The OFT's job is to make markets work well for consumers by strengthening the grounds for consumer confidence, and through competition, the power of choice. This is the key message from John Vickers, Director General of Fair Trading in the introduction to his 2000 Annual Report published today. Markets will not work well for consumers unless they also work well for businesses that are good at providing what consumers want. Markets that work well for consumers are, moreover, essential for good economic performance generally.
Competition spurs productivity.
John Vickers sets out the task facing the OFT is to help markets work well. The tools to do this are consumer and competition legislation and he hopes that consumer legislation will soon be strengthened. The Annual Report's introduction explains how the OFT is tackling rogue traders in the credit industry, employing new powers such as those protecting home shoppers, promoting consumer awareness and encouraging a new codes of practice regime. On competition, the Report emphasises the new powers of the Competition Act 1998, which came into force in March 2000, and have been used to investigate over 40 cases where there were reasonable grounds to suspect infringement. Over half are still under investigation.