George is a specialist consumer law barrister and has experience across all of Chambers’ core practice areas, including consumer finance, financial services, regulatory crime and general consumer law. He undertakes drafting and advisory work and appears in both criminal and civil courts.
- Financial services, regulated lending and consumer finance
George regularly represents banks and financial institutions at interim hearings and trials. He has experience of possession claims, assignments, hire-purchase agreements, return of goods, penalty clauses, compliance and enforceability of statutory notices, s.75 connected lender liability, and s.140A unfair relationships under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
He has experience in dealing with authorisation, regulated activities, regulated agreements and exemptions under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and the various sourcebooks of the FCA Handbook.
He has particular experience with “mis-selling” and “secret commission” claims relating to PPI, motor finance commissions, and solar panels.
- Trading standards and regulatory crime
George has advised and been instructed in relation to fraud, fraudulent trading, breaches of Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (‘CPUT’) 2008, criminal behaviour orders and matters of food safety. He has a particular interest in Weights and Measures and is the editor of the Metrology and Hallmarking chapter in Consumer and Trading Standards: Law and Practice.
His successful local authority prosecutions have included:
- Rogue traders – CPUT 2008
- Counterfeit products – Trade Marks Act 1994
- Counterfeit and non-compliant cigarettes – Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016
- Selling unsafe food in the context of allergens – Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations 2013 and the Food Safety Act 1990
- Selling unroadworthy vehicles – Road Traffic Act 1988
George assisted Jonathan Kirk KC and Iain MacDonald in the judicial review of “use by dates” and “unsafe food” in relation to the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 and the food information to consumers regulations, Regulation (EU) 1169/2011.
- General consumer law
George has a broad experience of other consumer matters, including:
- Consumer Rights Act 2015
- Unfair contract terms
- Frustrated contracts
- Events
- News
- Publications
Practitioner texts
- Consumer & Trading Standards: Law and Practice (Jordans) – Contributing Editor of Metrology & Hallmarking Chapter
- Miller: Product Liability and Safety Encyclopaedia (LexisNexis) – Editor of Division IV Criminal Law: Product Safety
- The Encyclopaedia of Financial Services Law (Sweet & Maxwell) – Contributor
Articles
- Education, qualifications, memberships
- Called Gray’s Inn 2017
- BPTC at the University of Law, London
- Graduate Diploma in Law at the University of Law, London
- MEng in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London
- Privacy Notice
Who I am
I am a specialist consumer law barrister providing legal services at Gough Square Chambers. You can contact me at george.spence-jones@goughsq.co.uk, on 0207 353 0924 or at Gough Square Chambers, 6-7 Gough Square, London EC4A 3DE.
How I use your information
As part of my role as a barrister I collect and process the personal data of my clients, and of third parties connected with the cases on which I work. This can include sensitive personal information and information about criminal convictions. I do this so that I can act for my clients.
In some circumstances I may also use contact details for marketing purposes, although you can always opt out of this.
As a barrister I also process information to enable me to practice as a barrister. This can include the personal details of my clerks, other legal professionals, people with who I do business, support staff, and members of the public.
Who I disclose your information to
I will always keep my client’s information confidential, unless my client consents to its disclosure or I am required to disclose it by law. As part of my role as a barrister I may disclose information to my clients, solicitors, other legal professionals, my chambers, regulators or other legal bodies, third party suppliers (such as IT providers), legal advisors, and courts or adjudicators.
Your rights
You have the right of access to your information (a data subject access request), the right to correct inaccurate information, the right to erase information (to be forgotten), the right to object to or restrict my processing of your information and a right to information portability. Please see my Full Privacy Notice below for information on how to exercise these rights.
You also have the right to withdraw any consent that you have given me to use your information (although if I have other grounds on which to use your information I may still do so).
More information
Please see my Full Privacy Notice for more information on how I use your information and your rights in respect of that use.
VAT number: 382130618