Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigation against Fuelfighter.co.uk; Boilerjuice.co.uk; Cheapheatingoil website
Case summary
The OFT held websites liable having unverified testimonials and failure to allow price comparison on its sites.
Our analysis
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) conducted investigations and found that several businesses were possibly violating the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs). The OFT found evidence of commercial practices that could be considered misleading statements or omissions about the websites' operations. These websites had characteristics of price comparison sites, such as domain names that suggested they were price comparison sites, but did not prominently display the businesses operating the site. Some websites made claims or comments about obtaining the best prices without clearly stating whether a price comparison was being made. One of the websites, fuelfighter.co.uk, claimed to be an independent price comparison site and provided a list of customer testimonials to support this claim. However, these testimonials could not be verified. The company and its directors agreed not to mislead consumers by claiming to be an independent price comparison site when they were not, and to disclose information about the website's ownership and businesses providing quotations via the website.
Outcome
In response to the OFT's concerns, the website implemented changes to provide material information about ownership, disclose connections between businesses providing information, and make clear the number of businesses providing quotations before consumers accept them. Additionally, the company and its directors signed undertakings to adhere to these requirements.
Parties
Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and Fuelfighter.co.uk; Boilerjuice.co.uk; Cheapheatingoil website (Heating oil price comparison websites)