Published: 18 May 2012
Commenting on today’s research from Which? into payday lending, Sarah Brooks, Director of Financial Services at Consumer Focus said: ‘This research throws up some extremely troubling findings and poses many uncomfortable questions about the growing payday loan sector. We have long held concerns about the behaviour of some payday lenders and whether consumers are losing [...]
Published: 18 May 2012
Commenting on today’s research from Which? into payday lending, Sarah Brooks, Director of Financial Services at Consumer Focus said: ‘This research throws up some extremely troubling findings and poses many uncomfortable questions about the growing payday loan sector. We have long held concerns about the behaviour of some payday lenders and whether consumers are losing [...]
Published: 17 May 2012
Commenting on Royal Mail’s plans for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Robert Hammond, Director of Postal Policy and Regulation at Consumer Focus, said: ‘We recognise that hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games is an exceptional occurrence and will throw up logistical challenges for many organisations, including Royal Mail. We’re satisfied that Royal Mail is [...]
Published: 17 May 2012
Commenting on the official fuel poverty figures published by the Government today, Audrey Gallacher, Director of Energy at Consumer Focus, said: ‘Today’s figures1 show a dip in fuel poverty levels in 2010 reflecting lower energy prices. But as the average annual bill has risen by over £150 since then, many more people are now affected. [...]
Published: 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 [...]
Published: 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 [...]
Published: 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 [...]
Published: 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 [...]
Published: 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 [...]
Published: 10 May 2012
Responding to new caps on mobile phone roaming charges in Europe, Marzena Lipman, policy manager at Consumer Focus said: ‘The last thing people want when they come back relaxed from their holiday is to be shocked by the size of their mobile bill. So further cuts to the charges phone companies can impose on their customers [...]
Published: 10 May 2012
Commenting on the Ministerial statement on credit unions by Minister for Pensions Steve Webb, and the Government’s Credit Union feasibility study published today, Mike O’Connor, Chief Executive of Consumer Focus, said: ‘Government recognition that there is a significant need for more credit unions is very welcome. Access to affordable credit is a major issue for many [...]
Published: 4 May 2012
Responding to the £1.25 million fine issued at Guildford Crown Court today to SSE for using a misleading doorstep sales script, Audrey Gallacher, Director of Energy at Consumer Focus, said: ‘Firms must not be left to profit at the expense of customers who have been misled. A fine of £1.25 million set by the court [...]
Published: 2 May 2012
New Consumer Focus research shows that banks’ customer service advisers are unclear of the rules around Continuous Payment Authorities (CPA) and could be giving customers incorrect advice as a result. The mystery shopping survey found that almost half of advisers (44%) gave the wrong answer or couldn’t give an answer, when asked how to cancel [...]
Published: 2 May 2012
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. Giving consumers more information and advice has not been enough to cut through the confusion and complexity they face [...]
Published: 30 April 2012
Commenting on today’s stamp price rise, Adam Scorer, director of policy and external affairs at Consumer Focus said: ‘From today, consumers will have to decide whether the increased price of stamp is going to change their posting habits. We have welcomed a cap on second class large letters and small parcels as it will help [...]
Published: 30 April 2012
Responding to the IPPR report ‘The True Cost of Energy’, Adam Scorer, director of policy and external affairs at Consumer Focus said: ‘This report raises a number of important questions about how competitive our energy market actually is and whether consumers lose out as a result. There are many improvements which can be made to this [...]
Published: 10 May 2012
Consumer watchdog sets out moves needed to make post office changes work better for customers Consumer Focus Scotland 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 [...]
Published: 11 April 2012
Responding to moves announced by the Deputy Prime Minister today (Weds 11 April) to help customers to get the best deal from their energy supplier, Trisha McAuley, Deputy Director of energy watchdog Consumer Focus Scotland, said: ‘There are some good ideas here. For example transferring customers to the best deal when their contract comes to [...]
Published: 10 April 2012
Scotland’s consumer watchdog says Community Benefit Funds from renewables can help tackle fuel poverty and improve energy efficiency Hundreds of thousands of pounds paid by renewable energy developers to local communities could be invested in improving energy efficiency and helping take thousands more Scottish homes out of fuel poverty. In a report published today, Reaping [...]
Published: 27 March 2012
Responding to the news of stamp prices announced today, Trisha McAuley, Deputy Director at Consumer Focus Scotland, said: ‘This is not great news for consumers in Scotland. I doubt anyone is going to think about the challenges facing Royal Mail when they are paying 60p for a first class stamp. Unfortunately, the economics of Royal [...]
Published: 15 March 2012
Rural residents ready for ‘switch’ to renewables 21st century heating in rural homes [Includes West Highland Housing Association Case Study] People living in rural Scotland are being encouraged to install renewable heating devices in their homes if they are not connected to the gas grid. Research by Scotland’s consumer watchdog, Consumer Focus Scotland, is to [...]
Published: 26 April 2012
Consumer Focus Wales is calling on park homes site owners and their representatives to work with them to help improve living conditions for residents. The consumer champion has spoken to every local authority and more than 250 park home owners across Wales. Now they are asking for site owners and [1]industry bodies to participate in [...]
Published: 11 April 2012
New proposals for changes to the consumer landscape were announced today by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The Citizens Advice service will take on responsibility from Consumer Focus for representing consumers’ interests in unregulated sectors across Wales and England. This will leave a new, technical Regulated Industries Unit working with the energy and [...]
Published: 27 March 2012
‘There have been great strides in food safety, with the Welsh Government promising to make it law for the mandatory display of food hygiene ratings on food business premises. But we are disappointed that a year on from our last report, the Food Standards Agency food law enforcement review, commissioned by the Welsh Government, has yet to be published. It is 12 months overdue – this simply isn’t good enough for consumers in Wales.
Published: 27 March 2012
‘This is not great news for consumers... Unfortunately, the economics of Royal Mail meant that something had to give to maintain the Universal Service Obligation (USO).'
Published: 9 March 2012
Responding to Post Office Limited’s plans for a network transformation programme which will turn 6,000 branches into Post Office ‘Locals’ and ‘Mains’1, Rhys Evans, Deputy Senior Director at Consumer Focus Wales, said: ‘The Post Office network needs to be put on a firm footing for the future, so it can continue to serve the communities [...]
Published: 11 May 2012
Consumer Focus, the UK postal watchdog, 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 [...]
Published: 30 April 2012
A new report ‘A front office for government services’ by Consumer Focus Post, the postal consumer champion in Northern Ireland (NI), says post offices could and should be providing more key government services. This would have dual benefits of improving access to services for consumers and increasing the sustainability of the post office network that [...]
Published: 27 March 2012
Responding to the news of stamp prices announced today, Kellin McCloskey, Head of Postal Policy at Consumer Focus Post said: ‘This is not great news for consumers. I doubt anyone is going to think about the challenges facing Royal Mail when they are paying 60p for a first class stamp. Unfortunately, the economics of Royal [...]
Published: 15 March 2012
A new report published today by Consumer Focus Post – called ‘Letter Lockout’1 - explores the nature and extent of mail delivery problems experienced by consumers living in flats across Northern Ireland. While most residents of flats express high levels of satisfaction with their postal service provided by Royal Mail, the new findings also reveal [...]
Published: 9 March 2012
Responding to Post Office Limited’s plans for a network transformation programme which will turn 6,000 branches across the UK, including Northern Ireland, into Post Office ‘Locals’ and ‘Mains’1, Kellin McCloskey, Head of Postal Policy, Consumer Focus Post said: ‘The Post Office network needs to be put on a firm footing for the future, so it [...]
