§ Mr. Wigginasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will seek information from the Office of Fair Trading on its inquiries into the practices of credit card companies in seeking to prevent fraud; what representations he has received from credit card companies about the handling of these inquiries by the Office of Fair Trading; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FletcherUnder the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976, the Office of Fair Trading has a statutory duty to register restrictive agreements coming within the scope of the Act and to refer these to the restrictive practices court. I understand that earlier this year the credit card companies approached the office for preliminary discussions on the possible application of the Act to a proposed joint arrangement concerning credit card fraud. The office was unable to give a view without further details, which the companies agreed to provide if they wished to proceed. The companies have so far not followed this up with the office. I have received no representations from the credit card companies on this subject.