§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, further to his answer of 22 January,Official Report, column 119, when he expects to announce the outcome of the Director General of Fair Trading's investigation into malpractice by companies in the Eurocopy Group; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RedwoodAs the hon. Gentleman is aware, the responsibility for investigations under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 is the responsibility of the Director General of Fair Trading. I have asked him to inform the hon. Gentleman of the report of the investigation in question when it becomes available.
My statement to the House on 18 March in reply to the question by my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. French), at columns 23–24 reflects the Government's general position on this issue.
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will draw up a code of practice for photocopying companies to prevent the malpractices now under investigation by the Office of Fair Trading.
§ Mr. RedwoodAs I said in my reply to the hon. Member on 18 March, at columns 23–24, the code of practice of the Equipment Leasing Association already requires members to "behave with integrity" and not to
misrepresent facts to a lessee concerning any aspect of a leasing transaction".This is the standard that the Government would expect of the industry and the only way for the industry to retain the confidence of its customers.I understand that the Equipment Leasing Association is currently in the process of reviewing the provisions of their code to take into account commercial developments since it was originally published.
In addition to this code of practice, both the CBI and the Association of British Chambers of Commerce have written to their members emphasising the need to consider carefully photocopier leasing agreements and the possibility of malpractices by some operators.