Consumer Futures
Non-departmental public body overview | |
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Formed | 1 October 2008 |
Dissolved | 1 April 2014 |
Type | Chief Executive |
Minister responsible |
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Non-departmental public body executives |
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Parent Non-departmental public body | Department for Business, Innovation and Skills |
Website | www |
The New National Consumer Council, operating as Consumer Futures, was a
Following the
History
The National Consumer Council was established by the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007, which merged Postwatch, Energywatch and the Welsh, Scottish and National Consumer Councils as a single organisation under the Consumer Focus brand.[2] The Act gave Consumer Focus the right to investigate any consumer complaint if it is of wider interest, the right to open up information from providers, the power to conduct research and the ability to make an official super-complaint about failing services.
The Government announced in October 2010 that as part of its spending review, Consumer Focus would be abolished, and the Consumer Direct helpline would be taken over by the Citizens Advice Bureau network.[3] The Government announced that some Consumer Focus' functions would transfer to Citizens Advice, Citizens Advice Scotland and the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland following the Public Bodies Act 2011 and any necessary secondary legislation.
Areas of work
The National Consumer Council undertook a study published in 2008 which found issues with the way 17 major IT businesses had been using
One of the first causes taken up by Consumer Focus after its establishment was
Predecessor organisations
Energywatch
Energywatch was charged with protecting and promoting the interests of all gas and electricity consumers in England, Scotland and Wales. Energywatch was created in November 2000 under the provisions of the Utilities Act 2000. The last Chief Executive was Allan Asher.
The organisation offered consumer information and advice, and pursued certain complaints which the energy suppliers have failed to resolve. In March 2005, Energywatch made a
In 2008, Energywatch was disbanded and replaced with Consumer Direct. Whilst Consumer Direct retained the primary function of Energywatch, to give advice over the telephone on energy related issues, it ceased to take on individual cases to resolve them.
Postwatch
Postwatch (officially: the Consumer Council for Postal Services) was a non-departmental public body set up in January 2001 – by Section 2 of the Postal Services Act 2000 to help customers with any issues or complaints they had with any Postal Service (including the Royal Mail) in the United Kingdom. It was funded by, and was accountable to, the Department of Trade and Industry and from 2007 the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
Postwatch worked to ensure customers receive the best possible
See also
- Consumer Direct
- Energy policy of the United Kingdom
- Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom
- Energy switching services in the UK
- Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (industry regulator)
- Which?
References
- ^ "About us". Consumer Futures. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- ^ Richard Tyler (22 September 2008). "Consumer Focus fails to guard thousands of firms". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ "Consumer Direct helpline to be run by Citizens Advice". BBC News. 14 October 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
- ^ BBC News, Computer software terms 'unfair', published 19 February 2008, accessed 6 December 2022
- ^ "Consumer Focus goes live". Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
- ^ Consumer Focus, 14 August 2010, Number of payday loan users has quadrupled – Consumer Focus research reveals
- ^ Marie Burton, Consumer Focus, Keeping the plates spinning: Perceptions of payday loans in Great Britain
External links
- Official website
- The National Consumer Council's website, available via The National Archives
- Ombudsman Services
- Compare business energy prices