Evidence is accumulating that those road humps used to reduce the speed of traffic through residential areas may be having unexpected results. The fact that they can cause damage to the resident’s own cars may result in law suits against local authorities. Noise levels, especially of lorries and buses, can be greatly increased as vehicles change gear and then accelerate. The use of low gear is also likely to generate increased pollution and underground vibrations may even be undermining the stability of foundations of surrounding properties. Chicanes are proposed as alternatives.
How many electrical adapters do you think can be plugged into one 13 amp socket? An electrician reports 28 electrical appliances attached to one outlet. Investigation showed the "fuse" to be a six-inch nail because the 13 amp fuses "kept blowing"! The appliances included a three-bar fire, table top-electric oven-cooker, TV, kettle, toaster, clock, reading lamp, iron, washer, spin drier and a vacuum cleaner. The electrician was called because the householder was worried about the blistering paint on the skirting board.
New regulations under the Wheeled Child Conveyances (Safety) Regulations 1997 came into force on 29th December. Three or five point harnesses must be provided with clear warnings that children must not be left unattended and there must be obvious instructions to ensure safe use, including the use of parking devices, folding procedures and the adjustment of the safety harness. The new regulations consolidate the present ones which still apply to prams and pushchairs sold until January 1999. Look out for some bargain sales next Christmas, but check for safety before buying.
A new hotline has been installed for the public to inform on company directors and bankrupts who have been disqualified yet are still running businesses. This is to be welcomed as another step by the Government in cracking down on directors who have been preying on the public for years by closing down one company and immediately setting up another. The 24-hour number is 0845 601 3546.
All fruit and vegetables must be labelled with their origin. All other foods must be so labelled if failure to do so could mislead - for example a New Zealand leg of lamb with a Union Jack marked on it. But otherwise foreign meat can be marked as a product of the UK if it is boned and rolled in this country. If a label such as "Scotch Beef’ is used then the exact origin of the meat must be available for proof. Some names are specific to regions - Parma ham from Italy or Stilton cheese only from the UK. Obviously the regulations need bringing up to date.
"The use of unfair terms is rife among sellers and suppliers in every aspect of UK economic life", says John Bridgeman, Director General of Fair Trading, on the publication of Issue 4 of Unfair Contract Terms. Some traders readily amended contracts when asked, but in other cases first steps in legal proceedings have had to be taken to get a harmful clause modified. The booklet is available free from OFT: - phone them on their new number - 0870 606 0321 or send a Fax to 0870 607 0321.
Campaign Results
NfCG has long campaigned for clarity in financial dealings and continues to point out the unsuitability of most financial products for those on low incomes. The OFT has announced a new enquiry into financial services for vulnerable consumers. This will look at the cause of problems, ease of access to financial products, including their suitability and cost, whether the present regulatory system meets their needs and if there are suitable sources of advice and information. We hope this will lead to a greater degree of transparency.
Debt Management
The Plymouth Consumer Group in partnership with the Plymouth Credit Unions, the Plymouth Community Partnership and the Citizens Advice Bureau organised a conference on Debt Management on 17th February. It was aimed not just at the experts or those already in debt but at anyone who comes into contact with those owing money and who may be asked for advice.
After only a year, three thousand six hundred people have registered with the Fax Preference Service (FPS) in an attempt to cut down the number of uninvited faxes they receive. The FPS was set up by the Direct Marketing Association with funding from Cable and Wireless and BT and is the first and still the only fax preference service in the world. It was introduced following the success of the Mailing and Telephone Preference Services and it is likely that, in due course, a preference service for electronic mail will be introduced. The FPS is supported by all the major fax broadcasting companies as well as direct marketing list providers such as Dunn and Bradstreet, who remove FPS registered names from their databases.
Registration is free. People who have registered say that it does not totally eliminate unsolicited faxes, but it certainly reduces them. Fax marketing is a growing £50 million professional industry in the UK, used by a wide range of organisations including financial services companies, travel operators, charities, exhibition and conference organisers, retailers and sport and entertainment organisations.
At the moment most fax marketing, says the FPS, is carefully targeted at business customers but some households or home based small businesses may be on the receiving end. Receiving many unsolicited faxes must actually be more of a nuisance for a business than for a private fax user, clogging up the phone line and fax machine which may be required to send out essential last minute instructions.
There is of course an element of self-interest. The fax marketing industry is aware that pending European legislation may try and restrict direct marketing practices, particularly to consumers, and is keen to demonstrate that it is capable of regulating itself and perhaps escape more difficult restrictions.
Whatever the motive, the service must be of interest to those with fax machines at home or at work; maybe not now, but soon.
All you have to do to register with FPS is to call 0541 554555. For more information about the service phone Tessa Kelly on 0171 766 4420 or write to her at The Fax Preference Service, Haymarket House, 1. Oxendon St., London SW1Y 4EE
Bob Gale’s work with the Consumers in Europe Group has at last been recognised with a well deserved award. We have a President active in the House of Lords and a Chairman now well recognised among the great and the good; obviously we can expect surprising things from this combination.
Unlike other "consumer" bodies NfCG has, in fact it exists to promote, a grass roots organisation. The Executive Committee agrees that we must emphasise this wherever possible by referring to ourselves as "the grassroots consumer watchdog’. Some Groups do so already.
The Government’s White Paper on Freedom of Information has surprised many by its radical approach, says Maurice Frankel, Director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information. There will be an article about it’s proposals in the next issue.
Many thanks to contributors for this issue. Not only did I receive more than usual, some were on disk which speeds up the assembly of pages. Please send contributions for the April / May issue by the middle of March to me:
John Brown
6 Priory Gardens
Dartford, Kent.
DAl 2BE
phone/fax 01322 280673, or
attach a file to your email to:
Editor@ncf.info
Provided acknowledgement is made to NfCG, material may be reproduced freely by federated and corresponding Consumer Groups unless otherwise indicated, but may not be used either in whole or in part for any form of advertising, sales promotion or publicity. The reports in it are as accurate as is reasonably possible; no liability can be accepted for inadvertent errors. The articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Federation.
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