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Poor services cost consumers over £6bn
16/04/2008 10:44:00
Consumers lose £6.6 billion each year partly or wholly as a result of an organisation accidentally or deliberately treating a customer unfairly, new research has shown.
A survey from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) revealed that out of every 1,000 customers, 542 problems were identified which equates to 26.5 million over the last year.
The study showed that the highest level of financial detriment took place in the insurance sector following home maintenance and improvements.
John Fingleton, OFT chief executive said that the research is crucial in improving the understanding of problems "we do not always see or hear about".
"Understanding where consumers are experiencing the most problems and incurring the greatest losses will help us to set priorities efficiently and focus the work of the OFT on markets that are not working well," he added.
The goods or services which consumers reported the highest proportion of problems were telecommunications, domestic fuel, and personal banking.
Meanwhile, the OFT recently warned 13 companies about engaging in unfair debt collection practices.
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