Enforcement of Consumer Protection Law Investigatory powers for consumer protection law enforcement
Section 77 and Schedule 5 to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 make provision for the information gathering and investigatory powers of consumer law enforcers. They provide a generic set of powers, which were based on the powers previously set out in Part 4 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
	There are three main types of investigatory powers:
the power to send statutory notices to request information;
the power to purchase products and observe business; and
the power to gather evidence on premises.
	Paragraphs 13 to 17 of Part 3 of Schedule 5 to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 provide consumer law enforcers with a power to request information by notice. These paragraphs set out the purposes for which the power can be used, the procedure to be followed when using it and how the power can currently be enforced, as well as limitations on the use of the information obtained.
	Part 4 of Schedule 5 to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 contains further powers permitting entry to premises, under warrant and without a warrant, and the exercise of a range of powers while on the premises. The powers are only available to domestic enforcers and Schedule 13 enforcers, for specified purposes and on the conditions prescribed. The conditions on which a justice of the peace may issue a warrant include being satisfied of reasonable grounds for believing that on the premises are documents which an enforcement officer could require a person to produce.
	The onsite investigatory powers available to enforcement officers include a power to require the production of, and take copies of, documents, including electronically recorded information. Documents can be seized where required as evidence in proceedings. The production and seizure powers may not be exercised in relation to material protected by legal professional privilege or confidentiality of communications. Furthermore, an enforcement officer may require a person on the premises to access any electronic device in which information may be stored or from which it may be accessed and (if the person fails to comply) to access such electronic device himself.
	Currently, the four categories of enforcers with access to the investigatory powers are:
domestic enforcers (paragraph 3 of Schedule 5);
Schedule 13 enforcers (paragraph 4 of Schedule 5);
public designated enforcers (paragraph 5 of Schedule 5); and
unfair contract terms enforcers (paragraph 6 of Schedule 5).
	Many enforcers feature in more than one category, for example, the CMA is a domestic enforcer, Schedule 13 enforcer and unfair contract terms enforcer.
	Section 208 and Schedule 17 amend Schedule 5 to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to, amongst other changes, enhance the enforceability of statutory information notices given to a person under paragraph 14 of Schedule 5 and to set out the extra-territorial reach of enforcers’ powers to request information by notice. The amendments abolish the legacy categories of Schedule 13 infringements and Schedule 13 enforcers throughout Schedule 5 to the Consumer Rights Act 2015.