The intention was for the OFT to make markets work well for consumers, ensuring vigorous competition between fair-dealing businesses and prohibiting unfair practices such as rogue trading, scams, and cartels.

Where appropriate, studies led to market investigation references to the Competition Commission, to enforce action, consumer awareness campaigns or to recommendations to government, which were published.

In 2006, the OFT restructured in response to Treasury proposals for splitting the department into separate consumer and competition regulators.

The credit card companies did not produce evidence of their actual costs to the OFT, instead insisting their charges are in line with clear policy and information provided to customers.

The OFT responded in June 2011, with a number of recommendations to ensure that transfers of cash ISAs work better and that there is greater transparency of interest rates.

This included the following agreements from cash ISA provider to: In April 2011, the OFT fined Reckitt Benckiser £10.2 million after it found that it had abused its dominant position in the market for the National Health Service (NHS) supply of alginate and antacid heartburn medicines.

The OFT found that Reckitt Benckiser abused its dominant position by withdrawing and de-listing Gaviscon Original Liquid from the NHS prescription channel in 2005.

The OFT had specific concerns over practices involving reference pricing, advertising, refunds, unfair terms, and the diligence of its interactions with merchants.

[8] The complainant, a small online travel agent, Skoosh, claimed that the hotels it bought room bookings from were under pressure from other resellers to maintain minimum prices.

[11] In March 2014, the price comparison site, Skyscanner, challenged the OFT's decision with the United Kingdom's Competition Appeal Tribunal.