The ideal situation for the high pressure salesman on commission is to force the sale at the first visit, sure in his own mind that it cannot be reversed. This is the main failing of the present legislation. The latest sales technique we have come across is to offer a free entry to a competition for a car. The householder is then asked for the telephone number "just in case you win". The next day a phone call tells you that you have won one of the supplementary prizes `selected daily'. You will receive the gift if you accept a demonstration of the Complete Homecare System (an expensive vacuum cleaner system) if you and your spouse are both present. The clever bit is that you then invite them round to bring you your prize, thus this no longer becomes an unsolicited visit, so strictly you lose the usual seven day cooling off period you have for a sale of over ;E35 from an uninvited trader away from trade premises.
Present day technology mostly depends on looking at a screen, big or small. Even modern payphones work this way. Braille screens have not yet been invented but voice techniques are available for home computers and are on display at Centres for the Blind. The latest aid available in all ASDA stores produces labels from a hand held machine into which details of the product and its use-by dates are fed, printed in braille on a label and then stuck on the side of a tin, cereal packet or other item. The shopper can be accompanied round the store and the labels produced then or added at the customer services desk. A service previously in doubt has been assured. The new postal regulator, Postcom, will monitor delivery of the free postal service for blind and partially sighted people. Any future licences will ensure that the service is maintained and easily accessible.
With the changeover to stakeholder pensions some investment firms are changing their practices regarding charges. Instead of different buy and sell prices they will in future, but at the Government's insistence, quote only one price in newspapers. This price will not be known until the close of business so you will not know the price you have contracted to pay until the next day. Where there is light or heavy trading there will be a `dilution policy levy' which will further increase or decrease the price, which, as far as we can see, is to even out the firm's trading profits. Just imagine going to the supermarket and only knowing what you are to pay for your goods the next day, depending on how many customers they had through the checkouts. The world of personal finance is certainly difficult to understand.
A survey of 6,768 responses to a BBC questionnaire showed which new channels would be the most popular. Three quarters accepted that new channels would be a valuable addition to the BBC's range. 87% thought that children should be able to see quality programmes without advertising and a similar number agreed that there should be a stimulating and intellectual channel even though it would not appeal to everyone. Subjects for special attention included music, comedy, drama and children's stories. Over half would welcome a channel extending the coverage on Radio Five Live for sport, and just under a half would support a service for the Asian community. Just when we will get time to view all these new channels from the BBC and elsewhere has not been explained.
An online guide for people arranging a funeral can be useful if you are unsure of what to do. A consumer's guide to funerals - a day to remember, not one to be forgotten, is on the Office of Fair Trading website at www.oft.gov.uk. It covers what to do when death occurs, registration, arranging the funeral and paying for it and what to do if it occurs abroad. There is also a section on wills, probate and tax. The OFT Director General says "Buying a funeral is not like other consumer purchases. Consumers usually have limited knowledge of what to expect and because of their emotional state they are unlikely to shop around." [See also "The Oxford Consumer", issue 150 - Ed]
The Office of Fair Trading has warned credit brokers that they will risk losing their credit licences if they do not get a loan for the client and fail to refund the fees charged. Section 155 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 states that if a borrower does not take up a loan offered by a broker, for whatever reason, the broker can only keep £5 of the arrangement fee. One firm had written to consumers stating that should an application not lead to a loan, a minimum processing fee of £240 would be deducted from fees paid. It is essential for consumers to be aware of their rights.
A survey by C o n s u m e r s ' Association found that too many shops, the big chain stores among them, were refusing to help customers where goods had broken down after the one year guarantee period. Assistants said it was either the customer's or the manufacturer's responsibility. Of course some staff suggested that an extended warranty should have been taken out. It seems that if an appliance is going to break down it is likely to be in the first year or after the fifth year of the warranty. Only 5% fail during the intervening years. Under the Sale of Goods Acts retailers may be responsible for faulty goods if they are not of `satisfactory quality' for up to six years. The problem is proving that they were not of the quality they should have been, especially if their original price lies at the lower end of the scale.
The number of patients awaiting surgery in Australia's New South Wales is at its highest level ever, over 56,000. In November there was an attempt to reduce the usual four to six week shutdown of elective surgery over the Christmas Period. It appears this was also banned over the period of the Olympics. A doctor has set up a successful pay per minute advice line because few doctors carry out home visits as they consider their fee to be too low.
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