Scam today, scam tomorrow

From unscrupulous hire purchase dealers to retailers who renege on their agreements and who peddle faulty equipment, scam artists are found in almost every business operation in this country. The Green Paper on Consumer Protection says scam artist activity is “relatively low in TT” but given the empirical data provided by the document and the numerous examples cited,  things have never looked so grim for the consumer. The document was laid in the Senate by Legal Affairs Minister Christine Kangaloo. The Green Paper says the methods of these scam artists are becoming increasingly sophisticated and international in reach.

The underprivileged in society are the preferred prey for scam artists who “feed off desperation or exploit people’s dreams for quick riches,” said the document. The wealthy, it added, are not immune from the scam artists who also “take money away from legitimate businesses who might have properly served scam victims.” The Green Paper further indicates that while most scams are prosecuted under fraud provisions of the criminal code, and it is the responsibility of the police to prosecute these alleged criminals in court, it is often difficult and expensive to prosecute a person for fraud. In order to deter scam activity in TT, Government is proposing the creation of broad prohibitions against deceptive or unconscionable sales representations and the creation of stronger enforcement powers and penalties.

On this issue, reference is drawn in the Green Paper to consumer laws in Ontario, Canada that make it illegal to charge advance fees for certain goods or services. For example, it is illegal to charge an advance fee for services to repair a credit rating or to obtain a loan. This way, regardless of whether there is a victim, scam artists can be prosecuted civilly for violating advanced-fee rules. This approach can serve to deter would-be scam artists while providing a faster, simpler way to target scam activity. Furthermore, the Green Paper notes because scam artists always shop around for jurisdictions with weaker protection laws for consumers, “this highlights the need for strong rules in TT to deter and punish such activity.”

The Green Paper also deals with the issue of unfair or unconscionable practices and said a significant advancement in consumer law has been the trend by countries to establish a broad prohibition against such practices. The US, Canada and Australia already have consumer laws which make it illegal to trade unfairly or which deal with unfair trade or deceptive practices. The Green Paper proposes that Government examines how suitable those measures could be for TT.

For consumer laws to be effective, they must be well understood by businesses and consumers alike but in many jurisdictions, this is not the case. To this end, the Green Paper advocates that Government ensures that legislation and contracts are drafted in a “plain language format” so that all market participants in TT have a clear sense of their obligations and rights. In some countries, governments have taken the additional step of including provisions in their consumer laws which state that “ambiguous contract terms should be interpreted in the consumers’ favour.”