Mobile Phone Companies vs the CCA: The Saga Continues
The Office of Fair Trading has asked me not to reproduce their response to my original query, because what they’ve told me has never been tested in court, is a response to my specific query, and cannot be seen to constitute legal advice.
Personally, I think that’s a bit daft, but I’m not going to defy a specific request not to make private correspondence public, even if it is private correspondence with a public body and in the public interest.
However, with the same disclaimers—that is, that I’m definitely not a solicitor, and this cannot in any way, shape, or form, constitute legal advice, I intend to tell you what they’ve said.
Now, the thing here is that the OFT have a habit of talking in terms of legalese (nature of the game, unfortunately), so I’m forced to draw my own interpretations. Therefore, you should bear in mind that I could very well be wrong.
The guts of it, though.
First, where something is offered and regulated by the Consumer Credit Act, the position is pretty clear: certain bits of information must be clearly presented to the consumer before they sign up. The OFT directed me to their rather informative web page on the subject.
Second, in terms of advertising credit, apparently traders must be willing to provide a cash option as an alternative.
If my interpretation is correct, then most people should have seen a piece of paper entitled “Pre-contract information”, which details the finer points of the credit, hire, or hire-purchase agreement that you’re about to enter into. You should be able to take this home with you. So far as I can tell, the prominence and availability of this information is non-negotiable.
I don’t know anybody who has.
One the second part, I’m waiting to find out how this applies to deals where one or more forms of regulated credit are bundled together (as could well often be the case with mobile phones)—if a contract is advertised at £30/month, how does one pay for the credit portion upfront—for example, getting the same contract, but avoiding the subsidy?
You’ll know when I do.
