With the last feedback from local businesses accepted yesterday at Consumer Affairs, proposed changes to the Consumer Protection Act are now approaching final review.

Changes to the 1999 Act includes include barring the following:

Coercive inducements for customers to enter a transaction;

l Inducing consumers to enter a transaction which is not in the customer's interest;

l Supplying unasked-for goods or services which weren't part of the original transaction;

l Failing to make full disclosure necessary for consumers to reach an informed decision;

l Requiring full payment for goods and services before they are supplied.

Other changes to the Act include a full definition of an estimate versus a quote.

Quotes are to be definitive written statements, dated and signed by both supplier and consumer, while an estimate gives merely the likely price of goods or services.

Last month, Consumer Affairs requested feedback from local businesses on the changes to the Act, up to until yesterday's deadline.

These suggestions will now be reviewed, pending final recommendations to the Minister of Economy, Trades and Industry, before the amended Act is approved.