Current work

Interest (Scotland) Bill

This draft Bill will create a new general legal right to claim interest on a sum of money due by one person or business to another. The SCC has some concerns about the impact this might have on  some vulnerable consumers. To read our response to the Scottish Government's consultation on the draft Bill, dated 3 April 2008, click here.

The Euro

The Scottish Consumer Council (SCC) has no policy on whether the UK should enter the euro zone or not. Assessing the risks, costs and benefits has to have its focus on all citizens in the UK and is not within our competence. However, if the UK does agree to join the euro, then how the changeover is introduced and the transition managed will have important implications for consumers in Scotland.

Consumer focus

A consumer focus will be vital in ensuring that any process of transition to the euro zone is well planned, and gives clear protection and information to consumers. This means ensuring that the consumer interest is identified and acted upon. Consumers should be empowered to take an active part in the planning and delivery of change. They need to be protected from unfair commercial practices and they must have effective recourse to redress when things go wrong.

The SCC will be publishing a briefing on preparing for the Euro in Scotland, with the aim of:

The SCC is represented on both the Scottish Euro Preparations Committee, and the Treasury's Euro Preparations Consumer Working Group.

  Scottish Euro Preparations Committee : Response to Questions for Consultation Exercise on Third Outline National Changeover Plan
52KB  September 2003

Farepak Ltd

On reading the first press reports about the collapse of the Farepak Christmas savings scheme in October 2006, the Scottish Consumer Council wrote to the Chief Executive of the Office of Fair Trading and the Chairman of the Financial Services Authority’s consumer panel, expressing our concern at the apparent lack of regulation of such companies.

Following the announcement on 8 November that the Minister for Consumer Affairs had asked the OFT, the FSA and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to look at the regulatory framework within which Farepak operated, and report back to him, we decided to seek advice on the possible regulatory options available. We commissioned Professor Frank Stephen, Professor of Regulation in the School of Law at the University of Manchester, to write a paper considering, from the consumer perspective, the possible regulatory options - whether formal or informal - which might be appropriate to regulate such schemes. To read the paper click here.

To read the advice from the OFT to the Minister, published on 28 March 2007, click here.

Other work

We have no plans to carry out further research in ‘Money matters’ over the coming year, but we will continue to work for the interests of Scottish consumers in relation to credit and debt issues. We will do this by liaising with our colleagues at the National Consumer Council and respond as appropriate to relevant consultation papers, requests for evidence etc.

We will also pursue our policy in this area through involvement with other agencies such as:

• Scottish Government
• Scottish Consumer Forum
• Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Tackling Debt
• Trading standards departments
• Citizens Advice Scotland
• Money Advice Scotland
• Financial Services Authority