Collective Redress

Consumer Collective Redress is the term used to describe any process designed to seek remedy when large numbers of consumers have been harmed by a single trader's breach of consumer law.

There are a number of ways in which this can be achieved in the UK. For example, consumer organisations may bring cases to court on behalf of a group of consumers.

In November 2008, the European Commission published a Green Paper on Consumer Collective Redress, proposing a pan-European procedure. The Commission expects to publish a consultation in Q1 2011.

The FLA’s view

We believe that consumers already have adequate redress, where they can require a trader to compensate a loss they have suffered as a result of a trader committing a breach of law. Consumers may seek redress either in court or out of court, for instance through mediation or arbitration organised by trade organisations or public authorities.

The FLA does not support a pan-European collective consumer redress procedure. We believe that the emphasis at a European level should be to encourage best practice, based on existing alternative dispute resolution (ADR) schemes.

We are a strong supporter of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), a principle enshrined in the FLA Lending Code that governs our member companies’ activities in the consumer credit markets. Under the Code, customers may bring complaints to the FLA for free conciliation. The vast majority of these are successfully resolved.