Stricter rules to protect those in debt
They have also been told they must be stricter when it comes to giving out mortgages, according to new measures from the Central Bank.
The stricter rules for banks comes as the Government announced a “radical overhaul” of consumer laws to make shopping easier, cheaper and safer.
Among the measures highlighted in the report of the Sales Review Group, and which will feed into a comprehensive Consumer Rights Act, are:
*Increasing the time period from seven to 14 days in which consumers can withdraw from a purchase made on the internet.
*A ban on excessive credit card payment fees.
*A ban on additional charges on consumers by means of pre-ticked boxes.
The Consumer Rights Act, which will give effect to the recommendations, is expected to be introduced next year.
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton said that existing laws were “totally inappropriate for the era of the smartphone and large supermarket”.
He said transactions involving a consumer on the one hand and a business on the other are “inherently unbalanced” and that the Government has an obligation to regulate where the consumer needs protection.
Solicitor with Michael Powell Solicitors Claire Moran said the proposed changes were overdue but welcome.
“The current law is outdated, draconian and ill-equipped to deal with many of the issues facing consumers today,” she said.
“Given the plethora of laws in this area, consolidation of the existing laws into one comprehensive piece of legislation is of crucial importance.”
One of the main measures is that sellers will not be permitted to charge payment fees greater than the cost of processing the payment. The ban on pre-ticked boxes will especially affect airlines, many of which sign passengers up for travel insurance without the customer having ticked the box.
Ms Powell said: “Undeniably, this revamp of the law will create clearer guidelines for businesses and, in turn, bring about a considerable improvement in the law for consumers, protecting them from substandard sales practices and creating a fairer balance in transactions between businesses and consumers.”
Dermott Jewell, the chief executive of the Consumers’ Association of Ireland, said the scales are rebalanced to the benefit and protection of the consumer.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil is set to have a billed passed in the Dáil this evening on measures to help troubled mortgage holders.
The Government was accused of abandoning six pledges to help debt-ridden homeowners last night as parties debated the Keane report on the mortgage crisis. But Government parties will agree today to pass FF proposals for a debt settlement and mortgage resolution office, to be fleshed out at committee stage.
