Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will lay regulations to update the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to give regulators such as Ofgem, the Financial Conduct Authority, and Ofcom, the power to fine firms who do not answer the telephone to customers within 10 minutes.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government expects all firms to treat their customers fairly at all times. Business should be free to compete on matters such as price, quality and service. Provided consumers are not misled and able to make informed decisions, companies offering goods and services are free to offer their products and services under conditions of their choosing. The Government has no plans to amend the Consumer Rights Act 2015 on this issue.
Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the excess profits generated by (1) Meta, and (2) Google, in the UK from online advertising; and whether they will direct the Competition and Markets Authority to update their calculations in the Online platforms and digital advertising study, published in July 2020.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has no plans to direct the Competition and Markets Authority, which is an independent regulator, to update the calculations in its online platforms and digital advertising study. However digital competition is a priority for the Government as shown by our plans to address the far-reaching power of the biggest tech firms, through a new pro-competition regime for digital markets as reaffirmed in the consultation response published on 6 May.