OFT Face A Grilling

[EXC]

On Tuesday morning the Office of Fear & Timidity will face the Trade & Industry select committee.

UK Parliament - TISC PN49 0607

Bank charges are sure to figure prominently on the agenda. Several MPs have recently described the OFTs performance on the bank charge issue
as ''sloathful'', ''toothless'', ''prevaricating'' and needing to ''get a grip''.

I've sent the committee the recent revalations made in reponse to my latest FoIA inquiry that they don't categerise complaints made to them
and therefore have no idea of current consumer concerns.

You can watch it live on the Parliament Live website from 10 am.

UK Parliament - Video and Audio

[Paradox]

the Office of Fear & Timidity

Love it Won't be able to watch, but will catch up with the results on Tuesday all being well.

Nice one.

Matt

[EXC]

Well it was all very disapointing. The select committee gave the OFT
a very easy ride and astonishingly failed to bring up the bank charges issue at all.

There was one notable moment however, when the committee's chairman
Peter Luff pointed out that the OFT's annual plan for 2007/2008 was headed in bold type with ''we are not a regulator''. But this was at odds with a statement on the final page in which the OFT described itself as ''a regulator''.

OFT chief executive then added to the confusion further by lamenting that they should really be described as ''not principally a regulator''.

It goes without saying that if the OFT does not have a firm grasp of what it is and therefore what it is supposed to do, it's little wonder that we're
in the mess that we're in.

[Paradox]

The phrase R's and elbow comes to mind. Very disappointing.