Online retailers' compliance will be raised by educating consumers, says OFT

While the OFT said that it would improve communications about the law, officers tasked with upholding it have complained that they do not have enough staff and resources to do so.

The Government asked the OFT in 2009 to create a strategy for ensuring that online shoppers were protected, and after a consultation period the OFT has published its plan.

It said that it aimed to clarify consumer law and remind businesses and shoppers of consumer rights.

"The UK has a vibrant internet economy, with strong online participation and generally high levels of trust," said OFT director of strategy and communications Barney Wyld. "However the way we shop online is constantly changing and organisations protecting consumers need to be highly responsive to emerging or complex online shopping problems."

"We hope this strategy will lead to greater understanding by all concerned of consumer rights online, to enable further innovation and growth, whilst ensuring fair competition," he said.

The OFT had published research in February of this year that showed that just 21% of companies selling online in the UK were fully compliant with consumer protection laws.

In the strategy document those charged with enforcing consumer laws have said that they do not have enough resources or training to carry out the job effectively.

"Many respondents to the public consultation on e-consumer protection mentioned resourcing as a critical issue in terms of training, equipment and capability, with some commenting that any shortfall in funding should be met by central government," said the OFT's plan (84-page / 686KB PDF).

"It is imperative that Trading Standards services are equipped to deal with the exponential growth in internet trade and complaints about the internet," Slough Trading Standards service (TSS) told the consultation. "If there is a short fall, funding and training should be made available from a central source."

"The Association of Chief Trading Standards Officers (ACTSO)  and Trading Standards Institute's (TSI) response highlighted that 'Some local authorities are not resourced sufficiently to be able to operate at Level one.'," said the report.

'Level one' means that officers can work on internet-related cases of medium detriment and low complexity. There are three levels, and only 2% of TSS officers are trained to operate at level three, while 8% cannot even operate at level one, the OFT said.

"Responses to the consultation and a detailed evidence review have highlighted the fragmented nature of enforcement, the range of internet enforcement capability across the 198 TSS, the low (but increasing) levels of business compliance with consumer protection legislation, and the low levels of consumer awareness of their rights," said the OFT's plan.

"For more effective enforcement we need to improve data-sharing and intelligence between the OFT and TSS, across the UK and nationally; increase coordination of enforcement (where this is possible without compromising sensitive investigations); [and] develop internet enforcement capability within the OFT and TSS, and across the UK," it said.

The OFT said that a major aim of the plan was to provide clarity on the law, and that one way it will do that is to take on high profile cases.

"The OFT is prioritising investigations that will either have a high deterrence or lead to significant behaviour change across online markets, or that will provide clarity on emerging issues," said an OFT statement. "This includes work on novel marketing practices, cross-border enforcement with overseas consumer agencies, consumer-to-consumer transactions, liability, redress, and the legal status of digital products such as downloads."

It also said that it aimed to increase co-operation between the OFT, police and TSS and working with website designers to encourage them to build compliance with consumer law into the sites themselves.

"The recommendations are a call to action, not only for the OFT but also for consumers, consumer groups, industry, enforcers and central government," said OFT chairman Philip Collins.