Protecting the Consumer
TtIs Molony mystery pack is open at last. On Wednesday, almost three years to the day from its first meeting, the Committee on Con- sumer Protection has presented Parliament with its report. It is a cautious document full of sound, common-sense suggestions. It may ruffle the FBI slightly, it could cause a gentle tremor at the headquarters of the Hire Purchase Trade Asso- ciation, but it is unlikely to create violent con- troversy in the House of Commons. True, the Committee's main recommendation, the 'Shoplifting, eh? Right. Sixteen days in Holloway and deportation to Guildford: establishment of an independent consumer coun- cil, appointed by the President of the Board of Trade and wholly financed out of public funds, may get a rather damp reception from the Conservative side of the House. But Choice, the only Conservative statement on consumer protection, did acknowledge the need for a cen- tral body to administer consumer affairs, while the other two parties have both declared their support for a national consumer council. It is to be hoped that the strong emphasis in the report on the advisory function of any con- sumer council that may be set up, and the sug- gestion that it should be exempted from any responsibility for handling comparative testing or shoppers' complaints, does not mean that we shall be saddled with yet another quasi- official body without any teeth. The numerous recommendations which will involve either new legislation or amendment to existing laws are logical enough to find favour on both sides of the House. A seventy-two-hour delay before an HP contract becomes binding and the com- pulsion to state in advertisements the total hire- purchase price are suggestions unlikely to cause any acrimony at Westminster, nor will the pro- posal that seals of approval should be subjected to compulsory registration.
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