Press releases
12 September 2006
Consumer Direct Takes Two Million Calls in Two Years
Consumer Direct, the government-funded helpline, has responded to over two million calls in just two years of service, helping British consumers resolve complaints worth an estimated £138 million.
Since 2004, Consumer Direct’s 350 specially trained advisers have clocked up around 200,000 hours on the phone, giving consumers information about their rights, and advice on how to gain redress when things go wrong. Current demand for the service stands at 120,000 calls per month.
In the East Midlands, Consumer Direct has taken over 138,000 calls helping consumers across the region with problems worth an estimated £9.5 million.
The top five most common consumer complaints to Consumer Direct are about home maintenance, second hand cars, furniture, telecoms and audiovisuals.
The Consumer Direct service is managed by the Office of Fair Trading and delivered through 11 contact centres throughout Great Britain, in partnership with local authority Trading Standards services. Consumer Direct delivers clear, practical advice, allowing Trading Standards and others to focus on more difficult cases.
Sara Barry, Consumer Direct East Midlands Manager said: “Consumer Direct East Midlands is making a big difference for consumers across the region. By giving people easier access to consumer advice, Consumer Direct is helping people to get a fair deal for themselves.”
John Fingleton, Chief Executive of the OFT said: ‘We are delighted that Consumer Direct has proved to be such a popular and useful service. It is giving people the confidence to exercise their consumer rights, which is in turn encouraging businesses to raise their game.
‘Consumer Direct is at the heart of the OFT’s mission to make markets work well for consumers. The information that Consumer Direct collects helps Trading Standards and the OFT to focus our resources and concentrate our enforcement efforts in the most appropriate way.’
Ron Gainsford, chief executive of the Trading Standards Institute (TSI), said: “Consumer Direct works in partnership with Trading Standards to provide an integrated service that shares intelligence and goals. This helps trading standards services throughout the country to stick up for the rights of consumers and legitimate businesses - and fight the crooks who try to defraud them. Besides offering valuable front-line advice directly to consumers, the service allows trading standards professionals to focus on cases that need further investigation. Consumer Direct also helps us to spot patterns around the country, so that we can target resources to stamp out the rogues and clean up markets.
Anyone in need of clear, practical advice can call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 or go online to www.consumerdirect.gov.uk
