The Consumer Protection (Amendment) Regulations 2014

Made: 31st March 2014

Laid before Parliament: 1st April 2014

Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1

The Secretary of State, as a Minister designated[^f00001] for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972[^f00002], in relation to matters relating to consumer protection and to the control of advertising, makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(2) of that Act.

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Regulations 2014.

• (2) Paragraph (1), this paragraph and regulation 9 come into force on 13th June 2014 immediately before the coming into force of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013[^f00003] and apply in relation to contracts entered into on or after that date.

• (3) The remaining provisions of these Regulations come into force on 1st October 2014 and apply in relation to contracts entered into, or payments made, on or after that date.

• (4) In these Regulations “the 2008 Regulations” means the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008[^f00004].

Amendments to regulation 2 of the 2008 Regulations

2

• (1) Regulation 2 of the 2008 Regulations (interpretation) is amended as follows.

• (2) In paragraph (1), in the definition of “business”—

• (a) after “includes” insert “—(a)”, and

• (b) after “profession” insert—

, and (b) the activities of any government department or local or public authority;

• (3) In that paragraph, for the definition of “consumer” substitute—

• “consumer” means an individual acting for purposes that are wholly or mainly outside that individual’s business;

• (4) In that paragraph, after that definition insert—

• “digital content” means data which are produced and supplied in digital form;

• (5) In that paragraph, for the definition of “goods” substitute—

• “goods” means any tangible moveable items, but that includes water, gas and electricity if and only if they are put up for sale in a limited volume or set quantity;

• (6) In that paragraph, for the definition of “product” substitute—

• “product” means—goods,a service,digital content,immoveable property,rights or obligations, ora product of the kind mentioned in paragraphs (1A) and (1B),but the application of this definition to Part 4A is subject to regulations 27C and 27D;.

• (7) In that paragraph, for the definition of “trader” substitute—

• “trader”—means a person acting for purposes relating to that person’s business, whether acting personally or through another person acting in the trader’s name or on the trader’s behalf, andexcept in Part 4A, includes a person acting in the name of or on behalf of a trader;

• (8) In that paragraph, in the definition of “transactional decision”, after paragraph (b) insert “(but the application of this definition to regulations 5 and 7 as they apply for the purposes of Part 4A is subject to regulation 27B(2))”.

• (9) After that paragraph insert—

(1A) A trader (“T”) who demands payment from a consumer (“C”) in full or partial settlement of C’s liabilities or purported liabilities to T is to be treated for the purposes of these Regulations as offering to supply a product to C. (1B) In such a case the product that T offers to supply comprises the full or partial settlement of those liabilities or purported liabilities.

New Part 4A of the 2008 Regulations

3

After Part 4 of the 2008 Regulations insert—