Codes of Practice
Codes of practice can help to protect consumers’ rights and can offer consumer protection and service above the basics set down in law. They can improve consumer confidence and help businesses because they are easily modified so can keep pace with rapid market developments.
The Government believes that self-regulation by means of an effective code of practice can, in some areas, be a viable alternative to regulation. This is because legislation can be inflexible and difficult to change. Regulation can also impose unnecessary bureaucracy and additional costs upon business that can have a knock on effect for consumers through increased prices.
The Enterprise Act 2002 formally empowered the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to approve codes of practice. The Consumer Codes Approval Scheme will cover the whole range of operations of business sectors, and OFT’s core criteria have been designed to cover both offline and online activities.
The Government is following the evolution of plans for a European codes scheme being coordinated under the European Commission’s e-confidence initiative. Draft principles for codes of good practice have been developed in close collaboration with business and consumer representatives. Building on this work, the Commission announced its intention to publish a policy document on online consumer confidence.
Internationally, the UK supports work in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on policy on codes of practice and continuing work on the Guidelines for Consumer Protection in the Context of Electronic Commerce.