A super-complaint is a complaint made in the UK by a state-approved "super-complainant" or watchdog organisation on behalf of consumers, which was fast-tracked to a higher authority such as the
Office of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economi ...
(prior to its dissolution on 1 April 2014). The official body now responsible for dealing with general
consumer protection
Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...
super-complaints is the
Competition and Markets Authority
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the principal competition regulator in the United Kingdom. It is a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom, responsible for promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair beh ...
(CMA).
A super-complaint, as defined in section 11(1) of the UK's
Enterprise Act 2002
The Enterprise Act 2002 (c. 40) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which made major changes to UK competition law with respect to mergers and also changed the law governing insolvency bankruptcy.
It made cartels illegal with a ma ...
, is a complaint submitted by a designated consumer body stating that "any feature, or combination of features, of a market in the UK for goods or services is or appears to be significantly harming the interests of consumers".
Super-complaints have also specifically been introduced for the financial markets in the UK under the aegis of the
Financial Conduct Authority
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom. It operates independently of the UK Government and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financi ...
(FCA). The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) provides that certain consumer bodies may complain to the FCA about features of a market for financial services in the UK that may be significantly damaging the interests of consumers. The Government first issued guidance for bodies seeking designation as super complainants and then received and ultimately approved the bodies which could make super-complaints to the FCA.
Super-complainants
Some of the super-complainants under the Office of Fair Trading scheme were:
* ''
Which?
''Which?'' is a United Kingdom brand name that promotes informed consumer choice in the purchase of goods and services by testing products, highlighting inferior products or services, raising awareness of consumer rights, and offering indepen ...
''
*
National Consumer Council
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
*
Citizens Advice
*
Energywatch
*
Consumer Council for Water
The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) is a non-departmental public body whose sponsor department is Defra. CCW is independent of both the regulator, Ofwat, and the water companies.
CCW represents the interests of water and sewerage consumers in ...
(formerly known as Watervoice)
*
Postwatch
The New National Consumer Council, operating as Consumer Futures, was a non-departmental public body and statutory consumer organisation in England, Wales, Scotland, and, for postal services, Northern Ireland. It was established by the Consumer ...
*
Campaign for Real Ale
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs.
History
The organisation was founded on 16 ...
*
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland
The General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland (GCCNI) was created by the Government in 1985 and is funded by the Department for the Economy (DfE). The body aims to represent consumer
A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, ...
''
What Car?
''What Car?'' is a British monthly automobile magazine and website, currently edited by Steve Huntingford and published by Haymarket Media Group. Other team members include deputy editor Darren Moss and test editors Will Nightingale, Neil Wi ...
'' magazine also applied, but was rejected.
The organisations which can make super-complaints to the FCA are the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland, Citizens Advice, the
Federation of Small Businesses
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is a UK business organisation representing small and medium-sized businesses. It was formed in 1974 as the National Federation of Self Employed (NFSE). The current name for the organisation was adopted in ...
, and ''Which?''.
Examples
*In December 2018, a super-complaint was
made against the police forces of England and Wales on behalf of victims and witnesses of crime who had had their data secretly shared with immigration authorities.
*''Which?'' raised a super-complaints in April 2015 about misleading supermarket pricing practices such as where it was difficult for customers to compare unit prices or where product sizes were reduced but the price was not changed.
[''Which?'']
Misleading pricing practices - Which? super-complaint
accessed on 4 January 2025
See also
*
*
References
Law of the United Kingdom
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