Consumers face a risky future, no matter what Brexit brings

A new consumer watchdog is welcome, but it alone cannot protect the public, writes Martyn Mclaughlin

Fifty years ago this week, a blow was struck for the little man who had been left with no option but to tear his hair out. Well, whatever hair he had left, that is.

One of the earliest complaints served under the Trade Descriptions Act was lodged against the manufacturer of a so-called “undetectable” toupée. According to one of its newest, and least satisfied customers, the wig was anything but. His grievance was duly upheld. Sadly, court records from the time do not state whether he hurled the offending hairpiece skywards in celebration.

Nowadays, the majority of the act’s provisions have been repealed or superseded, but you need only look at how it continues to be cited by disgruntled punters on online shopping forums to appreciate its impact on the consumer landscape.

The legislation swept away with the outmoded Merchandise Marks Act and was designed to protect the public, with fines and custodial sentences reserved for those shopkeepers who knowingly sold items with misleading labels or descriptions. In the first six months after its introduction, the Board of Trade brought prosecutions in 435 cases.

Some 50 years on, Brexit has ensured the issue of safeguarding the interests of consumers is once again subject to debate. In recent weeks, the UK government has published a series of draft amendments which, it says, will ensure British consumers will continue to enjoy nearly all the protections of their EU counterparts. But it has been reluctant to draw attention to some significant exceptions.

Shoppers on these shores, for example, will no longer be able to take grievances against Eu-based traders to courts here, and the reciprocal arrangement which sees the UK and EU nations investigate consumer law breaches will come to an end.

In any case, the changes proposed are mere technical notices. If Prime Minister Theresa May cannot convince parliament to ratify her deal next month, as looks increasingly likely, such guarantees will not be worth the paper they are written on, especially if we end up careering headfirst towards a no deal Brexit. Under that scenario, there will remain the potential for a post-brexit bonfire of regulations. And yet it is not only the spectre of Brexit that raised questions about how ordinary consumer are protected.

To little fanfare, the Scottish Government has been consulting on the creation of Consumer Scotland, a new national entity it describes as an “investigatory body”, focused on tackling issues where there is a “high level of consumer detriment”.

Unlike traditional consumer watchdogs, it says Consumer Scotland will focus on a small number of in-depth inquiries at any one time, with the aim of proposing solutions instead of simply flagging up risks.

There is no shortage of areas this new body could look into, such as discriminatory delivery charges suffered by shoppers in the Highlands and islands, or the unregulated legal services market.

Unsurprisingly, its proposed formation has been widely welcomed, with the Law Society of Scotland of the view that a “genuinely consumer-centric independent body” would empower ordinary people. Which, up to a point, is true. The dilemma facing