Published: 11 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 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: 16 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: 13 March 2012
It is important that the Scottish Government spells out more clearly how consumers will benefit from ambitious ‘Hydro Nation’ proposals to develop the economic potential of Scotland’s water.
Published: 11 March 2012
Our investigation has raised concerns about Scottish Water’s relationship with private firm Homeserve and sales tactics used on water customers in Scotland.
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, Trisha McAuley, Depute Director of Consumer Focus Scotland, said: ‘The Post Office network needs to be put on a firm footing for the future, so it can continue to serve communities who rely [...]
Published: 6 March 2012
Consumer Focus is asking people who live in park homes to tell them of any issues they face. The consumer watchdog is interviewing individual park homes residents about their experiences for a major report, which it will launch in autumn 2012, and want more residents to get in touch to discuss their experiences – both good [...]
Published: 29 February 2012
Power companies and local groups meet for the first time at a national fuel convention.
Published: 23 February 2012
Responding to British Gas and Scottish Power’s results today Trisha McAuley, Deputy Director at Consumer Focus Scotland, said: “It is not surprising that British Gas’s overall profits are down with customer energy use falling by 21% for gas and 4% for electricity. What both firms’ results show however is that the energy industry is close [...]
Published: 17 February 2012
Responding to EDF Energy’s results today Trisha McAuley, Deputy Director at Consumer Focus Scotland said: “Despite the relatively mild winter and people using less energy, EDF’s profits are on an upward trajectory. “This will leave many customers in Scotland wondering whether energy prices can, and should, be cut further. “SSE also revealed a similar picture [...]
Published: 9 February 2012
Responding to Ofcom’s proposals today to make it easier to change telecoms provider, Trisha McAuley, Deputy Director at Consumer Focus Scotland, said: “Consumers are often put off switching because they think it’s going to be a lot of hassle and, particularly in Scotland, we know people tend to show loyalty to established brands. “The number [...]
Published: 9 February 2012
Trisha McAuley, Deputy Director of Consumer Focus Scotland, said: ‘It’s good news that the £68 million digital investment has been agreed as part of the Scottish budget. What we need to see now is action to deliver these commitments as a priority, especially for rural communities. ‘If the Scottish Government hits the high bar it [...]
Published: 2 February 2012
Responding to Ofcom’s new research on UK broadband speeds, Annie McGovern, Digital Expert at Consumer Focus Scotland, said: ‘It’s good news that the Ofcom research shows customers are getting faster broadband speeds but many people across Scotland will take some convincing. There is still a digital divide in Scotland between the speeds people can get [...]
Published: 23 May 2012
In a new report Consumer Focus argues that credit union services should be expanded by offering them through the UK’s post office network. The watchdog’s research1 shows a third of consumers (34 per cent overall and 40 per cent of those on lower incomes) would be interested in joining a credit union, but two-thirds of [...]
Published: 23 May 2012
Energy Secretary Edward Davey has today published practical advice for energy consumers looking to get a better deal on their gas and electricity deals through ‘collective switching’, and guidance for organisations wanting to launch their own collective energy purchasing schemes. Businesses, consumer groups, local government groups, housing organisations, charities and energy regulator Ofgem also attended [...]
Published: 22 May 2012
Commenting on the Office of Fair Trading’s action against Wonga regarding its debt collection practices, Sarah Brooks, Director of Financial Services at Consumer Focus said: ‘Payday loan company marketing is very good at presenting the products as being easy, simple and transparent. This action by the OFT shows that beneath all the gloss, when things [...]
Published: 22 May 2012
Adam Scorer, Director of Policy and External Affairs at Consumer Focus, said: ‘Customers will clearly have had very high expectations of any firm that dubbed itself the “fifth emergency service” and Homeserve must live up to its promises. ‘It is very welcome that the FSA is investigating the accusations Homeserve faces of misselling. Homeserve has [...]
Published: 22 May 2012
Sarah Brooks, Director of Financial Services at Consumer Focus said: ‘A record increase in complaints to the Ombudsman and the high number of upholds show consumers clearly need improvements in how they are being treated by banks and insurers. Outside of PPI it is disappointing that the number of banking complaints only fell by one per [...]
Published: 21 May 2012
Our recent research shows there is a need for change within the private rented sector, and it is pleasing to see that this need has been identified by the Welsh Government in their housing White Paper.
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: 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 [...]
