Pension liberation test case gets underway at High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 17th, 2013 in consumer protection, fraud, news, pensions, retirement by sally

“A test case to establish whether a number of pension schemes which allowed members access to their savings before the minimum retirement age were legal has begun at the High Court.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th July 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Belgian Electronic Sorting Technology NV v Peelaers and another – WLR Daily

Posted July 12th, 2013 in advertising, consumer protection, domain names, EC law, law reports by tracey

Belgian Electronic Sorting Technology NV v Peelaers and another: (Case C-657/11);   [2013] WLR (D)  275

“Article 2(1) of Council Directive 84/450/EEC of 10 September 1984 concerning misleading and comparative advertising, as amended, meant that the term ‘advertising’ covered the use of a domain name and that of metatags in a website’s metadata. By contrast, the registration of a domain name, as such, was not encompassed by that term.”

WLR Daily, 11th July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

New rules to protect customers from rogue claims firms – Ministry of Justice

“Customers taking on the services of claims management companies (CMCs) will be better protected as tough new rules come into effect.”

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Ministry of Justice, 8th July 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Can you spot the difference? New research published on the impact of lookalike products – Technology Law Update

“We are continually hearing about the inherent value of a brand. A well established brand helps customers identify the product they’re buying and can reassure them about the quality they can expect. It is therefore no surprise that other companies often try to piggyback off well established brands in order to sell their similar product.”

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Technology Law Update, 5th July 2013

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

Mobile phone insurance complaints firm fined by FCA – BBC News

“A firm which deals with complaints for Phones 4U has been fined £2.8m for wide-ranging failures in dealing with gripes about mobile insurance policies.”

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BBC News, 3rd July 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ofcom to investigate BT for over-charging Anytime customers – The Guardian

Posted July 1st, 2013 in consumer protection, news, ombudsmen, telecommunications by tracey

“BT has been accused of over-charging its customers – possibly by millions of pounds – after adding an extra 1p to the cost of calls to mobiles for some customers on its most popular package.”

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The Guardian, 28th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Banks obliged to cancel recurring payments – The Guardian

“Banks will be required to cancel continuous payments often used by gyms and payday lenders when asked to do so by customers, following an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).”

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The Guardian, 28th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Mobile phone insurance firms chastised by regulator – The Guardian

“Millions of people should now receive better protection from their mobile phone insurance after an investigation by the main City regulator uncovered examples of ‘unfair’ terms, poor product design and inadequate complaints handling.”

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The Guardian, 27th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Public less likely to trust lawyers – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 27th, 2013 in consumer protection, legal profession, news by sally

“Declining public confidence in the professions continues to take its toll on lawyers, according to an annual survey commissioned by watchdog the Legal Services Consumer Panel.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 27th June 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Payday loans industry to face competition inquiry – BBC News

Posted June 27th, 2013 in competition, consumer credit, consumer protection, inquiries, loans, news by sally

“The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has referred the payday lending industry to the Competition Commission because of concerns about ‘deep-rooted problems with the way competition works’.”

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BBC News, 27th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Will-writers face jail as new code of practice scheme goes live – Legal Futures

Posted June 18th, 2013 in codes of practice, consumer protection, drafting, news, wills by sally

“Members of the Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW) who fail to comply with its code of practice face fines or even imprisonment, as a new UK-wide scheme to strengthen self-regulation by setting standards for such codes goes live.”

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Legal Futures, 18th June 2013

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Consumer codes scheme aims to improve customer confidence – The Guardian

Posted June 18th, 2013 in codes of practice, consumer protection, news by sally

“Rogue traders who break the law by ripping off customers with sub-standard work and shoddy services face unlimited fines and even imprisonment under a UK-wide scheme to improve industry self-regulation.”

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The Guardian, 18th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Social media advertisers responsible for user generated content they ‘positively invite’, says CAP – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 17th, 2013 in advertising, codes of practice, consumer protection, internet, news by sally

“Advertisers that encourage users of social media to respond to promotional questions they pose are responsible for ensuring that the content those users submit complies with UK advertising rules, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 14th June 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

SDT rulings send out warning to law firms over relationships with debt recovery companies – Legal Futures

“Law firms must not allow arrangements with debt recovery companies to compromise their independence, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has warned, after two solicitors were fined heavily for allowing litigation to be carried out in their name.”

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Legal Futures, 17th June 2013

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Law Commission welcomes Draft Consumer Rights Bill – Law Commission

Posted June 13th, 2013 in bills, consumer protection, Law Commission, news, unfair contract terms by sally

“The Law Commission welcomes the new Consumer Rights Bill published today, which incorporates many of our recommendations.”

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Law Commission, 12th June 2013

Source: www.lawcommission.justice.gov.uk

New consumer rights bill unveiled – The Guardian

Posted June 12th, 2013 in bills, consumer protection, news, time limits by sally

“New measures to enhance consumer rights and make them easier to understand have been unveiled by consumer minister Jo Swinson.”

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The Guardian, 12th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Claims management companies that break the rules will be named online – Ministry of Justice

Posted June 10th, 2013 in claims management, consumer protection, news, personal injuries by sally

“Consumers will be able to check if claims management companies (CMCs) are subject to investigation with the launch of a new online tool.”

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Ministry of Justice, 7th June 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Regina v X Ltd – WLR Daily

Posted June 6th, 2013 in appeals, consumer protection, law reports by sally

Regina v X Ltd [2013] EWCA Crim 818; [2013] WLR (D) 212

“For the purposes of regulations protecting consumers from unfair trading, the term ‘commercial practices’ could cover isolated acts as well as repeated behaviour; it depended on the circumstances. The concept was concerned with systems rather than individual transactions.”

WLR Daily, 23rd May 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Is small print in online contracts enforceable? – BBC News

“With some internet companies’ terms and conditions being longer than Shakespeare’s Hamlet, could it be that ‘unfair’ clauses in agreements are not even worth the paper they are printed on?”

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BBC News, 6th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Interflora wins trademark case against Marks & Spencer – The Guardian

Posted May 22nd, 2013 in advertising, consumer protection, damages, internet, news, trade marks by sally

“Marks and Spencer has lost a five-year legal battle with Interflora after it bought advertising space tied to Google searches for the flower delivery network’s name.”

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The Guardian, 21st May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk