the Office of Fair Trading
/ði ˌɒfɪs əv ˌfeə ˈtreɪdɪŋ/
/ði ˌɑːfɪs əv ˌfer ˈtreɪdɪŋ/
(abbreviation OFT)
- a former government organization in Britain which was responsible for protecting consumers by making sure that businesses operated in a fair way and that there was fair competition between them. In 2014 the Competition and Markets Authority took over most of the responsibilities of the OFT. The Financial Conduct Authority took over the part that was responsible for the consumer credit industry.