As a result, Ryanair has agreed to:

• Provide clear information about Ryanair’s Price Guarantee and qualify as necessary any statements that Ryanair is guaranteed to offer the lowest prices.
• Give further prominence to links on its website and in email promotions that contain information about optional services and charges such as for checked-in baggage.
• Give further prominence to links on its website and in email promotions that contain information about any terms and conditions applicable to promotional offers such as the days or dates on which offer prices are not available.
• Ryanair has now implemented all the agreed changes.

The OFT Director of Consumer Markets, Mike Haley welcomed Ryanair’s action which he believes will make it easier for consumers to access the information they need when choosing low cost flights.

Since July 1st 2009 however, new rules have come into force which cap roaming charges at 11 Euros (10p) for a text, and 1 Euro (85p) per megabyte for a data download, excluding VAT. The rules also further reduce the cost of voice calls, while also forcing companies to charge their customers per second of usage, instead of rounding it up to the nearest minute.

The push to reduce the cost to consumers of excessive mobile roaming charges has been spearheaded by Viviane Reding, EU telecoms Commissioner, who said, “This is great news for European citizens who will be able to go on holiday this summer and roam with peace of mind and without the fear of ‘bill shocks’”

After it hit the headlines, store managers and companies around the UK started to get numerous calls from consumers citing this Directive and demanding enforcement of their consumer rights. But reporting of this EU Directive has not helped what is already a source of much confusion among traders and consumer alike.

In reality, this European law, is no substitute for what we already have in the UK in the form of Sale of Goods Act 1979. Under this act, consumers in the UK have the statutory right to expect products which are of “satisfactory quality and fit for purpose”. It enables us to request a repair, replacement or even a refund at any time, bearing in mind the price you have paid and the expected lifetime of the product. In many cases, this may be longer than two years and could be anything up to six.

What tends to confuse consumers and allow traders to wriggle out of their legal obligations under Sale of Goods, is the mention of guarantees or warranties (essentially the same thing). How many of us are under the impression that once a product is ‘out of warranty’, the retailer or supplier is no longer responsible? Wrong. Your statutory rights under Sale of Goods mean you may still be entitled to a repair, replacement or a refund long the warranty has expired. And don’t be told otherwise!

Just one in six British householders would trust a tradesperson’s green guidance but eight in 10 tradespeople would like to give energy efficiency advice that was respected by their customers, according to two polls from the Energy Saving Trust, the UK’s leading organisation set up to help people fight climate change.

The research was commissioned as part of the Energy Saving Trust’s Building in the Dark campaign which was launched on 2nd June 2009. The initiative aims to highlight the green skills gap among UK tradespeople, as well as campaign for new quality standards and training programmes for the housing sector on energy efficiency.

One poll – of 2362 people from across the UK – found that just 17 per cent would trust the advice of the tradesperson already doing work in their house, if they offered to install energy efficiency measures.

And more than half (56 per cent) would suspect that if a tradesperson doing a job on their house suggested energy efficiency measures for their home their motivation was to get extra work.

The second survey – of 241 UK tradespeople – found that 55 per cent of tradespeople would offer green advice if they had more information while more than eight in 10 (84 per cent) would like to be trusted by their customers to give energy efficiency advice.

More than two thirds (68 per cent) of tradespeople want clearer explanations of current environmental legislation while almost eight in 10 (78 per cent) need better guidance of changes in the pipeline for energy efficiency requirements.

Philip Sellwood, chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust, said: “If the national target of an 80 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 is to be met it is vital we tackle the lack of energy efficiency in our existing housing stock. We simply must act now.

“Latest figures show that £23.9 billion is spent on repair, maintenance and improvement works on the UK housing stock and some of this work represents a missed opportunity to make green improvements.

“Real cost savings – in terms of labour and minimising disruption – are on offer to householders who employ tradespeople to install energy-efficiency measures when they are in doing other work. Householders can save on average £340 a year on energy bills through green improvements and energy efficient behaviours.

