a guide to the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008
(for all nations)
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These Regulations (known as CPRs) replace a lot of previous consumer protection legislation including Part III of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (which dealt with misleading prices), the majority of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968, and the Control of Misleading Advertising Regulations 1988.
Effectively the CPRs prohibit trading practices which are unfair to consumers.
There are four different types of practices to consider:
- 31 specific practices which are always considered to be unfair
- misleading actions and omissions
- aggressive practices
- a general duty not to trade unfairly
The 31 banned practices include false claims of membership of trade associations, pyramid schemes and aggressive sales. The CPRs prohibit misleading actions and misleading omissions, which cause, or are likely to cause, the average consumer to take a different transactional decision. There is also a general duty not to trade unfairly. The CPRs contain criminal offences and also allow civil enforcement action.
