfair Commercial Practices Directive” which will result in changes to the existing UK consumer protection laws and will have ramifications on the legal liability of all companies. For a start, engaging in ‘unfair’ commercial practices will become a criminal offence.

The new Directive will prohibit misleading or aggressive commercial practices which will include advertising and marketing. The overall aim of this Directive will be to harmonise the same protection throughout the EU.

A commercial practice will be deemed to be unfair if it is a misleading action, omission, or aggressive. A misleading action will include information that is erroneous or “likely to deceive the average consumer, even if the information is correct” Misleading omissions will include those omissions which hides material information or makes such information unclear or ambiguous. A commercial practice that is aggressive will impair a consumer’s freedom of choice coercing him or her to make a transaction that would not have been made otherwise.

The regulations are to be enforced by the Office of Fair Trading, Trading Standards officers, and Ofcom and breaches will subject the offending businesses to a potential unlimited fine or imprisonment of up to 2 years.

Related Articles:

Statement from the DTI

http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/buying-selling/ucp/index.html

Times Online

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/theatre/article1712230.ece