“We need new training schemes and quality marks for the housing sector to help householders identify skilled tradespeople with the expertise to make green improvements.

“Seventy-five per cent of people in the UK believe the best way to improve the energy efficiency of a home is when the builders are in, but until tradespeople have the knowledge, training and skills to be able to offer this expertise as second nature then they will be building in the dark.”

Brian Berry, director of external affairs at the Federation of Master Builders said: “There are already some entrepreneurial tradespeople out there and we are increasingly seeing businesses developing special services for householders who want greener and more energy efficient homes. We would like to this to become the norm rather than the exception but to increase the number of tradespeople offering energy efficient improvement works there needs to be greater demand from homeowners.

“One way to increase demand would be for the Government to cut VAT to five percent for property repairs thereby offering an incentive to have building work done. Coupling a VAT cut with more training for tradesmen should mean a real increase in energy efficient homes in the UK.”

Anthony Day from York recently renovated his Victorian Terrace house to make it more energy efficient. He said: “When I had builders in my home they did an excellent job, but some of the green measures were a first for them. We’re always looking to save money and carbon emissions and when you’re doing up your property and the builders are in, it is the perfect time for them to put in these additional green measures.

“Planning is the key. Do your homework so you know what’s possible in advance – and the best place to start is the Energy Saving Trust.”

The Energy Saving Trust Housing Programme works with housing professionals to achieve higher standards of energy efficiency in the UK housing market. The programme provides free technical guidance and solutions to help UK housing professionals design, build and refurbish to high levels of energy efficiency.

The Energy Saving Trust aims to enhance its Housing Programme by end 2009 to better help general builders and tradespeople.

The survey of 2362 UK consumers also found:

• Almost half (49 per cent) of respondents have never had a tradesperson recommend energy efficiency measures in their home.
• Respondents felt that of all the trades, electricians were the mostly likely to be able to offer the best advice on how to install green measures in their home.

The survey of 241 UK tradespeople also found:

• Plumbers are the most likely of all UK tradespeople to offer green advice to customers.
• More than eight in 10 (81 per cent) of plumbers would offer energy efficiency advice compared to just 27 per cent of carpenters.
• Electricians came in second at 73 per cent with conservatory installers at 62 per cent, builders at 56 per cent and roofing/loft conversion specialists at just under half (48 per cent).

If you are a householder who needs more information on how you can implement some home improvements contact your local Energy Saving Trust advice centre on 0800 512012 or visit the website at www.energysavingtrust.org.uk

The change means that the current balance transfer fee on the Barclaycard Platinum card has been reduced to 2.5% of the amount transferred from the previous level of 3%. This offer is available for any transfers made within 60 days of opening an account, on amounts up to £5,000. The reduction means customers will be able to save £25 on a £5,000 balance transfer onto the Barclaycard Platinum.

The reduction in the balance transfer fee following the Barclaycard announced in February that it was reducing the annual percentage rate (APR) on its Barclaycard Platinum credit card from 14.9% down to 12.4%. This means that at the end of the promotional balance transfer period, the rate on the card will revert to ne lower rate of 12.4%.

The Managing Director of Barclaycard UK, Amer Sajed, said that the reduction will mean customers looking to move their balance now have to pay less to get a market leading deal.

Along with services like identity protection, fraud monitoring, purchase delivery protection and contactless payment technology, the new lower rate will help to further consolidate Barclaycard Platinum’s position as the market leading credit card in the UK.

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, or because of sound or lights, or other entertaining features.

According to research carried out by the UK Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform there was an average of 5 deaths every year between 1999 and 2003 caused by children under the age of nine playing with lighters.

Although ebay and Google are not supplying these items directly to consumers, they are promoting their sale with ebay profiting from commission and Google from advertising revenue on its search pages.

Google Search – Novelty Lighters – Cached Image (27.04.09)
Google Product Search – Novelty Lighters – Cached Image (27.04.09)
Ebay Search – Novelty Lighter – Cached Image (27.04.09)

According to Google’s advertising standards, users of their advertising system, Adwords, are not allowed to advertise products that contravene applicable laws and regulations in any country in which the ads are displayed. And Google shop search users must not upload products or information promoting illegal goods.

