In this edition:
? The energy bill
? Are you being served?
? Charter for regulators
? Rolling-out smart metering reports
? Civil society and the market place
Energy bill
The Government has published its?Energy Bill in Parliament today (29 November). To make sure the Energy Bill delivers change in a fair and cost effective way for consumers, Consumer Focus is calling for:
Are you being served?
This week we published the latest edition of our rolling programme of mystery shopping research, looking at queue times, quality of service and accessibility of the larger, busier Post Office branches found on our high streets ? Crown branches, franchised branches and WH Smith branches.
The research has revealed a mixed picture for consumers. There is good news on accessibility, significantly shorter queues and investment in flagship Crown branches. However, the research also reveals concerns about the quality and accuracy of counter staff knowledge, with researchers sometimes sold a more expensive product than they needed.
The research, carried for our report ? Are You Being Served? ? was designed to test the quality of a customers? experience when visiting High Street branches. This includes Crown branches, franchised branches and a further 70 branches managed by WH Smith. The report was published this week.
We?ve also published a report looking at consumers? knowledge of Royal Mail?s products. Getting the most from the post? looks at how well consumers understand the main Royal Mail products and whether they use they the right ones.
Charter for regulators
A coalition of leading consumer organisations is urging Chairs of Parliamentary Select Committees to use its new Consumer Charter to hold the UK?s regulatory bodies to account for their performance in protecting consumers.
The Consumer Charter for Regulators is a statement of what consumers should reasonably expect any regulator to deliver. Select Committees play a vital public interest role in monitoring the performance of regulators, but they currently lack a simple framework to help them check whether these bodies are achieving the objectives set for them by Parliament.
The move follows a National Consumer Federation Consumer Congress Workshop in March 2012, sponsored by Consumer Focus, entitled Are Regulators failing the consumer? and new research by Which? highlighting a lack of public confidence in how key professions are regulated. Just one in 10 people consider that bankers are regulated effectively, while none of the professions were considered to be well regulated by more than half of those surveyed.
The charter was launched on Tuesday 27 November at the House of Commons at the All Party Parliamentary Group for Consumer Affairs and Trading Standards, chaired by Austin Mitchell MP.
Rolling-out smart metering reports
In-home energy display guidance and report launch
On Wednesday 21 November, we launched our In-home Display (IHD) industry good practice guidance and report Making energy use visible ? Smart meter in-home display usability research with consumers together with our advice guide for customers to help them select an energy display.
IHDs will be provided to all homes in Great Britain that have a smart meter installed, and will have the capability of displaying near real-time data on their energy consumption.
The research was designed to help us understand the extent to which IHDs are usable. It entailed user testing a range of IHDs with a diverse group of consumers, including older and disabled people. The industry-facing guidance was created to support IHD design inclusivity, including specific features and characteristics that should be considered as a minimum.
The launch was chaired by Consumer Focus Director of Policy and External Affairs, Adam Scorer, with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) presenting the latest policy context around IHDs including requirements on usability. Zoe McLeod, Head of Smart & Sustainable Energy Markets at Consumer Focus, presented the key findings from the report together with the research company, Ricability. The launch event was attended by IHD manufacturers, DECC, Ofgem, energy suppliers, relevant charities and other consumer groups.
Smart for All
Also on the 21 November, we launched our joint report with DECC and National Energy Action (NEA) Smart for All ? Understanding consumer vulnerability during the experience of smart meter installation at the All Party Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency Group?s Annual General Meeting.
The meeting was co-chaired by Caroline Lucas MP (Green Party), Rebecca Harris MP (Conservative) and Kelvin Hopkins MP (Labour).
- DECC outlined the Smart Meter Roll-out Consumer Engagement Strategy
- NEA presented the key report findings
- E.ON presented on its vulnerable customer journey
- Zoe McLeod outlined Consumer Focus?s key asks for Government and industry to ensure low income and consumers in vulnerable situations also benefit from the roll-out of smart meters
Key asks to ensure smart for all:
- Accurate bills and an end to back billing
- Offer functions to help customers budget, especially an accurate account balance on the IHD
- Make smart prepay work and make it a higher priority
- Make technology user-friendly
- Ensure fast and easy switching
- Make smart tariffs work for consumers
- Ensure roll-out is affordable and offers value for money for all
- Deliver an Extra Help Scheme for people in fuel poverty and vulnerable situations
Zoe?s presentation to the Group with more detail on our key asks: Smart for All ? Delivering benefits to low income and vulnerable consumers
Civil society and the market place
Consumer Focus and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) have joined forces to bring together a number of organisations who offer a range of services and/or products to consumers, whether it is insurance for older people, loans at affordable rates or energy on a not-for-profit basis, for a free half-day conference.
In the current economic and policy environment, this has become more topical than ever and more civil society organisations are generating income through trading.?However, this is not just about income generation. Some organisations are deliberately challenging the markets to make them more inclusive and beneficial to those in vulnerable positions.
Confirmed speakers include:
- Angela Knight, Chief Executive of Energy UK
- Phil Levermore, Managing Director of Ebico
- Mark Lyonette, Chief Executive of the Association of British Credit Unions
- Nigel Mason, Business Development Manager at Co-operative Energy
- Benita Matofska, Founder of The People Who Share
- Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Co-operatives UK
- Tess Pendle, Head of My Home Finance
- Jennifer Smith, Head of Operations at The Plunkett Foundation
- Jane Vass, Head of Public Policy at Age UK?
When: The conference will start at 09:00 on Thursday 6 December 2012 and is due to finish at 13:15.
Where: Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London, NW12BJ Book online
Coming soon
We?ll be publishing reports on internet traffic management, price comparison websites and an examination of consumers? willingness to pay for energy efficiency and carbon reduction initiatives.
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