Dramatic increase in people getting online help with consumer issues

Citizens Advice highlights how almost three times as many people got online help with consumer problems in 2013 compared to 2012.

Today the Ombudsman Services reveals while more people than ever are likely to take action, 40 million people didn’t do anything about consumer problems they had in the last year as they felt that complaining wouldn’t be worthwhile.
 
Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of national charity Citizens Advice, said: “People are wasting time and losing money when products they buy or services they take out aren’t up to scratch. When a purchase goes wrong, people should be able to rely on businesses to act quickly and fix the problem.
 
“It is good that people are more likely than ever to take a stand, but we want anyone who has been left out of pocket by shoddy goods or services to feel confident that they can complain about the problem and get things sorted out.

“Citizens Advice helps with one million consumer problems a year and there has also been a dramatic increase in the number of people getting online help about consumer problems. Last year almost three times as many people got consumer advice online through Adviceguide.org.uk, compared to 2012.

“But too often consumers are left struggling to get problems resolved. The Consumer Bill of Rights, which entered Parliament last week, should help to simplify consumer law, making it clear what consumers can expect and stopping unscrupulous companies from shirking their responsibilities.”

Anyone who has a consumer problem and needs advice can contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 08454 04 05 06 or 08454 04 05 05 for Welsh language line.