Barrister compliance with transparency rules increases sharply – Legal Futures

Posted July 29th, 2022 in barristers, consumer protection, news, statistics by sally

‘The Bar has improved its compliance with the rules on transparency and more consumers are shopping around for potential providers, Bar Standards Board (BSB) research has found.’

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Legal Futures, 29th July 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Consumers increasingly shopping around for lawyers, panel finds – Legal Futures

Posted July 19th, 2022 in consumer protection, legal services, news, statistics by sally

‘Regulatory initiatives to encourage consumers to shop around, such as making it easier for them to compare prices, are starting to pay off, according to the Legal Services Consumer Panel’s 11th annual tracker survey.’

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Legal Futures, 19th July 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

BSB to probe if solicitors give clients choice when instructing barristers – Legal futures

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is to gather evidence from solicitors on how they choose a barrister, including whether they offer their clients a choice – or even take account of a client’s views.’

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Legal Futures, 14th July 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Online Safety Bill: first indications of Ofcom’s regulatory approach – Panopticon

Posted July 7th, 2022 in bills, consultations, consumer protection, internet, news by sally

‘Ofcom has today published its “roadmap to regulation” if and when the Online Safety Bill becomes law, together with a “call for evidence” for the first phase of online safety regulation. Both are premised on the current version of the Online Safety Bill, which is acknowledged to be subject to alteration as the legislation goes through the Parliamentary process.’

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Panopticon, 6th July 2022

Source: panopticonblog.com

Apple faces £768m collective action for ‘throttling’ iPhones – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 17th, 2022 in class actions, competition, consumer protection, news, telecommunications by tracey

‘Technology giant Apple is facing a £768m collective action over claims it secretly “throttled” iPhones with software updates to disguise overloaded batteries.
Consumer champion Justin Gutmann, formerly of Citizens Advice, is bringing the case on behalf of around 25 million people against Apple for allegedly abusing its market dominance by concealing a ‘power management tool’ in updates which reduced iPhones’ performance by up to 58%.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 16th June 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

AI raises ‘challenges’ with existing product liability law, study finds – OUT-LAW.com

‘UK product liability laws need to be updated to address the use of artificial intelligence (AI), an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th June 2022

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Case Preview: Hastings v Finsbury Orthopaedics Limited and Anor – UKSC Blog

‘The appeal was heard by the UK Supreme Court on 28 April 2022. In this case, Mr Hastings appeals against the findings of the lower courts in Scotland that the metal-on-metal prosthesis used for his total hip replacement was not defective within the terms of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (the “CPA”).’

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UKSC Blog, 20th May 2022

Source: ukscblog.com

Court of Appeal backs decision to make collective action opt-out – Legal Futures

‘The difficulty of people signing up to a collective action and the availability of third-party funding were legitimate factors to take into account in making it opt-out, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 9th May 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

UK watchdog will have power to impose huge fines on big tech firms – The Guardian

‘A new tech watchdog will be given the power to impose multibillion-pound fines on major firms such as Google and Facebook if they breach rules designed to protect consumers and businesses.’

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The Guardian, 5th May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK consumer law enforcement powers to be bolstered – OUT-LAW.com

‘Businesses that breach UK consumer protection laws will be subject to fines of up to 10% of their annual global turnover under changes to legislation the UK government has committed to making.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st April 2022

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

UK to make fake reviews illegal and tackle ‘subscription traps’ – The Guardian

Posted April 20th, 2022 in competition, consumer protection, deceit, internet, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘Fake reviews are to be outlawed and consumers will have more chances to get out of subscriptions they do not want under a package of measures proposed by the UK government to stop people being ripped off online.’

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The Guardian, 20th April 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Two Lidl ads banned over ‘misleading’ Tesco price comparison – The Guardian

Posted April 8th, 2022 in advertising, complaints, consumer protection, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘Two Lidl adverts claiming shoppers could make big savings compared with Tesco have been banned after a complaint from the rival discounter Aldi.’

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The Guardian, 6th April 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK introduces exhaustive Online Safety Bill – BBC News

Posted March 17th, 2022 in bills, consumer protection, fraud, internet, news, pornography by tracey

‘The government is to introduce its long-awaited Online Safety Bill in Parliament on Thursday.’

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BBC News, 17th March 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Companies fined for marketing calls targeting elderly – BBC News

Posted March 16th, 2022 in consumer protection, elderly, fines, insurance, news, ombudsmen, telecommunications by tracey

‘Five companies who made thousands of unwanted marketing calls to “older, vulnerable people” must pay fines totalling £405,000.’

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BBC News, 16th March 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Research Briefing: Doorstep selling – House of Commons Library

Posted March 4th, 2022 in consumer protection, news, parliament by tracey

‘This paper outlines the current regulation of doorstep selling (or cold calling) under the provisions of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. It also provides information on how “No Cold Calling Zones” work in practice.’

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House of Commons Library , 3rd March 2022

Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk

Competition watchdog accepts Google’s privacy changes – The Independent

‘The competition watchdog has accepted proposed changes made by Google to the way it uses customer data.’

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The Independent, 11th February 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Porn sites will be legally required to verify users’ age – BBC News

Posted February 8th, 2022 in children, consumer protection, internet, news, pornography by sally

‘Porn websites in the UK will be legally required to verify the age of their users under new internet safety laws.’

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BBC News, 8th February 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Flight compensation overhaul for domestic airline passengers – The Independent

‘The days of £220 payouts to delayed passengers who have paid only £30 for a domestic flight may soon be over. The Department for Transport (DfT) is consulting on proposals to overhaul the European air passengers’ rights rules for flights within the UK.’

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The Independent, 31st January 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Treasury plans crackdown on ‘misleading’ cryptocurrency ads – The Guardian

‘The government has unveiled plans to crack down on misleading cryptocurrency ads by making them subject to the same regulations as marketing for other financial products such as shares and insurance.’

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The Guardian, 18th January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Research Briefing: New-build housing: construction defects – issues and solutions (England) – House of Commons Library

Posted January 18th, 2022 in building law, construction industry, consumer protection, housing, news by tracey

‘New-build housing: construction defects – issues and solutions (England).’

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House of Commons Library, 17th January 2022

Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk