Introducing New Codes of Practice - Summer 2003

01 July 2003

Industries seeking to raise the level of their customer service can now receive help from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in drafting codes of practice. The OFT has been given the role of approving and promoting business-to-consumer codes of practice in collaboration with trade associations and other industry bodies.

As well as helping consumers to identify businesses with better customer service, these voluntary codes are intended to spread best practice and encourage firms to go further in protecting consumer interests.

A consumer code of practice can be defined as a set of rules that a group of businesses agree to follow when supplying goods and services to consumers. These may include a commitment to provide clear and accurate product information, fair contract terms, proper after-sales service and a thorough complaints procedure.

To gain OFT approval - signified by an official symbol – a two-stage process must be completed.

• In Stage One the industry body or ‘code sponsor’ must draw up the code in accordance with published OFT criteria and in consultation with relevant consumer bodies
• In Stage Two the code sponsor must provide evidence, likely to be gathered over a period of at least six months, that the code is working in practice and delivering real benefits for consumers. If the OFT is satisfied with this, it will approve and promote the code and allow businesses to use the OFT ‘approved code’ logo in their marketing literature

The OFT will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the code after approval, and if problems arise, it will expect the code sponsor to take appropriate action. Failure to do so could result in the public withdrawal of OFT approval.

Since the initiative was launched last October, a number of industry bodies have reached Stage One approval. These include the Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA), the Vehicle Builders and Repairers Association (VBRA), the Direct Selling Association (DSA) and the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).

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