A guide for businesses about the requirements about the way in which they can describe goods and services since the majority of the Trade
Descriptions Act 1968 was repealed in May 2008.

It has now been replaced by a European piece of legislation called the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

Whilst there was a substantial amount of case law relating to the Trade Descriptions Act 1968, there is currently no case law on the new Regulations, so the information in this page is based on the current interpretation of the law. The advice might change in the light of matters being decided in the courts.

What does the law require?

The Regulations cover commercial practices, which includes any act, omission, course of conduct, representation or commercial communication (including advertising and marketing) by a trader that is directly connected with the promotion, sale or supply of a product to consumers.

A trader must not mislead a consumer about a product (this is defined very broadly and includes goods, services, rights and obligations) in any way by giving false or deceptive information about a
number of specific matters. He must also not omit information about a product, which a consumer would need in order to make an informed
decision.

It should be noted that to breach the majority of the Regulations, the misleading action or omission must cause, or be likely to cause the average consumer to make a different transactional decision (e.g. make a purchase which he would not otherwise have made).

The Act is not intended to cover insignificant inaccuracies but ultimately only a court can decide whether the actions of a trader would affect the average consumer in an adverse way. However there are some practices that are banned in all circumstances.


Further information 
The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) has published trader guidance notes on the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations. If you would like to access these notes, click on the link opposite.