§ 39. Mr. Roseasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints of overcharging he received and investigated during the freeze; and in how many cases the outcome was a reduction in price.
§ Sir G. HoweMy Department received some 13,600 complaints during the standstill about price increases other than those said to result from VAT; 7,429 cases were investigated, many covering more than one complaint. The great majority were found to be not substantiated or were outside the provisions of the standstill. In 609 cases firms agreed to make 7W price reductions, often on a range of goods.
These figures exclude standstill prices reductions secured by the Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food and by the weights and measures inspectors in connection with the introduction of VAT.