Jersey retailers face fines of up to £10,000 if they mislead consumers under new laws.
The Economic Development Minister’s package of measures outlines proposals for 31 ‘banned practises’.
In addition to the specific actions, the law – due to be debated by the States in February – will also cover misleading, unfair and aggressive tactics that put consumers at a disadvantage.
The law will be enforced by Trading Standards Officers and injunctions can be sought through the Royal Court when traders don’t immediately put things right.
Introducing the legislation, Senator Lyndon Farnham said: “This law is based on the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005 which was implemented in the UK by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations. These Regulations were seen as one of the most significant overhauls of consumer protection, replacing most of the Trade Descriptions Act and the Consumer Protection Act in the UK. If approved, this law will provide islanders with modern and fit for purpose consumer protection.”
The 31 specific banned practises are:
Endorsements or authorisations
1. You should not claim that you are a signatory to a code of conduct when you’re not.
2. You must not display a trust mark or quality mark without authorisation to do so.
3. You must not claim that a code of conduct is endorsed by a public or other body if it is not.
4. You must not claim that you, your business or product has been approved/endorsed/authorised by a public or private body if that is untrue. For example, a plumber who claims that he is ‘Gas Safe’ registered, when they are not.
Product availability
5. You must not lure a consumer into believing that they can buy a product at a price when you already know that you can’t supply that product or have limited availability and you haven’t made the consumer aware of this. This is known as ‘bait’ advertising.
6. You must not lure consumers to purchase a product and then – refuse to show the advertised item to the consumer; refuse to take orders for it or deliver it within a reasonable time; show a defective sample of the product to convince the consumer to purchase a different product (known as bait and switch).
7. You must not falsely claim that a product or special offer will only be available for a very limited time, or that it will only be available on particular terms for a very limited time, in order to force a consumer into making a quick decision to buy that product. This can take away the customer’s opportunity to make an informed decision.
Communicating in other languages
8. If your aftersales service is only available in English and where you have communicated with the consumer in another language, you must inform them of this before the sale takes place.
Illegally selling goods
9. You must not state or create the impression that goods can be legally sold when they can’t. Using consumer rights to make a sale
10. You must not use legal consumer rights as a distinctive feature of your offer. For example, you should not claim that refunding or replacing faulty goods is only available in your shop.
Advertorials and the media
11. You must not use editorial content in the media to promote a product where the promotion has been paid for by a trader (advertorial) without making this clear to the consumer.
Risks to personal security
12. You must not make a false claim regarding risks to the personal security of consumers or their families if they don’t buy your product.
Imitation goods
13. You must not promote a product similar to one made by a particular manufacturer if this could deliberately mislead the consumer into believing that it was made by the same manufacturer when it is not.
Pyramid schemes
14. You must not establish, operate or promote a pyramid promotional scheme where a consumer pays for the opportunity to receive money that comes from the introduction of other consumers into the scheme, rather than from the sale of products.
Closing down or moving premises
15. You must not claim that you are about to cease trading or move premises when you are not.
Claims about a product or market conditions
16. You must not claim that a product can help you win a game of chance.
17. You must not falsely claim that a product is able to cure illnesses.
18. You must not give a consumer materially inaccurate information on market conditions relating to a product (or on the possibility of finding that product) to convince the consumer to buy that product at conditions which are worse than normal market conditions. For example, a trader bidding under a separate account for their own goods on eBay in order to increase the price the consumer will pay for those goods.
Awarding competition prizes
19. You must not claim to offer a competition or prize promotion without awarding the prizes described or a reasonable equivalent.
Free products
20. You must not claim that a product is ‘free’, ‘without charge’ or similar if the consumer has to pay anything other than the unavoidable cost of responding and collecting or paying for delivery of the item.
Seeking payment
21. You must not include in marketing materials any invoice or document seeking payment which may give the impression that the consumer has ordered the product when they have not.
Trade status
22. You must not claim to be, or create the impression that you are, a consumer when you are acting in your trade, business or professional capacity. For example, a trader who advertises a used car for sale, does not mention that this is a trade sale and parks the car on the road to give the impression it is a private sale.
Aftersales (availability in the EU)
23. You must not give the impression to a consumer that aftersales services for their product are available within the European Economic Area (EEA) if this service is only available in Jersey.
Putting pressure on the consumer
24. You must not create the impression that the consumer cannot leave premises until they have bought goods or services.
25. You must not ignore a consumer’s request to leave (and/or not return) when visiting their home. There are legal exceptions to this, for example Viscount Officers collecting debts.
26. You must not make persistent and unwanted contact with a consumer. For example phone calls, emails and texts. There are legal exceptions to this, for example Viscount Officers collecting debts.
Insurance claims
27. You must not ask a consumer to provide unnecessary and irrelevant information to prove a valid insurance claim, or fail to respond to important correspondence both of which could put the consumer off making that insurance claim.
Advertising to children
28. In advertisements you must not directly encourage a child to buy a product or persuade other adults to buy it for them.
Payment for goods not ordered
29. You must not demand payment for goods that were not ordered by a consumer (unless they have agreed to substitute goods in accordance with the Distance Selling (Jersey) Law 2007). For example, a trader writes to consumers informing them of a new quality dishcloth which they are selling for £2.99. In the letter, the trader encloses one of the cloths for the consumer to inspect and says that if the consumer does not return the cloth within 7 days, then action will be taken to collect the £2.99.
Using guilt to make a sale
30. You must not tell a consumer that your job or livelihood will be at risk if they do not buy the product or service you are offering.
Claiming a prize
31. You must not create a false impression that the consumer has already won, will win (or will on doing a particular act win) a prize, when in fact there is no prize, or, in order to claim the prize, the consumer has to pay money or incur a cost.
