Business to consumer (B2C)
The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 govern business-to-consumer advertising.
They prohibit certain kinds of practices that businesses might use to market their products to consumers. These are referred to as ‘unfair commercial practices’. They include:
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aggressive sales practices (sometimes known as ‘pressure selling’) - ie coercion, harassment, or undue pressure used to impair consumers’ freedom to make a well-informed choice, causing them to make a purchase they wouldn’t otherwise have made
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misleading practices (ie misleading actions or omissions) - such as giving or withholding information in a way that causes deception or confusion. For example, advertising goods that don't exist or making incorrect comparisons to other products
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limited offers - falsely stating that a product will only be available for a short amount of time (or that it will only be available on certain terms, such as for the listed price, for a limited time)
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bait advertising - luring in customers with adverts for products at special prices if the products are not in stock or only in very limited supply (eg with the intention of the promoting other products to these customers as alternatives)
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other ‘banned practices’ - for example, displaying false endorsements, falsely claiming a product cures something, or pretending to interact with consumers as another consumer (ie not as a business)
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the general prohibition on unfair commercial practices - practices that don’t fall into any of the above categories may still be prohibited under this general prohibition if the practice:
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is contrary to the requirement of ‘professional diligence’ (ie it is conduct that’s not considered honest, good faith practice by a trader), and
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impairs (or is likely to impair) consumers’ freedom to make a well informed choice, causing them to make a purchase they wouldn’t otherwise have made
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Business to business (B2B)
The Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 govern business-to-business advertising. Some of the rules are:
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misleading advertising is prohibited (eg advertising should not deceive traders in any way and affect their economic behaviour, for example by persuading them to make a purchase)
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comparative advertising (ie advertising that identifies a competitor or their product) is only permitted subject to certain conditions being met (eg it should not take advantage of the intellectual property (IP) rights of a competitor or be misleading)
Failure to abide by the Regulations may lead to the company that is advertising their products or services being reported to a local trading standards office, which can result in fines and prosecution.