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Collective purchasing
Collective switching has the potential to breathe new life into sluggish, unresponsive markets such as energy, telecoms and financial services, and give consumers a better deal argues Consumer Focus in its new report Get it, together.
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More consumers pushed into debt?
Our new research shows four in 10 people say their winter energy bill is even higher than last year, with almost a third saying their bill is higher than expected – despite one of the mildest winters in a decade. Consumer Focus and Citizens Advice are warning that these unexpectedly high bills could push more people into debt with their energy supplier – particularly those on low fixed incomes.
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New national board will uncover scams and rogue traders
New proposals to make the Citizens Advice service a champion for consumer information across a range of sectors and a new National Trading Standards Board were announced today by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Consumers need to know who to go to when they have a problem which is why Citizens Advice and Citizens [...]
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Consumer Focus blog
Find out more about our research and events on our blog.
Covering energy, post and range of other issues, multiple bloggers from Consumer Focus explore the challenges that drive our research and the discussions which shape our goals. The debates often raise more questions than answers and we look ahead at what’s next for consumers.
- @consumerfocus: RT @cabinetofficeuk: Suggestion that #GreenDeal is under review is not true. Routine to talk to businesses in policy development. PM & DPM fully committed.
12 hours ago
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BIS Post Office Network Transformation Committee inquiry
15 May 2012
Following his evidence on Post Office Network Transformation, given today to the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee inquiry, Mike O’Connor, Chief Executive of Consumer Focus, said: ‘Starting this summer, we will see the largest shake-up of our Post Office network including the rollout of 2,000 new Post Office Locals. We conducted extensive consumer research on [...]
Broadband providers must speed-up on offering customer information
15 May 2012
Responding to Ofcom’s new mystery shopping research on compliance with the broadband speed code of practice, Marzena Lipman, policy manager at Consumer Focus, said: ‘The most common problem for broadband consumers is ending-up with a slower broadband speed than they expected.1 So, while it’s good news there have been improvements, it is disappointing that this [...]
Centrica’s Interim Management Statement
11 May 2012
Responding to Centrica’s Interim Management Statement, Audrey Gallacher, Director of Energy at Consumer Focus, said: ‘Consumers will need clear evidence that price rises are warranted if they are to stomach further increases to their bills. People simply don’t know whether they are asked to pay is fair. The perception is that suppliers are quick to [...]
Co-operative Energy Big Switch
11 May 2012
Commenting on the fact that Co-operative Energy has won The Big Switch, the UK’s first nationwide collective switch from Which? and 38 Degrees, Richard Bates, Director of Empowered Consumers, at Consumer Focus, said: ‘It’s great to see the first collective switching in the UK in motion – this is an approach that is set to [...]
Consumer watchdog sets out moves needed to make post office changes work better for customers
11 May 2012
Consumer Focus is calling for improvements to the new Post Office Local (PO Local) model, if it is to work better for consumers. The call comes as a new report from the watchdog – ‘Open all hours’ – shows that while the new model has potential benefits, there are unresolved problems which need to [...]
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Open all hours? – Consumer experience of, and service standards in, Post Office Locals
11 May 2012
The Post Office network is about to begin the largest set of planned branch changes in its history. From summer 2012, more than half the network will convert to new operating formats – and one in five subpostoffices will convert into a totally new operating model, a Post Office Local (PO Local). For millions of consumers this means their local post office service will undergo major changes.
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Get it, together – The case for collective switching in the age of connected consumers
2 May 2012
The architects of our energy, financial services and telecommunications markets shared the expectation that individual consumers would act as the engines of competition. Consumers would, it was assumed, maintain vigilance on how their current arrangements fare in relation to the other offers available to them in the market and, if an offer that better suits [...]
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From you switch to we switch
2 May 2012
Today we published Get it, together – the case for collective switching in the age of connected consumers. This report argues that a collective approach to switching can improve consumers’ experience of the energy, financial services and telecoms markets.
The people who created these markets shared a common expectation that by giving consumers choice they would drive competition. By seeking out and switching to better deals in sufficient numbers and with sufficient frequency, consumers would realise the benefits of competition – namely better value, better service and innovation.
Useful Tools and Services
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Energy Apps: Help Finder tool
Consumer Focus’s Help Finder tool shows grants, discounts, free energy help and assistance you may be entitled to based on your circumstances.