Travel businesses will have to come to terms with a raft of new consumer protection regulations next April in what is described as the biggest upheaval since the 1960s.
Existing UK consumer legislation will be swept away and replaced by regulations in line with the European Commission’s Unfair Commercial Practices Directive of 2005.
But a senior travel industry lawyer fears the new regulations will lead to widespread uncertainty and warns that business leaders risk criminal prosecution when they may be unaware of even committing an offence.
Stephen Mason of Stephen Mason Solicitors said: “We are going from clear and concrete concepts to vague principles.”
Peter Deft, the official in charge of implementation at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, said: “The Directive introduces a general prohibition on unfair commercial practices that will apply to travel agents and tour operators. If a website gives the impression a consumer is buying a package holiday and the purchase is not ATOL-protected it could be ‘misleading’.”
The regulations will impose a general duty not to trade unfairly and prohibit misleading practices – including misleading by the omission of information.
Up to 22 existing laws will be repealed in whole or in part when they are introduced, including the Trade Descriptions Act and Consumer Protection Act, to harmonise consumer protection in Europe and allow businesses to operate across national borders.
However, Mason added: “With these vague regulations, how will a business know if what it is doing may be considered unfair?”
He said firms knew how to stay on the right side of the existing Trade Descriptions Act, which makes it illegal to indicate a price is lower than in reality or to suggest things are included in a price when they cost extra.