Clause 8 - OFT to prepare information sheets on arrears and default
Consumer Credit Bill
9:55 am
Gerry Sutcliffe (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs), Department of Trade and Industry; Bradford South, Labour)
I shall spend a little time on clause 8 because it is about the powers of the Office of Fair Trading, and I know that hon. Members raised that issue on Second Reading.
The Government are committed to ensuring that all consumers receive clear, concise, independent information about debt management options, including debt advice. The best times for that are when consumers are told about being in arrears and when they receive a default notice. The clause requires the Office of Fair Trading to prepare and publish information sheets to be included with notices about arrears and default notices. Those sheets will be published by means of a general notice.
The arrears information sheet will include information to help debtors and hirers who receive arrears notices under clauses 9 and 10. The default information sheet will include information to help debtors and hirers who receive default notices under the 1974 Act. The type of information on each sheet may be specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State, and the Department will consult with interested parties before any regulations are made.
To give creditors and owners time to obtain the new information sheets, proposed new section 86A(5) of the 1974 Act states that a new information sheet will take effect three months after it is published by the OFT in general notice. Proposed new subsections (6) and (7) state that the OFT may revise the information sheets. A revised information sheet will take effect three months after it is published by the OFT in a general notice.