back to menuOur President, Baroness Wilcox, pictured above centre with Oxford Chairman Moyra Haynes (left) and Katy Hall Oxford Consumer Editor, attended the Oxford Consumers Group AGM.
Judging by the account in the Group’s magazine this was a festive occasion with a dinner, catered, cooked and served by the WI, preceding the business part of the evening.
Moyra Haynes reported that the past year had been a good one for the Group. Many activities had shown up the problem of ‘coping when you had a choice’. She asked whether many present had changed their gas suppliers and four or five had. She thanked Ken Frere for his hard work in producing the Group’s brochure "Reviewing Your Energy Costs", many copies of which were taken home by members after the meeting.
Oxford has long campaigned for interchangeable bus tickets and now, at last, they were available, though at a small extra cost.
Another long standing wish of the Group, the presence of a British Home Stores branch in the City, had at last come about (after more than 35 years!). The Group had been able to make suggestions to BHS on the store layout and hoped to do the same with Debenhams during their refurbishment.
The railway station buffet came in for strong criticism, though the Group’s campaign for clearer announcements had met with success and Railtrack must take the credit for this. Many other activities were mentioned, in particular the continuing work of the Summertown and Headington groups of members.
‘[he Group has a good relationship with Oxford Trading Standards and took an active part in the "Better Government for Older People" discussions. ‘[he survey they conducted put as top priority by a considerable margin the need for new and fresh thinking on how older people could be helped to get around.
Lady Wilcox told the meeting that, after being involved in the fishing industry both in Plymouth and in France, the DTI had invited her to become the Chairman of the National Consumer Council.
She described the NCC as a unique world body, combining total reliance on Government funding with total freedom to choose its own agenda for research and action. She had been greatly helped by Maurice Healy, as the NCC’s Director and the late Ann Scully as her deputy.
Access to justice was a main concern of NCC. Lady Wilcox wanted respect for consumers to be balanced by the perception that most traders are not villains but potentially helpful allies and she thought that the main obstacle to progress was often middle ranking Whitehall bureaucrats. She also wished the media did not get so involved so early and so often.
She respected John Major’s real dedication to the Citizen’s Charter as a support for consumer rights. Politicians and scientists had lost the confidence of the general public (see the piece entitled "Trust me, I’m a . . ." and needed to work hard in restoring it.
In reply to a question as to whether more income or more regulation would help poorer consumers, she said that what was in everyone’s interest was to have a more civilised society. Government’s role was to motivate the public to want such a society, while MPs must be shown the real nature of poverty here and they must provide remedies. But, she said, it was dangerous to interfere with markets; "the freer markets are, the better we shall all fare at the end of the day".
In proposing a vote of thanks to Lady Wilcox, Mrs. Spokes Symonds remarked "she is definitely someone to have on one’s side".
In preparation for the summer Central Herts. Consumer Group carried out a survey into refreshment facilities in public parks, gardens, garden centres and heritage sites within their catchment area.
They visited 18 outlets and the result reveals that there is no reason to go short of a cup of tea in any of them.
In summary, they found that: most were self service, tea cost between 30p and £1.25 per cup, most of them being in the range of 60 - 80p; it seldom came as a tea bag in a cup of hot water and individual tea pots were common.
Coffee cost between 40p and £1.25 per cup but was usually in the range of 75 to 90p. Tea or coffee was usually served in real cups or mugs; very few in plastic beakers.
Cola cost between 40p and £1.10 but was most often between 75 and 80p; a choice of size was often available.
Food was available except at Verdi’s in Clarence Park, St. Albans, which is also a restaurant, though what was on offer varied. It frequently included hot dishes.
The bargain attraction must be the DeHaviland Heritage Museum (previously known as the Mosquito Aircraft Museum) Off the B556 near London Colney, where a cup of tea costs 30p, though you have to make it yourself, pot provided, and instant coffee is 40p.
(Editor's comment, I went, some time ago, to this rather odd museum, and thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in aircraft history).
A forest of masts has grown up all over the country to relay the traffic for the various mobile phone networks. Two questions arise. Should you join the madding crowd and have a mobile phone? If so, which network should you join? The advertising for all the main suppliers of mobile phones and network operators is confusing, says ExCHECKER, the Exeter & District Consumer Group’s magazine. Additionally the Government will be issuing five further licences, believing that more providers will be in the best interest of the consumer.
Exeter Group found that there were many reasons but that the issue of safety and security dominated all others. The question of essential communication came a poor second, closely followed by convenience. One can imagine that peer group pressure among young people was also a factor.
Do they work? The location of the masts is critical. Reception varies across Devon, and, no doubt, other parts of the country. Transmission and reception on train journeys was generally less successful than elsewhere, though this did not seem to deter those determined to disturb other train passengers. The Group found that comparing the various phones and service providers was virtually impossible. The same model from different providers varied widely in price. There were few comments about after sales service.
What do they cost? Costs varied widely (or even wildly) from: a.. .very small initial outlay but high call rates or monthly rental, or both. b. . .a somewhat larger outlay (including some free call time) with acceptable call charges and no rental. There were some expensive items - a new battery cost £70. The interviewed person said "I cannot believe that this is anything but a rip-off - and once all my monthly free calls were taken up with calling Cellnet themselves". Overall inclusive costs varied between about £80 to £350 per annum.
Do you really need one? If "no" - spend the money on something else. If "yes" - why do you need one? If it is just a status symbol spend the money on something else. If it is for the prime reason given, i.e. safety and security, then buy a package where there is no line rental, just an initial payment for the equipment plus a defined sum of money to cover most calls. Find retail outlets (at least two) which are not connected to one particular mobile phone service and talk to them.
Mobile phones, it seems, emit radiation! However even the Panorama programme found it impossible to discover from the manufacturers or the retailers how much radiation was emitted from different phones, though it was established that there is a considerable variation. The USA Food and Drugs Agency takes the risk seriously and says that research demonstrates that there is a grey area in safety which needs further investigation.
So what to do? The advice is to invest in a hands free set and to minimise use, especially where children are concerned.
Join a Group, together, you can make a difference. Exeter and District Consumer Group Membership Hotline - 01392 668 478.
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