Clause 19 - Unfair relationships between
Consumer Credit Bill
3:15 pm
James Brokenshire (Hornchurch, Conservative)
I agree with my hon. Friend. The point is that we want to be as clear as we can from the outset to give certainty to the industry, borrowers and people in tough situations who borrow money and then find out that they have signed up to things that they did not agree with. They want to have clarity when they sign up in the first place as to whether something is fair or not. They want to know whether they are being taken advantage of. It is a question of setting out practices and principles that the industry can adopt so that we raise the standard and ensure that the public are protected.
I was interested to read in the OFT guidance note:
''The OFT will not seek to enforce part 8 powers''—
this is a reference to the Enterprise Act 2002—
''until final guidance has been published''.
It aims to do this
''well in advance of the new provisions coming into force.''
I would have hoped that that had been done by now.
In considering the Bill, it would be helpful if detailed proposals were in place. It lends strength to the fact that the OFT will sit back and consider the court's interpretation. The OFT has said, ''Courts look at things on a case-by-case basis. We can't say necessarily whether something is unfair. We would need to see whether a pattern develops in the industry as a whole to judge whether there is a collective problem in doing all this.'' Again, that pushes matters back to the courts. That is not the right way to approach the process. We are able to create regulations that will clear the matter up and specify in detail what is intended. I passionately believe that that is in the best interests of the industry and, most important, of the customers and our constituents who borrow money.