Case Study - The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008)
Here is an example of how this piece of legislation can be used in practice:
Mr B contacts the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline to report that he has paid £2,000 to have his drain unblocked and felt that the tradesmen were aggressive in their manner when Mr B queried the price. As a consequence of this call, Mr B is visited by a Trading Standards Officer (TSO).
After some preliminary investigations the Trading Standards Officer (TSO) concludes that the actual cost of the work should have been approximately £200. The TSO contacts the business in question and explains that they feel the work was over-priced and they used unfair commercial practices as outlined in the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008).
The TSO works with Mr B and the business in order to seek a refund and provide further advice such as using an approved trader scheme in the future.