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Office of Fair Trading

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About the Office of Fair Trading

The OFT is the UK's consumer and competition authority. It is set up in order to ensure markets work well for consumers and that trading practices are as fair as possible. It is headed by the Director General of Fair Trading, and one of its responsibilities is the administration and enforcement of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. The OFT are set up to protect consumers and is a non-ministerial government department. .

The Office of Fair Trading pursues it's goal by:

  • encouraging businesses to comply with competition and consumer law and to improve their trading practices through self-regulation.
  • taking quick action stop hardcore or flagrant offenders
  • studying and understanding markets and recommending action where they deem it is required
  • ensuring consumers have the knowledge available and skills to make informed choices, this enables them to get the best value from markets. This knowledge empowers people to resolve problems with suppliers through Consumer Direct.

In the United Kingdom, the Competition Act 1998 is designed to make sure that businesses compete fairly and justly. The OFT has strong powers to investigate businesses suspected of breaching the Competition 1998 and to impose tough penalties on those that do.

Approved codes of practice

If a buisness is displaying the OFT sign it shows that the firm is a member of a trade body with a code of practice approved by the Office of Fair Trading.

  • Businesses or trade associations that wish to register with the scheme can apply to the OFT.
  • Consumers if possible should search for and use only firms that display the OFT sign.

Advice for businesses

Understanding the laws and making sure that you are compliant as a business means that you will be more likely to be successful. You can find out how to advertise, how to compete fairly and how you are able to offer credit to your customers

For more detail, see the legal powers area of the OFT website. If you have any doubts about how the law applies to your business, you should seek professional legal advice.