News Tag: OFT
March 16, 2010
Consumer watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), has today revealed UK banks may soon be offering customers the ability to opt out of unarranged overdraft facilities.
Should the procedure be put in place, it would mean consumers would avoid hefty fees if they slipped into the red.
The announcement comes as the OFT took legal action against banks regarding unauthorised overdraft ...
Consumers to benefit from overdraft opt-out
by Kay Murchie
February 19, 2010
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is recommending a "shake-up" of the way in which most Britons sell their homes, including new legislation that encourages innovation in the estate agency market.
Following a study of the home-buying and selling process, the watchdog concludes: "The housing market remains dominated by traditional estate agents with weak competition between them on price".
It wants to ...
Watchdog recommends “shake-up” of estate agency market
by Gill Montia
February 3, 2010
The planned merger between mobile phone giants, T-Mobile UK and Orange, is set to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
The OFT said the merger "threatens significantly to affect competition in mobile telecommunications in the UK".
At the time of the proposed merger in September, the two phone giants said a deal would create the UK’s largest mobile phone ...
Orange and T-Mobile merger under threat
by Kay Murchie
December 22, 2009
Consumer watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), has announced it is to abandon plans to take further legal action against banks regarding unauthorised overdraft charges.
At the end of last month, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the banks over the fairness of the charges.
The test case originally commenced in July 2007 after it was discovered ...
OFT scraps plans to take further court action against banks
by Kay Murchie
November 30, 2009
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the banks over the fairness of unauthorised overdraft charges.
The legal battle, which has been ongoing since July 2007, came as a devastating blow to consumer groups who have been campaigning for many years about the charges, which they deem to be unfair.
Since the ruling, banking giant Lloyds said it is seeking to ...
Lloyds seeks to dismiss overdraft cases
by Kay Murchie
November 25, 2009
The Supreme Court has today ruled in favour of the banks over the fairness of unauthorised overdraft charges.
The legal battle, which has been ongoing since July 2007, will come as a devastating blow to consumer groups who have been campaigning for many years about the charges, which they deem to be unfair.
However, Lord Phillips, president of the Supreme Court said: ...
Banks win legal battle over unauthorised charges
by Kay Murchie
Unfair bank charges - Supreme Court to decide today
by Kay Murchie
November 17, 2009
The ongoing legal battle between eight high street banks and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) over unauthorised overdraft charges might actually reach a conclusion next week.
Wednesday 25 November is the date that has been set for the Supreme Court to decide whether the OFT has the power to assess whether or not bank charges are fair.
Banks and building societies were ...
Wednesday 25 November is judgement day
by Kay Murchie
October 7, 2009
An investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) found that consumers struggle to understand current account charges, as well as interest rates and overdraft fees.
As a result, new measures from 2011 will see banks make it easier for consumers to understand their costs and charges, as well as making the switching process easier.
This means it will be simpler to transfer ...
Banks agree to make costs transparent
by Kay Murchie
June 23, 2009
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has launched an online version of its register of dodgy estate agents.
Firm's listed have been given warnings or been banned from estate agency work and the list can be viewed at www.oft.gov.uk/estateagentregister
The register can be browsed alphabetically or by date and also provides information on how to report suspected breaches by a firm ...
OFT launches online register of dodgy estate agents
by Gill Montia
March 26, 2009
A report from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has revealed that the new Faster Payments service is not as efficient as it could be.
The Faster Payments service was launched to speed up the time taken for electronic bank payments to clear but the report revealed that the service is only running at 69% capacity. It is expected that ...
OFT report reveals weaknesses of Faster Payments service
by Kay Murchie
March 8, 2009
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has shut down thirteen websites for misleading consumers.
The watchdog said these debt management companies, which have not been named, are using website addresses similar to non-profit organisations and are deliberately misleading customers.
Ray Watson, OFT credit director, said “We believe they are misleading consumers by holding themselves out as free advice agencies ...
OFT shuts down 13 debt advice websites for ‘misleading’ customers
by Kay Murchie
January 22, 2009
Banks are under pressure to back down from their multi-million pound court appeal in favour of overdraft charges.
The banks are currently appealing a High Court ruling from last April that allowed the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to determine the fairness of bank charges.
Some banks were known to charge customers up to £39 for exceeding their overdraft limit or ...
Taxpayer-owned banks pressured to stop overdraft fees
by David Masters
December 8, 2008
Estate agents that have so far survived the housing market downturn can look forward to a review of the market by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), in 2009.
The watchdog has promised to take a comprehensive look at the sector and will be involving both consumer groups and industry bodies.
In a similar study completed in 2004, the OFT ...
OFT to check out competition among estate agents
by Gill Montia
September 25, 2008
Housebuilders are to set up new schemes to protect consumers following a report from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) which has recently completed a study of the market.
While the OFT found that the sector was broadly competitive, it concluded that a code of conduct and a redress scheme are needed for customers who are dissatisfied.
The watchdog is concerned that homebuyers ...
Housebuilders to work on redress scheme
by Gill Montia
June 23, 2008
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has given the Ombudsman for Estate Agents Company Limited (OEA) approval for its estate agents' redress scheme.
The move follows the passing of the Consumer Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007, which will take effect from 1st October, when all estate agents have to be members of an approved ombudsman service.
The scheme provides ...
Estate agency ombudsman approved by Office of Fair Trading
by Gill Montia
April 25, 2008
A decision has been made on the case between the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the eight major High Street banks over unfair bank charges.
Mr Justice Andrew Smith decided that OFT can rule on the fairness of the charges, which many customers have been trying to reclaim.
The judgment by Mr Justice Andrew Smith allows the OFT to begin ...
Decision is made on unfair bank charges
by Kay Murchie
