Consumer Rights Act 2015

Exercise of powers in this Part

13 (1) An enforcer of a kind mentioned in this paragraph may exercise a power in this Part of this Schedule only for the purposes and in the circumstances mentioned in this paragraph in relation to that kind of enforcer.

(2) The Competition and Markets Authority may exercise the powers in this Part of this Schedule for any of the following purposes—

(a) to enable the Authority to exercise or to consider whether to exercise any function it has under Part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002;

(b) to enable a private designated enforcer to consider whether to exercise any function it has under that Part;

(c) to enable a Community enforcer to consider whether to exercise any function it has under that Part;

(d) to ascertain whether a person has complied with or is complying with an enforcement order or an interim enforcement order;

(e) to ascertain whether a person has complied with or is complying with an undertaking given under section 217(9), 218(10) or 219 of the Enterprise Act 2002.

(3) A public designated enforcer, a local weights and measures authority in Great Britain, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland or an EU enforcer other than the Competition and Markets Authority may exercise the powers in this Part of this Schedule for any of the following purposes—

(a) to enable that enforcer to exercise or to consider whether to exercise any function it has under Part 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002;

(b) to ascertain whether a person has complied with or is complying with an enforcement order or an interim enforcement order made on the application of that enforcer;

(c) to ascertain whether a person has complied with or is complying with an undertaking given under section 217(9) or 218(10) of the Enterprise Act 2002 following such an application;

(d) to ascertain whether a person has complied with or is complying with an undertaking given to that enforcer under section 219 of that Act.

(4) A domestic enforcer may exercise the powers in this Part of this Schedule for the purpose of ascertaining whether there has been a breach of the enforcer’s legislation.

(5) But a domestic enforcer may not exercise the power in paragraph 14 (power to require the production of information) for the purpose in sub-paragraph (4) unless an officer of the enforcer reasonably suspects a breach of the enforcer’s legislation.

(6) Sub-paragraph (5) does not apply if the enforcer is a market surveillance authority within the meaning of Article 2(18) of the Regulation on Accreditation and Market Surveillance and the power is exercised for the purpose of market surveillance within the meaning of Article 2(17) of that Regulation.

(7) An unfair contract terms enforcer may exercise the powers in this Part of this Schedule for either of the following purposes—

(a) to enable the enforcer to exercise or to consider whether to exercise any function it has under Schedule 3 (enforcement of the law on unfair contract terms and notices);

(b) to ascertain whether a person has complied with or is complying with an injunction or interdict (within the meaning of that Schedule) granted under paragraph 5 of that Schedule or an undertaking given under paragraph 6 of that Schedule.

(8) But an unfair contract terms enforcer may not exercise the power in paragraph 14 for a purpose mentioned in sub-paragraph (7)(a) unless an officer of the enforcer reasonably suspects that a person is using, or proposing or recommending the use of, a contractual term or notice within paragraph 3 of Schedule 3.

(9) A local weights and measures authority in Great Britain may exercise the powers in this Part of this Schedule for either of the following purposes—

(a) to enable it to determine whether to make an order under section 3 or 4 of the Estate Agents Act 1979;

(b) to enable it to exercise any of its functions under section 5, 6, 8, 13 or 17 of that Act.

(10) In this paragraph—

• “Community enforcer” has the same meaning as in the Enterprise Act 2002 (see section 213(5) of that Act);

• “private designated enforcer” means a person or body which—

  (a)

  is designated by order under subsection (2) of section 213 of that Act, and

  (b)

  has been designated by virtue of subsection (4) of that section (which provides that the Secretary of State may designate a person or body which is not a public body only if it satisfies criteria specified by order).