Elliott v Director General of Fair Trading
Queen's Bench Division 16 May 1980 (1 WLR 977; 124 Sol. Jo. 463)

The defendant sent out letters offering credit to prospective customers, and included a cardboard facsimile of their credit card. The back of the card indicated that it was valid for immediate use, providing the customer had a bank account. The letter stated that credit could be obtained purely by taking the card to the shop, and providing a signature and suitable evidence of identification. The shop claimed that their promotion was only an offer to start negotiations for credit, and that a reasonable person would realise that an agreement would have to be signed and that a method of payment would require to be agreed.

It was held that the defendant had clearly 'undertaken' to provide credit, even if the assurance of provision was untrue. Completion of an application form and direct-debiting mandate was covered by the clause, "Whether or not some other action is also required" in Section 14(1)(a) of the Act. There was thus an offence under s.51 for sending out an unsolicited credit token.