Office of Fair Trading

The Office of Fair Trading exists to ensure fair trading by businesses and acts against them when finding unfair trading practices. They do not act for individuals and take action against companies for the benefit of consumers generally.

I had no dealings with the OFT concerning HFC Bank until after I discovered their order against the bank in November 2010, which came as some surprise to me, because I did not know the bank was being investigated. Their order vindicated the position I had maintained since my meeting with the bank in October 2003, although I do not believe that the OFT knew that the charges they were outlawing were illegal, as well as being in breach of their guidelines.