CTSI HAS ITS SAY Some of the institutes contributions to government policy debate Residential leases Identifying priority areas of law call for for evidence Consumer law compliance review: cloud storage services Residential leases: fees on transfer of title, change of occupancy and other events Law Commission, January 2016 CMA annual plan 2016 to 2017 CTSI considers this consultation to be very well researched and timely, highlighting matters of consumer detriment that parallel other examples of unfair contract terms. However, the institute remains concerned about terms and conditions in standard form contracts. Consumers with busy lives do not have time to read them, and deliberately lengthy and complex contract terms seem designed to deter consumers from further inquiry. If they do investigate without specialist help, the jargon and unfamiliar terms used often render such investigation meaningless especially the arcane terms used in land law and associated matters. This study highlights another relevant factor consumers who want something are often gullible and indifferent to warnings of inherent danger evidencing the need for consumer protection legislation; the EU has been quite forward-thinking in its consumer protection provision. The CTSI supports the Law Commission argument for regulation to control the phrasing of event fees in residential leases, similarly to existing controls on consumer contracts. This would make terms and conditions readily available before a bargain is struck, regulating unfair contract terms, and proscribing misleading practices. The Institute also supports an improvement in the code of practice provision in the furtherance of good practice. It agrees that developers, operators and managing agents should domore to bring event fees to the attention of prospective purchasers atan early stage, and that there is a need to reform the law to achieve this objective. CTSI agrees that the proposals in this consultation will increase consumer confidence in the specialist housing market but, as this is only one of several factors that affect buoyancy in the property and leasehold markets, its impact is difficult to assess. However, the market is better with increased consumer confidence through improved regulation than without it. Lead officer: David Sanders For more information, and to contribute to consultations such as these, visit www.tradingstandards.uk Credits Images: Elzbieta Sekowska / TarikVision / To share this page, in the toolbar click on You might also like CTSI has its say February 2016 vasabii / Shutterstock / Business Companion website Identifying priority areas of law call for evidence Legal Services Consumer Panel, January 2016 CTSI recognises that consumers are most at risk of detriment in the regulation of complex financial products, such as pensions andinvestments; most people are unsophisticated consumers whenconfronting areas like finance, and this represents an area of weakregulation. Consumers are at very high risk of both financial detriment and psychological impact from mass marketing fraud and doorstep crime. Despite low reporting levels, the average yearly loss per person affected is 1,280 for doorstep crime alone, totalling more than 9bn per year, according to the National TaskingForce Estimate 2015. Consumers need to know that scams feed into organised crime/terrorism, but consumer education on this is woefully inadequate. Information on legitimacy of companies is difficult to find and inadequate. Companies House details are often out of date. CTSI understands that Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-regulated companies can sell non-FCA regulated products, potentially leading toconfusion. Spoofing phone numbers easier with VOIP can mask the origin oftelephone calls, despite the provision of caller ID. As the National Trading Standards Scams Team (NTSST) identifies a victim profile of vulnerable elderly people with physical/ mental health issues or cognitive impairments, accessibility and information deficiencies could be an issue. Many victims lose most of their life savings, so may not be able to afford legal representation and, in immigration services, consumers speaking English as a second language may be more vulnerable. Pension scammers, and those offering unregulated investments andexpensive consumer goods and services, will target an older population group potentially with health issues who are accessing their pension pots. The commercial availability of data means both legitimate providers of assistive technology and the unscrupulous and criminal can target them. People are often unaware that when moving money to non-regulated investments, or making purchases, they can incur significant tax liabilities, which they will still owe to HMRC after being scammed. Lead officer: Brian Smith For more information, and to contribute to consultations such as these, visit www.tradingstandards.uk Consumer law compliance review: cloud storage services Competition and Markets Authority, January 2016 CTSI expects consumer demand for cloud storage in particular unlimited data storage to persist, as data use and creation of large files, such as photos and video, continue to increase. Online reviews and recent consumer journalism suggest that unlimited storage may not mean what the consumer expected, and that there are limits, as found with unlimited texts in a mobile phonecontract. Although this may only rarely be an issue, cloud storage consumers may reach a limit more often, potentially losing files of high sentimental or legal/financial value, as storage providers struggle to keep up with the increase in customer storage demands. If so, marketing of services must be accurate and realistic, with limits properly communicated to consumers. There will be a role for trading standards using the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) and other consumer laws to police this area as it develops. Another CPRs matter concerns the geographical siting of the data. If it is outside the UK or EU, this material information should be disclosed to consumers, who may wish to choose a provider holding the data closer to home. Some providers will be wholly based overseas, exacerbating practical difficulties for consumers seeking to take action against such businesses. CTSI expects the following issues, not in the central remit of trading standards, to continue to be important to consumers: G Energy use linked to cloud storage and its carbon footprint G Data security fears G Privacy concerns Although this review focuses on consumer cloud storage, CTSI emphasises the need to protect small business cloud storage customers, for whom data storage is increasingly central. It is important that they are not misled by inappropriate marketing, or otherwise badly served by providers. Micro-businesses and small start-up companies are arguably analogous to consumers in terms of understanding and legal and commercial muscle. Lead officer: David MacKenzie For more information, and to contribute to consultations such as these, visit www.tradingstandards.uk Residential leases: fees on transfer of title, change of occupancy and other events Law Commission, January 2016 CTSI considers this consultation to be very well researched and timely, highlighting matters of consumer detriment that parallel other examples of unfair contract terms. However, the institute remains concerned about terms and conditions in standard form contracts. Consumers with busy lives do not have time to read them, and deliberately lengthy and complex contract terms seem designed to deter consumers from further inquiry. If they do investigate without specialist help, the jargon and unfamiliar terms used often render such investigation meaningless especially the arcane terms used in land law and associated matters. This study highlights another relevant factor consumers who want something are often gullible and indifferent to warnings of inherent danger evidencing the need for consumer protection legislation; the EU has been quite forward-thinking in its consumer protection provision. The CTSI supports the Law Commission argument for regulation to control the phrasing of event fees in residential leases, similarly to existing controls on consumer contracts. This would make terms and conditions readily available before a bargain is struck, regulating unfair contract terms, and proscribing misleading practices. The Institute also supports an improvement in the code of practice provision in the furtherance of good practice. It agrees that developers, operators and managing agents should domore to bring event fees to the attention of prospective purchasers atan early stage, and that there is a need to reform the law to achieve this objective. CTSI agrees that the proposals in this consultation will increase consumer confidence in the specialist housing market but, as this is only one of several factors that affect buoyancy in the property and leasehold markets, its impact is difficult to assess. However, the market is better with increased consumer confidence through improved regulation than without it. Lead officer: David Sanders For more information, and to contribute to consultations such as these, visit www.tradingstandards.uk