Trade Descriptions Act 1968
In 1968 the Trade Description Act was introduced in the UK for the first time. The Act was brought into protect consumers when purchasing products and services. The Trade Description Act stipulates numerous different regulations that traders must adhere to when carrying out their activities. In general the Act states that traders must not mislead consumers. For example when a trader is describing a product or service they must be accurate in the description that they make.
Descriptions that are made about goods relate to all aspects of those being advertised. The trader must therefore be accurate when describing where a product has been made, when it was made, what it was made of and who made it. Numerous different regulations are within the Act stating that descriptions must be accurate.
The descriptions used do not just refer to written descriptions the Act includes oral discussions, interactive exchanges and written documents that do not relate directly to a product but describe it.
Also covered within the Trades Description Act are numerous regulations referring to the price of prices. Traders must not indicate a price is lower than it actually is.