£5,000 fines for dodgy traders under new EU consumer protection laws

Tuesday 27 October 2015

Dodgy traders could be fined up to £5,000 per offence under major reforms of Jersey’s consumer protection rules led by new EU legislation.

The new rules – which could be in place by March – would mean that traders could be fined up to £5,000 for misleading or aggressive sales practices.

The new legislation would effectively extend EU-wide laws aimed to protect consumers’ rights to Jersey, giving Jersey consumers the same rights that apply across the EU.

The legislation would make it illegal to:

- Falsely claim that a product is only available for a limited time to force a customer into a quick decision.

- Use fake prize draws, or claiming a prize is subject to a customer paying a fee.

- Demand payment for products a consumer has not asked for.

It would also make it illegal for tradesmen to:

- Refuse to leave someone’s home.

- Tell a consumer they cannot leave a set of premises without signing a contract.

- Make persistent and unwanted approaches by phone, fax or email.

Five years’ ago a major consultation found that Jersey law did not do enough to protect the rights of shoppers who were being unfairly treated – but nothing was done to fix them because the Economic Development department said that “legislative action was not possible”.

But now the minister, Senator Lyndon Farnham, says that the extension of the EU laws would offer better protection to Islanders.

The full rules will be debated by politicians on 19 January – you can see the proposals here.