House of Commons Public Bill Committee Proceedings

Session 2013 - 14
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Other Bills before Parliament

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 11 March 2014
36

Consumer Rights Bill, continued

New Clauses

Consumer protection for small business operations

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

Not called  NC1

To move the following Clause:—

‘The Government shall publish a report within three months of the enactment of

this Act to set out how businesses with fewer than 250 employees can secure

appropriate consumer protection in their purchase of goods and services for use

within their business operations.’.

Right to corrective action

Mark Durkan

Fiona O’Donnell

Negatived on division  NC2

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
This section applies if either—

(a)
the responsible economic actor has identified that goods supplied present

a health and safety risk to the conusmer, or

(b)
the appropriate authority has identified that goods supplied present a risk

to the public safety, and


as a result, the product is subject to corrective action by either party (a “recall

action”).

(2)
The consumer has the right to expect that the responsible economic actor for any

goods supplied subject to a recall action must take all reasonable steps to inform

all persons affected, or likely to be affected by the safety risks from the goods,

within the shortest period of time practicable.

(3)
The consumer, if placed at risk by goods subject to a recall action, has the right

to prompt and effective action by the economic actor of that product to ensure

that—

(a)
the defect posing a safety risk to any persons affected or likely to be

affected is eliminated;

(b)
the actions required to achieve (a) do not cause significant inconvenience

to the consumer; and

(c)
all costs associated with the recall action are borne by the reponsible

economic actor.

(4)
The Secretary of State will periodically gather and make publicly available

information relating to safety incidents caused by recalled goods, and estimates

of how many such goods still remain unaccounted for.

(5)
The effectiveness of recall actions, and the procedures in place to achieve

successful recalls, will be the subject of periodic review by the Secretary of State,

with reference to public information on recalls in subsection (4) and any other

relevant data.

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 11 March 2014
37

Consumer Rights Bill, continued

(6)
For the purposes of subsections (4) and (5), the Secretary of State must consult

with—

(a)
market regulators;

(b)
relevant authorities; and

(c)
any other bodies he thinks appropriate.

(7)
For the purposes of this section “economic actor” means—

(a)
a “trader” as defined in section 2(2), or

(b)
a manufacturer of “goods” as defined in section 2(8).’.

Right to supply unique goods

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

Negatived on division  NC3

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
A trader offering unique goods for sale must provide the consumer with

information to enable the consumer to directly identify the unique qualities of the

good they are purchasing.

(2)
Where a consumer cannot confirm the goods are unique in person, the consumer

has the right to reject these goods at any point prior to consumption.

(3)
Where the goods are for use in relation to an event of national significance the

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport shall reserve the right to designate

further restrictions and conditions on the sale and resale of these goods in relation

to their unique qualities.

(4)
For the purposes of this section unique goods are defined as having distinct

characteristics which would affect—

(a)
the enjoyment of the goods by the consumer;

(b)
the use of the goods by the consumer; or

(c)
the inherent value of the goods in question.

(5)
For the purpose of this section an event of national significance is one which is

designated for this purpose as such by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media

and Sport under the provisions of section 299 (categorisation of listed events) of

the Communications Act 2003.’.

Guidance on new investigatory powers

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

Not called  NC4

To move the following Clause:—

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 11 March 2014
38

Consumer Rights Bill, continued

‘(1)
The Secretary of State will consult on and publish detailed guidance for all

Trading Standards Services in relation to the changes to powers under section

77.’.

Ombudsman Services

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

Withdrawn  NC5

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Secretary of State shall be responsible for the licensing of ombudsman

services and delegating powers to competent authorities on behalf of the

Government to provide effective access to alternative dispute resolution

processes as set out in the European Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute

resolution.

(2)
Within three months of Royal Assent of this Act the Secretary of State shall

publish guidance which forms the basis of the legal accreditation of the term

ombudsman which covers the following matters—

(a)
the powers that any ombudsman may have in relation to the industry over

which they have supervision including any capacity to secure

compensation for consumers;

(b)
the relationship and status of the traders’ dispute resolution procedures

on the conduct of any investigation by the ombudsman authority;

(c)
powers to direct traders to comply with their investigatory proceedings;

(d)
powers to enforce breaches of regulations in individual cases;

(e)
powers to make recommendations to regulators regarding conduct within

the industry they oversee which may be responsible for consumer

detriment;

(f)
the nature of their independence and how this will be protected in

accordance with directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute resolution;

(g)
the status that any advice that they may issue will have for both consumer

and trader including within legal proceedings;

(h)
the duty for all ombudsman services to report to Parliament on the nature

and persistence of any complaints they receive and the outcome of any

resolution process;

(i)
the duty for all ombudsman services to make recommendations to

Parliament on measures to address consumer detriment within the

industry for which they have oversight;

(j)
the duty on ombudsman services to provide formal consumer

representation within their governance structures;

(k)
how competent authorities will ensure that there is no overlap,

duplication or gaps in the provision of ombudsman services to

consumers;

(l)
the completion of dispute resolution procedures within 90 days of the

complaint being received;

(m)
the limits to any costs a consumer would incur in participating in an ADR

process overseen by the ombudsman.

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 11 March 2014
39

Consumer Rights Bill, continued

(3)
Any organisation unlicensed by the Secretary of State shall not be considered an

ombudsman.

(4)
The Secretary of State will also set out the penalties for the misuse of the term

ombudsman or the powers of ombudsman services.

(5)
The Secretary of State shall be responsible for ensuring consumers have a single

point of contact to identify the relevant ombudsman services.’.

Report on work of Implementation Group

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

Withdrawn  NC6

To move the following Clause:—

‘On commencement, the Secretary of State will report to Parliament on the work

of the Implementation Group on the work to ensure consumers and businesses are

adequately informed of the changes in the law by this Act, especially with regard

to the key rights at the point of sale.’.

Requirements for statutory regulators

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

Withdrawn  NC7


To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
Within three months of Royal Assent of this Act, the Secretary of State shall set

out in guidance requirements for all statutory regulators to provide—

(a)
formal representation for consumers on all governance bodies;

(b)
an annual competition and consumer rights health check within their

industry which has been approved by the Consumer Association; and

(c)
periodic consideration of whether there is a need for independent advice,

free at the point of delivery, to ensure consumers’ rights are protected.

(2)
If there is a need under subsection (1)(c), the Secretary of State shall review the

case for the introduction of levies to support that provision.’.

[Adjourned until Thursday at 11.30 am



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