Archive for the ‘Consumer matters’ Category
Co-operatives Fortnight
June 22nd, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Co-operatives are not just supermarkets and funeral services – although these are amongst the most successful co-operatives found on the British high street. In fact, there are over 4,800 independent co-operatives in the UK. They work in all parts of the economy, from health care to housing, farms to football clubs, credit unions to community […]
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Could you live without a bank account?
June 9th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
For most people, running their lives without a bank account would be unthinkable, yet nearly a million adults in Britain have to cope without one, living almost entirely in the cash economy. “On the Margins”, a new report by Consumer Focus on whose Board I sit, explores the experience of some of the most vulnerable […]
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The Consumer Focus Extra Help Unit
June 4th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Consumer Focus – on whose Board I sit – has an Extra Help Unit located in our Glasgow office. The unit exercises our powers under the Consumer Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007 to investigate energy and postal complaints for vulnerable consumers. In our first operational year, the EHU dealt with 7,606 cases and obtained […]
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What’s the problem with GM food?
March 20th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Genetically modified (GM) tomato puree first appeared on British shelves back in 1996 without debate. Then, in in 1999, there was a controversial study – subsequently criticised by experts – which suggested that GM potatoes damaged the digestive tracts of laboratory rats. Since then, we’ve had virtually no GM foods in Britain and protesters have […]
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Who gets the tip?
March 16th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Figures released by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) show that nearly two thirds of adults who leave a tip (61%) don’t know where their money goes, with 95% expecting it to go to staff and not business owners. I always tip in cash so that I know that the staff will receive […]
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Which is the best and worst energy supplier?
February 23rd, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Consumer Focus – on whose Board I sit – has recently published interim statistics on energy supplier performance on its web site here. Check how your current supplier is doing.
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Fighting for disabled people
February 13th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
The British Government is failing to fight for the rights of disabled people at a European level. Help to put pressure on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to tell his ministers to fight for the rights of disabled people at home and across Europe. You can take action now as part of the joint Sense, RNIB, […]
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What are consumers complaining about?
January 31st, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Consumer Direct is the Government-supported one-stop-shop for consumers to seek advice on complaints about the full range of goods and services. The organisation has just published its statistics for 2009 with details of the top 10 categories that are the subject of complaints. Second hand cars purchased from independent retailers is the No 1 category […]
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New CEO for Consumer Focus
December 22nd, 2009 by Roger Darlington
Consumer Focus – on whose Board I sit – has just announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive. He is Michael O’Connor. Details here.
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Consumer Focus Labs
December 2nd, 2009 by Roger Darlington
This week the Consumer Focus Board – on which I sit – had its first meeting out of London in the cold city of Cardiff. We were addressed by the First Minister for Wales Rhodri Morgan who steps down in a few days to be replaced by Carwyn Jones. Now Consumer Focus has a Wales […]
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