§ Mr. McCrindleTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has received any complaints concerning the guarantees provided by companies with their products; what steps he has taken to assess whether it is possible for consumers to distinguish between a good guarantee and a worthless one; if he proposes to bring foward proposals to require any changes to the guarantees provided by companies; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ForthOnly a small proportion of the consumer problems raised with my Department are concerned with guarantees. The National Consumer Council recently published a consultative document on some aspects of the use of guarantees; any recommendations resulting from the NCC consultation will be carefully considered. The subject of guarantees generally has been examined, and remains under review, by the Office of Fair Trading. The Director General of Fair Trading's report entitled "Consumer Guarantees", published in June 1986 makes recommendations aimed at industry and offers good advice to consumers. The Government have no present plans to legislate.