Protecting loyal consumers

The Conservative government is taking action to ensure consumers are not unfairly targeted and penalised for their loyalty when paying for everyday services.

 

Key facts: 

Following concerns raised by Citizens Advice in a ‘super-complaint’, a Competition and Markets Authority investigation found that there is a loyalty penalty of around £4 billion a year in a few selected markets.

 

·         Currently, the CMA must go through courts in order to assess whether firms have overcharged or misled customers.

 

·         Today, we have committed to simplifying that process by giving the CMA new powers to decide itself whether consumer law has been broken. This means firms that overcharge or mislead their customers could be hit with direct fines without the need to go through a court.

 

·         A simpler process will act as a powerful deterrent to firms that are penalising loyalty.

 

Why this matters: 

The key to successful markets and businesses is ensuring that they work for the benefit of consumers; through our modern Industrial Strategy, we are taking action to ensure that this is the case which is why this will be consulted on in our upcoming Consumer White Paper. We believe that all of these measures will help create the conditions for more effective competition and improve day to day outcomes for consumers.

Comments

Jim said…
Its been the case for a long time, certainly with thinks that renew after 12 months. The classic example is insurance (be it home/car/health it does not matter) the worst deal you will find is the auto renew. If you shop around you will always find a better deal, often you can find a better deal then phone your current provider and they will match it, or at least better the cost of the auto renew policy. It's generally companys cashing in on the fact people tend to forget about things.
12:23 pm
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