What is the general prohibition of unfair commercial practices?
The general prohibition of unfair commercial practices is designed as a safety net, to protect consumers from unfair trading practices generally even when they are not covered by the rules on misleading or aggressive trading (see question 3) and the specifically banned practices (see question 2). A practice is covered by the general prohibition if it does two things: • It breaches the requirement for traders to act with professional diligence, meeting the standard that can reasonably be expected. This means acting in accordance with honest market practice or good faith. • It is likely to materially distort the behaviour of the average consumer, changing the decisions they make (eg convincing the consumer to buy your product).
