Fires caused by children playing with novelty lighters costs lives, but Google and ebay continue to allow these items to be advertised on their web sites.
Since March 11th 2008 retailers have been prohibited from selling novelty lighters. Novelty lighters are defined as being appealing to children in terms of their shape e.g. toys, [...]
Archive for Catriona
Google and Ebay Profiting from Sale of Illegal Goods
Credit and Debit Cards, Part 2
Increasing the APR
The hundreds of complaints What Consumer receives each year about a well known credit provider all relate to the same thing. The hiking of interest rates to astronomical levels at the end of a low or 0% APR introductory period. Card providers are quite within their rights to make these increases, but will [...]
Credit and Debit Cards
An increasing number of us are routinely paying for goods with plastic. Using credit and debit cards has undeniable benefits: It allows us to track and manage our spending, it provides automatic proof of purchase, it enables us to collect rewards or points, and perhaps most significantly it gives us some protection against dodgy traders [...]
April 4th, 2009 | Catriona | 0 comments | Continued
Direct Marketing and Your Rights
Direct Marketing – What does it mean for you?
If you were to ask the average person in the street about their view of direct marketing, it is likely that you would draw no response. For many people, the term, ‘direct marketing’ tends to be associated with stories about so called ‘junk mail’ or other examples [...]
Debt Management Companies
In the current climate, debt management is big business. Dozens of debt management companies (DMCs) have sprung up over the last few years, having found a way to capitalise on this growing market, while at the same time claiming that they can help you out. There are two questions to ask yourself when thinking about [...]
March 12th, 2009 | Catriona | 1 comment | Continued
Debt Collection Agencies
Debt collection is big business. As the use of Debt Collection Agencies (DCAs) increases, so have the number of complaints from the general public regarding the underhand, intimidating and often unlawful practices they are resorting to. Complainants also cite frequent examples of being mixed up with debtors who used to live at the address where [...]
February 25th, 2009 | Catriona | 0 comments | Continued
Default, Arrears and Debt Collection Agencies
Default on payments
The Consumer Credit Act (CCA) requires certain procedures be followed and specific documentation be provided in the event that two or more payments are missed. Within 14 days of the second default payment, the lender must send you a notice of default to include the following:
Exact details of [...]
February 25th, 2009 | Catriona | 3 comments | Continued
Ending a Credit Agreement
It should be once again pointed out that only certain types of credit agreements, made under certain circumstances have a statutory cooling off period. If you have signed an agreement in on trade premises, in the presence of the lender (or a party to the agreement), the contract is legally binding from the moment it [...]
February 25th, 2009 | Catriona | 3 comments | Continued
Consumer Credit Act – Required Information
The Consumer Credit Act and all of the various regulations and orders which have recently been introduced are very strict on what information must be presented to the consumer, when it must be presented, and the order and manner in which it is to be shown. This is so the consumer is in no doubt [...]
February 25th, 2009 | Catriona | 1 comment | Continued
Consumer Credit Act and Your Rights
There is growing awareness of Consumer Rights in relation to The Consumer Credit Act (CCA). We will deal with the most useful ones here.
Cooling off and your right to cancel
You will benefit from a cooling off period if the credit agreement was made in one of the following ways:
For agreements signed away from the creditor’s [...]
February 25th, 2009 | Catriona | 19 comments | Continued
Consumer rights when buying a sofa
If you have experienced problems buying a sofa or having one upholstered, then you are not alone. Complaints relating to sofas feature significantly in Consumer Direct’s top ten and the problem shows no sign of improving. So what do you need to watch out for and what are your rights?
Cooling off?
Buying a sofa is a [...]
Phones 4U caught mis-selling
Phones 4 U has been in the news again – for all the wrong reasons. They have been under investigation by Ofcom for the last 6 months, in response to the high number of consumer complaints regarding hidden charges, mis-selling and poor customer service.
The telecoms regulator found them guilty of engaging in the following practices [...]
Consumer Complaints Top 10 2008
For the third year running, complaints about second hand cars top the list of consumer complaints for 2008. According to figures released by Consumer Direct, this figure is up by 12% on the previous year, indicating that the problem would seem to be getting worse. The vast majority of the complaints relate to cars bought [...]
January 29th, 2009 | Catriona | 2 comments | Continued
Graco Sweetpeace Review
As a new mother to not only one baby but Twin happy and healthy babies, the Graco Sweetpeace has been a complete godsend.
Sweetpeace is a fantastic and easy product to use, and great to store when not in use, especially if you want to have a child free house even just for the night!
As I [...]
Consumer rights when a retailer goes bust
It is all too common these days for retailers to go into administration and it is imperative that consumers protect themselves and know what their right are if the shop they have ordered from goes bust.
It is not just the small shops that are closing down but large household names such as MFI, Woolworths and [...]
