New measures put down to help the Government crack down on rogue traders and consumer debt have been announced by their Consumer White Paper.

The paper: ‘A Better Deal For Consumers’, bans unsolicited credit card cheques in order to promote responsible lending and borrowing and provides longer term framework to enhance and enforce consumer rights in the wider economy.

The Measures

Some of the measures that will be put in place according to the Consumer White Paper include:

1. Reforms in the regulations of credit and store cards so that consumers are in more control of their borrowing which will help people avoid running up huge debt they can’t afford to pay back;

2. It bans unsolicited credit card cheques so that consumers unaware of high interest rate charges don’t get caught out;

3. A review by the Office of Fair Trading into the market for high cost credit, usually above 50% APR – pay day loans and door step lending;

4. The introduction of a new Consumer Advocate responsible for the co-ordination of work to educate consumers and help them get their money back when things go wrong has been appointed;

5. The courts will also get new powers in order to ban persistent rogue traders including a new national specialist team for internet enforcement tackling scams over the internet. They will also get money for a central ‘Fighting Fund’ to tackle large scale rogue traders; and a pilot scheme giving Trading Standards officers powers to help consumers reclaim their money;

6. Also, a Money Advice Trust new self-help tool-kit, and the Insolvency Service introduce a new Debtor’s Guide to help those in debt stay in control of their finance.

What Consumer Minister Kevin Brennan said:

“Consumers have been seriously affected by the past two years of turmoil in the financial markets, as well as by the longer term changes in the way that goods and services are bought and sold. We are taking decisive action now to prepare for the future. 

“We are delivering a new approach to consumer credit with a review of the regulation of credit card and store cards. We are imposing requirements on lenders to explain their products and to check creditworthiness before they lend, and revised OFT guidance to tackle irresponsible lending.

“There will also be tougher action against rogue traders and fraudsters who look for ways to fleece consumers out of their hard-earned cash, and a new emphasis on consumer rights spearheaded by the Consumer Advocate.”

What Do You Think?

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