back to menuConsumers are certainly doing differently! However, I'm now much less sure that we can distinguish our roles. When we're thinking of, say, globalization or supermarkets we don't distinguish between the broad economic and social issues they raise, and what might be our narrower concerns as consumers. For present purposes I shall consider that 'doing better' is mainly, but not exclusively, whether our power and influence as consumers of goods and services have improved compared with those of their providers.
Vast economic, technological, social and other, changes have occurred in the past two or three decades. Globalization means not just the, spread of international corporations arid the World Trade Organisation but' the communications revolution, the 'inter-penetration of cultures; the simultaneous growth of both uniformity and of diversity. And for us as consumers, as well as citizens, it also means the increased importance of the EU.
Leaving aside these 'universal" matters let us take a quick look at some changes which have takes place here in the, UK in the last, say 30 years; if only to consider whether they, are relevant to judging where consumers have got to.
Leaving aside disparities in society and the submerged tenth or whatever the bottom layer is - and there is a bottom layer - not always the same people, because individuals rise and fall economically - the public at large is significantly better off than, say 30 years ago; Our opportunities in leisure pursuits are vastly wider. There is a much greater variety of goods available; n real terms the prices of many have fallen. Privatisation, at least of some of our utilities, has yielded significant improvements. Health is better, notwithstanding the troubles of the NHS, and we live longer, if not always happier lives. We could go on adding to the list of 'improvements'.
On the other hand, the changes in economic structures and employment patterns, in family arrangements and in social mores, are self evidently far from all beneficial. And we may be in the process of creating an underclass of consumers not distinguished by income but by access to information technology The environment is an ever-present source of concern. Thus we could equally continue listing the areas where we think our lives have deteriorated.
Let me come back to the 30-year benchmark. I chose it particularly because the 70s, or thereabouts, seem to me to mark a turning point for consumers, illustrated by the legislation which emerged around that time: the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 (of great importance although improvement is long overdue), the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the Fair Trading Act 1973, the Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973 (which gave criminal courts the power to award compensation - if not always used). I think there Was a new awareness of the need to redress some of the imbalance of power, -1 also chose it because the social and economic scene has so changed in these last 30 years.
This legislation was followed by much other of great importance and by the emergence of different ways of attempting to protect the consumers' interests, such as voluntary codes of conduct or practice, Ombudsmen of various sorts, consumer committees, councils and panels and, more recently, Regulators of various shapes and sizes - with perhaps more to come. Not all of this has sprung primarily from concern for the consumer; some of it arose out of scandal. Some readers will remember Vehicle and General; and, more recently, the mis-selling of pensions.
These principles, evolved over several years by the consumer movement, were largely intended to provide yardsticks against which particular issues might be judged. They are not so publicly used as they were but they still serve, for me at least, as useful pointers. They are:
Access - Choice - Information - Equity - Redress - Representation - Safety
I'll take some of these headings at random. 'Safety' is ambiguous. So far as physical safety is concerned, most goods, and many services we buy, are safer than they used to be - technical advances, legislation, public pressure and awareness and so on have all played their part. But certainly not all things we buy or use are safe. There is some evidence that because cars, for example, are safer some users take greater risks. And if we think of safety in areas such as finance, health and sport, risk to a greater or lesser extent is unavoidable. Consumers can't ever be fully protected.
There is more information available about goods and services then ever before. But can we understand it? l used to give a talk about the Trade Descriptions Act and the cue, which the Advertising Standards Authority administers, and was able to show how accurate information can, mislead by overload, and by riot distinguishing between the important and the relatively trivial. We are' still struggling with food labelling arid the Financial Services Authority has yet to solve the problems of disclosure and of comparative information,
The avenues through which redress can be obtained have: undoubtedly increased considerably. But the popular press asserts that we have embraced a complaint culture - only too ready to seek compensation: But how many justified, complaints are not followed up because of the difficulty of getting past the first line of an organisation’s defences? You can't go into your local bank and get a complaint dealt with there and then because services are centralised. Who has not had 'You have 5 choices, press 1..?'
Access is a more difficult concept than appears on the surface: Adequate and fair access is an important consumer principle but it is one which runs into issues of social policy. Whether we should all be able to afford an Aston Martin is a socio-political matter, of interest to us as citizens. But I believe that planning and transport policies which result in denying ready access to ordinary daily requirements do raise important consumer issues. A good current example of access falling short is that of access to basic financial services.
So where are we now against my criterion of the balance between consumers and the providers of goons-and services? I judge that within large areas of activity the consumer position has markedly improved: But the situation is patchy and the context in which we live changes all the time. Mind you, some things don't change: there are still cowboy builders and good plumbers are still hard to find - or, rather, it is still hard to choose a good plumber before he starts work. And even though regulation has increased it is increasingly difficult to find your way through the maze. We may have
become better at understanding the information we are given and comparing prices - with the help of "Which?" and the specialised journals - but are most of us yet capable of choosing the best supplier of gas and electricity, the most economical mobile telephone or the better, if not the best, investment for our particular needs?
We are, on the whole, doing better, probably a lot better. This is particularly true in respect of goods. It's not nearly as far forward on services. But there's a long way to go across the whole field. And caveat emptor is far from dead.
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