FSB wants small firms to have consumer rights

The Federation of Small Businesses is using its influence to push government to offer better protection for small firms and the self-employed, after research of its membership found that businesses across the UK have been subject to the mis-selling of products and services and trapped into contracts with high early termination charges.

Under current legislation small businesses, unlike the general public, have no cooling off period during which the small print on contracts can be digested and understood. This is an anomaly which FSB believes needs addressing as most small businesses have at one time or another agreed over the telephone to agree to a product or service when a sales call has been taken.

If a business seeks to exit a contract it is common for them to need to pay up the full amount for the term agreed, without using the service.