Law Commission proposes package of measures to help protect customers from hidden charges buried in the small print.Gym, mobile phone, airline and energy contracts that contain charges buried in the small print could become a thing of the past under proposals to protect consumers from unfair terms. Fierce competition to cut prices in markets often dominated by price comparison websites has led to an increase in traders offering products or services at seemingly cheap prices. They do so while hiding extra charges and onerous conditions deep in the contracts that accompany them, said the Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission.

Both commissions are proposing legal reforms that would make it easy for consumers to challenge contracts where total costs are not made clear upfront. The success of the Law and Scottish Law Commissions proposals would mean a shakeup for a wide range of industries that are notorious for hiding costs from consumers and hitting them with extra charges later on. It is possible for consumers to challenge current contracts under various pieces of legislation but complexities in the law make it difficult for traders, consumer advisers and enforcement bodies to identify which terms might be successfully challenged and which might not.....Read more here: Companies face clampdown on contracts with unfair terms | Money | guardian.co.uk