United Kingdom - OFT's approach to promoting business compliance

The Office of Fair Trading has recently published a policy statement entitled "The OFT's approach to promoting business compliance with consumer protection law".

The statement sets out how the OFT through its own actions and in partnership with others will seek to raise compliance across markets. The OFT approach is based around two themes:

• How we can influence business and consumers to bring about greater compliance with consumer protection law without the need for enforcement action.
• How we can secure compliance through effective tough action against deliberate non-compliant behaviour.

The statement builds on previous OFT research into the drivers of compliance with consumer protection law which was summarised in the report "Consumer Law and Business Practice".