Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act 2003 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 2 · Unfair Practices
8. Voluntary compliance agreement
Feedback & supportLast amended by an amending law of 2025. 2 amendments in all.
Where there are reasonable grounds for believing that a supplier has engaged, is engaging or is likely to engage in an unfair practice, a specified body may invite the supplier to enter into a voluntary compliance agreement.
supplier
“supplier” means a person who, in the course of the person’s business —(a)provides goods or services to consumers;(b)manufactures, assembles or produces goods;(c)promotes the use or purchase of goods or services; or(d)receives or is entitled to receive money or other consideration as a result of the provision of goods or services to consumers,and includes any employee or agent of the person, and the word “supply”, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, has corresponding meanings;
The voluntary compliance agreement must —
be in writing; and
include an undertaking that the supplier will not engage in the unfair practice.
Subject to subsection (5), the specified body may (with the agreement of the supplier) include in a voluntary compliance agreement all or any of the following undertakings by the supplier:
specified body
“specified body” means any person or body appointed under section 8(10);
to compensate any consumer who has suffered loss or damage as a result of an unfair practice;
to reimburse any specified body for any costs or expenses incurred by it;
to publicise the voluntary compliance agreement,in the manner or upon the terms specified in the undertakings.
Subject to subsection (5), the specified body may (after entering into a voluntary compliance agreement and with the agreement of the supplier) —
vary the terms of any undertaking included in the voluntary compliance agreement; or
include, in the voluntary compliance agreement, additional undertakings mentioned in subsection (3).
No undertaking referred to in subsection (3)(a) may be included in a voluntary compliance agreement or varied after its inclusion, except at the request of the consumer to whom the undertaking relates.
consumer
“consumer” means an individual who, otherwise than exclusively in the course of business —(a)receives or has the right to receive goods or services from a supplier; or(b)has a legal obligation to pay a supplier for goods or services that have been or are to be supplied to another individual;
Where a supplier fails to comply with any undertaking referred to in subsection (3)(a), the consumer may recover the compensation specified in the undertaking as a civil debt due to the consumer.
Where a supplier fails to comply with any undertaking referred to in subsection (3)(b), the specified body may recover the reimbursement specified in the undertaking as a civil debt due to the specified body.
Where a supplier fails to comply with any undertaking referred to in subsection (3)(c), the specified body may publicise the voluntary compliance agreement in accordance with the undertaking and recover the costs and expenses so incurred from the supplier as a civil debt due to the specified body.
Unless otherwise provided in the voluntary compliance agreement, recovery of compensation or reimbursement (as the case may be) under a voluntary compliance agreement or under subsection (6), (7) or (8) bars all further actions to recover any loss, damage, costs or expenses to which the undertaking so enforced relates.
The Minister may appoint any person or body as a specified body for the purposes of this section.
An appointment under subsection (10) must be published in the Gazette.