Ebay provides guidance to sellers and lists prohibited goods, but this currently excludes novelty lighters. This comes shortly after ebay attracted criticism over the sale of knives and other dangerous and counterfeit items such as Nintendo DS’s.

Organisations with the financial resources and brand profile of ebay and Google have a social responsibility to set a good example and proactively prevent the sale of dangerous and illegal products such as novelty lighters.

These novelty lighters attract children and have been directly linked to deaths and injuries. What Consumer hopes that both Google and ebay can move swiftly to remove these items from their respective systems.

The new research by home insurer LV= shows that nearly half of all Brits (46%), have experienced some sort of credit problem**, with 27% blaming mistaken identity, and 29% said they had no idea why they had encountered a problem.

LV= is warning people that if they believe they have been refused credit unreasonably, they should investigate it further. It could be a sign that they have become a victim of identity theft.

To help assist the growing number of people affected by this problem, LV= home insurance now offers customers free access to an Identity Fraud Helpline. The helpline is staffed by specially trained expert advisers who will explain what people can do if they think they have been a victim of identity fraud.

The LV= research, undertaken by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), includes views from over 6,000 adults who were questioned about their experiences in applying for credit cards and other services. The research shows that as many as half a million adults* have been ‘blacklisted’ as a result of being hit by identity fraudsters, with the figure predicted to rise by a further 440,000 over the next five years.

In the past decade identity fraud cases have rocketed, rising on average by 33% annually for the past eight years***. The research also reveals that victims of identity fraud face costs of over £2,100 to clear their name.

John O’Roarke, managing director of LV= home insurance, said: “In the last ten years we’ve seen a massive increase in the number of people targeted by fraudsters, illustrating the importance of vigilance in protecting personal information and monitoring for any problems that might prove to be a ’symptom’ of identity theft.

“Our research shows that an unfair credit rating is a common problem for many and more worryingly, identity fraud is likely to rise sharply in the coming years. That’s why we’ve set up the LV= identity fraud helpline, free to all our home insurance customers, so that anyone who thinks they might have become a victim of identity theft has somewhere to go for help and support.”

The competition, launched by Finish – innovator of Finish Quantum dishwasher tablets, the ultimate product for amazing clean – in association with Lakeland, is inviting Britons of all ages to unite in their passion for kitchen perfection and innovative design, and submit a new idea they believe could be the invention to revolutionise the future of culinary life and the way we live and work in the kitchen. This could be a new piece of equipment, gadget, utensil or ingenious piece of crockery … the possibilities are endless.

Heston will lead the expert panel to select the overall winner of the challenge who will be awarded a once-in-a-lifetime package estimated to be worth at least £50,000. The winning package includes a £10,000 cash prize from Finish, as well as the opportunity to work with Lakeland, home of creative kitchenware, to develop the product and work towards putting it on sale, with the winner receiving royalties on any future sales through Lakeland stores nationwide.

Comments head judge and culinary innovator, Heston Blumenthal: “The British have always been at the forefront of great innovation and great design, and kitchen innovation is no exception. I’m delighted to be at the forefront of this new challenge to find the next generation of culinary innovators.”

Commenting on the Finish partnership with Blumenthal, Rosie Nagra, Judge and Finish Marketing Manager, said, “Heston is the perfect partner for Finish Quantum, as he is the living culinary embodiment of the Finish values of perfection, quality and innovation. His advice and support to those entering the Innovation Challenge will be invaluable.”

Gastronomic alchemist, Blumenthal, who has successfully transferred his own radical kitchen experimentation into the three Michelin starred and award-winning restaurant The Fat Duck, said of the competitions concept, “Great innovation is born from inspiration and from an understanding of tradition and classic innovations of the past.

“The entries that will stand out for me will be the ideas that bring this to life, and that transcend a brilliant idea from the past into something new for the kitchens and cooks of the future.”

