The proposals, announced last week by Liberal Democrat Minister Jo Swinson, will give vulnerable customers new rights to cancel contracts and claim their money back if they were misled or bullied into buying goods or services.

Tom said: “We all know that there is an unscrupulous minority of sellers out there who prey on vulnerable consumers.”

“As an MP, I’ve heard many stories of vulnerable, often elderly, residents being misled into buying something they neither need nor want.”

“I am glad that the Government is taking action against rouge trading. The new legislation will help consumers fight their corner, and will protect them from exploitation by unscrupulous sellers.”

Rogue traders cost consumers billions of pounds per year and can cause considerable distress and alarm, especially to elderly and vulnerable people. The proposals, introduced by Liberal Democrats will make it easier for victims to reclaim money from rogue traders and allow them to make compensation claims for any alarm or distress caused by aggressive selling.

Amending the Consumer Protection Regulations from Unfair Trading Regulations will:

• give consumers 90 days to cancel a contract and receive a full refund if they have been misled or bullied into agreeing it. After the 90 days consumers can still receive a proportion of their money back. Currently, it is unclear what consumers are entitled to in this situation.
• give consumers new rights to recover payments made to traders who mislead or bully them into paying money which was not owed. Currently, the trader can be prosecuted but the consumer finds it much more difficult to get their money back; and
• they will also have the right to claim compensation for any alarm or distress caused by these practices.