Introduction

This chapter analyses the provisions of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the new, comprehensive regime of controls that have been put in place to protect consumers from unfair and unscrupulous activities by traders. The Regulations replace many of the pre-existing provisions while also extending protection in other areas

Section 2 considers the scope of the Regulations, including what constitutes a commercial practice, the meaning of consumers and which transactions are covered by the Regulations.

Section 3 analyses the prohibition against unfair commercial practices and the criminal offence created for breaches of that regulation, and section 4 deals with the prohibition against code owners using codes of conduct to promote unfair commercial activities.

Section 5 examines the controls over misleading actions that have replaced and extended the law in this area, including the definition of a misleading action, and the regulation 5(4) factors.

Section 6 deals with the issue of misleading omissions to prevent traders from misleading consumers by omitting or hiding material information. Section 7 looks at the prohibition against aggressive commercial practices, including an analysis of the various types of activity that can be classed as aggressive.

Section 8 analyses the thirty-one commercial practices detailed in Schedule 1 to the Regulations, which are always presumed to be unfair, and section 9 discusses the offences created by the Regulations.