All competition entrants will be whittled down to a shortlist of ten British finalists from across the UK, who will battle it out by pitching their idea to a panel of expert judges in a “Dragons’ Den” style finale in central London during August. Alongside Blumenthal, three other judges renowned for their expertise in innovation within their individual fields will assess the finalists. These include: Paul Pankhurst, CEO and Chair of British Design Innovation; Rosie Nagra Finish Marketing Manager; and Wendy Miranda Customer Ambassador of Lakeland.

Commenting on Lakeland’s partnership with Finish and support of the Innovation Challenge, Wendy Miranda said: “With over 45 years of providing British shoppers with innovative kitchenware, Lakeland is delighted to be partnering with Finish to find Britain’s next culinary innovator. As Britain’s leading kitchenware retailer, our stores, catalogues and website are ideally placed to sell and profile the winning creation.”

As the number one recommended brand by leading dishwasher manufacturers, Finish is no stranger to innovation and has been at the forefront of researching and creating superior cleaning products for over 50 years. Finish Quantum is a revolutionary dishwasher tablet guaranteed to give tableware and glassware the Diamond Standard after every wash. The innovative design of the tablet combines three highly active cleaning elements in one single product, to give brilliant results and the most advanced cleaning performance every time. Finish also invented the world’s first dual layer Dishwasher Cleaner, to leave your machine sparkling clean so a cleaner dishwasher means cleaner dishes.

The closing date for entries for the Finish Diamond Standard Innovation Challenge is 16th July 2009. Four runners up will win £1,000 available to spend at Lakeland and a year’s supply of Finish Quantum and Dishwasher Cleaner.

A nationwide poll has revealed our top three most famous naval sayings and it appears we are a united nation in the troubled waters we’re going through. The traditional naval sayings once used to describe the life on ships and shore, have evolved to take on new meanings which are as befitting to our current times as they were 160 year ago.  Albert Jack, who is a world leading language expert on the origins of sayings, has helped us explain what these sayings actually mean.

It’s not a surprise that the good old British weather has come into the mix. Under the weather is ranked as the third most popular saying in the country, with 16% of the vote. Maybe it’s the doom and gloom of the recession really affecting us…or it could simply be the weather dragging us down!

But do we really know what this famous saying really means?  Albert Jack explains; “In days gone by, under the weather was used for people who felt unwell and were unable to function properly, again with its origin far out at sea. When a sailor was genuinely ill he would be sent well below decks where he could recover without the wind and rain making his condition worse. The raging sea could also make a man feel ill and yet under the decks and ‘under the weather’ his condition could begin to improve. Sick bays were usually located in the very depths of the hull, as low as possible”.

Coming in second place with a fifth of the votes is the popular and well-known saying, You Scratch my back I’ll Scratch Yours. Demonstrating we are all pulling together and showing our sense of solidarity and strength in uncertain times.

Almost everyone understands the true meaning of the saying, knowing it was all about helping one another out and doing each other a good turn but where did it originate? According to Albert Jack; “During the 17th & 18th centuries the English Navy was traditionally brutal and punishments for disobedience or absenteeism were extremely harsh and involved crewmates being punished by other crewmates. It was likely that the crewmate would himself become a victim at some stage, so would be lenient with his victim by applying only light stokes and merely ‘scratching’ his back. He himself would then receive equally lenient treatment by another shipmate if and when he was on the receiving end”.

The overall winner and most famous saying of all which ranked in first place is Freeze the Balls off a Brass Monkey. This cheeky little saying stole a quarter of the votes, could our sense of humour be helping us survive the recession?

Most people believe the saying means it’s cold outside.  Very few understand the true meaning which dates back to old nautical records. Surprisingly it has nothing to do with monkey’s balls or brass monkey’s balls!

