Consumer advice sheets for homebuyers and home sellers
Following the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) and the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 (BPRs) guidance produced last year for property sales businesses, the OFT has developed two short consumer advice sheets: one for homebuyers and a separate one for home sellers.
The advice sheets provide:
- an overview of some of the consumer protection law (for example, CPRs) that estate agents must comply with
- advice on what buyers and sellers can do to make the process run smoothly
- details on where to go for further help.
We are encouraging estate agents to make the advice sheets available wherever possible to home sellers and homebuyers.
Download:
- Buying a property? (pdf 290kb)
- Buying a property? (Northern Ireland version) (pdf 289kb)
- Selling a property? (pdf 297kb)
- Selling a property? (Northern Ireland version) (pdf kb)
The OFT's enforcement role is changing
From 2 April 2013, under changes to the consumer protection regime introduced by Government, there will be a greater role for the local authority Trading Standards Services in the enforcement of consumer protection law at national level. The OFT will retain all of its current consumer enforcement powers but will tend to use them where breaches of consumer protection law point to systemic failures in a market. This means cases will more often be taken against a number of firms in a market, rather than cases against individual firms, unless changing the behaviour of one firm would set a precedent or have other market-wide implications.
The OFT will also retain the lead role for the enforcement of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 although the Trading Standards Services will have equal enforcement powers.
In the first instance consumers are encouraged to contact Citizens Advice regarding any problems they may have in buying goods or services.
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