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The Office of Fair Trading is on a drive to increase the education of consumers shopping online, so that they are more aware of their rights and what to do if things go wrong. The OFT is also keen to ensure...
Directors watch out: OFT vows to get tough with directors who should have known their companies were breaking competition laws
The Office of Fair Trading has vowed to get tough with directors who should have know that their companies were breaking competition laws. The OFT wants to use powers under the Company Directors Disqualification...
SMEs find it easier to sell services than goods online, says OFT report
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have found that barriers to entry have decreased when setting up online to provide services. This is not the case with selling goods, however. This is according...
BA executives cleared for their careers to take off following collapse of criminal competition law trial
Four British Airways executives have been cleared of dishonestly agreeing to make or implement arrangements whereby different entities would engage in prohibited cartel activity. A person convicted of...
Retailers can’t charge customers delivery charges if they cancel contract under Distance Selling Directive – Handelsgesellschaft Heinrich Heine GmbH v Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen eV, Court of Justice of the European Union
Under European Union contract law, consumers are generally entitled to a cooling off period in which they may change their minds and obtain a refund for goods purchased at a distance. In this case, the...
Airlines experience turbulence as OFT alleges illegal sharing of confidential information
The Office of Fair Trading has issued a statement of objections to Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific over an alleged breach of the Chapter I Prohibition of the Competition Act 1998. Following a tip-off...
OFT sends out clear messages to avoid pricing agreements between different supply levels with £225m fine on tobacco companies and retailers
The Office of Fair Trading has imposed its largest ever fine for a single case on tobacco suppliers and retailers for unlawfully having an agreement or arrangement that had an anti-competitive object or...
OFT claims that 3-year gym membership contract with no get-out right was unfair on consumers and therefore unenforceable
The Office of Fair Trading is taking legal action against Ashbourne Management Services for AMS’s gym membership contracts that provided no opportunity for members to terminate before a minimum three...
Consumers’ online awareness of laws rises while so does e-tailers’ compliance
Between 2006 and 2009, consumers’ awareness of their rights while shopping online has risen, whilst the e-tailers selling to them have increased their legal compliance. That is according to research...
The Office of Fair Trading (“OFT”) has published a consultation on sections 77/78/79 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974– duty to give information to debtors and the consequences of non-compliance on the enforceability of the agreement
The OFT is consulting on guidance because of concerns that some debtors are being misled into thinking that these sections can be used to get their debts written off and that some creditors are not following...