“Well”, says Albert Jack, “On man-of-war ships young boys used to carry gunpowder along tiny passages and galleys on the ships.  The young boys were known as ‘powder monkeys’ because of their agility, and by association the brass trays used to stack the cannonballs became known as brass monkeys. These trays formed the base of a cannonball pyramid.  Brass was used because the iron balls would not stick to brass through rust or frost, but the drawback was that brass contracts faster than iron does when it’s cold.  On severely cold days the indentations holding the lower level of cannonballs contracted, spilling the pyramid across deck. Hence, it was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey”.So next time you use one of these, take a moment to think of our sailors and the many sayings they have given us for us to enjoy in our everyday lives.

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 of negative experiences. In reality however, direct marketing is something most of us engage in and find useful without even realising this is what it is. If you buy products online, search the internet, sign up for email promotions, buy from catalogues or magazines, you will be using direct marketing.

Strange as it may sound given its press coverage, direct marketing is one of the most compliant industries when it comes to consumer protection – something that is evident to us on a daily basis at the Direct Marketing Commission (DMC). Although the DMC investigates all of the complaints it receives, the Commission’s intervention results in the vast majority being resolved quickly and informally between the company and the consumer involved without the need for any formal adjudication.

The DMC’s job is not only to provide consumers with protection from unethical or inappropriate direct marketing but also to create a self-regulatory environment within and across the industry that expects its existing high standards to be maintained and enhanced. We do that by enforcing the principles and rules in the Direct Marketing Code of Practice. This is nothing new because the DMA Code has been developing to keep pace with the exceptional growth and sophistication of direct marketing in all its forms and channels since its first edition in 1991.

To give a flavour of what consumers should be able to expect in terms of standards of service we’ve teamed up with What Consumer to describe five of the most frequent issues that the DMC deals with and what the Code requires companies to do.

Unsolicited goods

Unsolicited goods are products or services that are sent to you when you haven’t ordered or asked for them. Of course, you may have ordered them ‘unwittingly’ without fully understanding the terms of obligation; this is sometimes the case with club or mail order schemes. Both the law and the DM Code state that companies must not send goods or provide services for which payment is requested to any address without having received an instruction to supply such goods or services.

Poor customer service

Poor customer service is the subject of too many complaints to the Commission. The Commission is conscious that it has to keep its adjudications in proportion. Examples of poor customer service include being unable to get through to a company on the telephone, not having phone calls returned or encountering rude or unhelpful staff. Incorrect charges for late payment is a recurring complaint that’s both worrying and frustrating for customers. Both the law and the DM Code requires companies to deal with complaints ‘courteously and promptly’ and, unless there are exceptional circumstances, within five days.

Unwanted emails

In the UK and the EU, companies are allowed to email you only if you have given your permission or have purchased goods from them in the past. Unwanted emails are those which are sent to you by a company where you do not have the option to opt out or unsubscribe. The DM Code requires companies to provide an unsubscribe mechanism, such as a return email address to which unsubscribe requests can be sent. If they don’t, they’re in breach of the Code and the law.

Silent Calls

Silent or abandoned calls are just that: you pick up the phone and hear nothing. They happen because companies use call centre agents and automated dialling systems to telemarket potential customers, do market research or debt collection. If the automated system is set to work too quickly, when the person dialled answers the phone, there is no agent available and the line goes dead. The DM Code says that in the event of an abandoned call, companies must play a brief recorded message within two seconds of the call being answered. The message must contain the identity of the company on whose behalf the call was made and details of a no charge number that the recipient can contact to decline further calls.

Unwanted marketing calls

Put simply, unwanted marketing calls are calls you may receive from companies who are trying to sell you something you do not want to purchase. If you don’t want to receive any marketing calls, you can register with the Telephone Preference Service. Your details will then be added to the list which makes it illegal for a company to call you for marketing purposes in the future. The DM Code requires that anyone registered on the TPS should not receive unsolicited marketing calls.

If you’ve experienced problems with any of these issues than please get in touch with us through the complaints page of our website, www.dmcommission.com and we’ll give you advice on what to do next.

Matti Alderson is chairman of the Direct Marketing Commission, the independent self-regulatory body for the UK’s direct marketing industry

See also:

• Junk mail, Cold Callers and telemarketing
• The Data Protection Act