The forth coming “Letting Agents and Consumer Bill” gives NUS, students and communities a real opportunity to give students and young people the rights they need in the local private rented sector and the re-dress they deserve when door-to-door sales people are on the scam.

NUS Welfare and Student Rights Zone committee approved us doing this work last week (Tuesday) so we are starting some of the preparation now. The first thing we need is case studies of students who have been scammed on the door step. Student areas are a focus for scam projects because the tenants are different every year, the occupants are new to independent living (most often) and they don’t know their rights.

If you or your advice centre has supported anyone who has been the victim of one of these scams please let us know and send us through a short anonymous case study.

With this we will be able to:

• Lobby for provision in the Bill to raise the voice of youth and student consumers through a role and relationship with the Office of Fair Trade; and
• Make sure that students are cover by the “Unfair Commercial Practices Directive” –which will make the legal framework for trading in line with a common sense bench mark giving more vulnerable people higher protection - that is coming in with the Bill.

It is important because students are vulnerable consumers too!

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