In November, speaking on the BBC, Lord Haskins, Chairman of Northern Foods, declared that "the consumer is King!" What he probably meant was that nowadays retailers take more care to provide what consumers want and, in general, deal with complaints more helpfully than they used to. We hear, of course, about the instances where this is not so, but, again in general, l think he is right. Is there less need now for voluntary consumer bodies to campaign for basic rights?
Alec Samuels recently mentioned a book, Bad Company: Behind the Corporate Mask, by Richard Milton. He wrote:
"Consumers are naturally very interested in big companies. Are these big companies the providers of mass produced inexpensive good quality goods and services, a boon tc us all? Can we believe what they say and are we consumers properly protected against any abuse?
This very readable little study tells the story of some of the mishaps over the years. The psychology of big business is intriguingly discussed. References to the websites where full details can be seen are very useful. We all probably remember the Hoover Air Tickets fiasco and the Benettor horror advertising but need reminding about the benzene traces in Perrier Water, the thalidomide tragedy, the McDonalds litigation, the taste of Coca-Cola, the asbestos scare, the mishaps at Sellafield (Windscale), and many similar incidents.
Alas, it does appear that the whole truth may not always be disclosed; the advertisements may not be entirely accurate; the protection insufficient and redress available to the consumer may not be as effective as it should be. There is still a lot for The National Consumer Federation to do".
Bad company: Behind the Corporate Mask, by Richard Milton, is published by House of Stratus, 2001, paperback, at £10.99.
By coincidence the book reviewed below by Stuart Coverley also asks whether consumer protection is necessary.
Cranston's Consumers and the Law, 3rd edition, reviewed by Stuart Coverley It is 16 years since the 2nd edition of Cranston's Consumers and the Law. This is a textbook more suitable for the bright student than the layman with an interest in the law. The discussion seems to be mixed up with the facts in rather too long sections.
The language is also somewhat convoluted. For example, under the section heading of
‘Channels of Information Disclosure' is the sentence "A possible means of analysing laws requiring businesses to disclose information is to proceed in terms of the way information must be presented under them". It then goes on to discuss product labelling, advertisements and terms of sale. Even the index does not give a direct reference to labelling, only as a subheading under Information Disclosure.
The NfCG gets a full mention and is compared with consumer organisations in Australia, Canada and the USA. One of the main features of the book is the comparison of the solutions to similar problems adopted by the law in other countries. It asks whether consumer protection is necessary and to what extent consumers are disadvantaged. Are consumers really rational beings with the ability to exercise the powers they have under the law? "It is the role of consumer protection to enable those choices to be made more efficiently", states the introductory text. It goes on to describe the problems of the vulnerable and those on low incomes and how free markets are likely to operate to their disadvantage.
The main sections are Business Self Regulation, Private Law and Public control and a final chapter on the authors' conclusions. Taking just one section on Small Claims, I had difficulty sorting out the information I wanted from the past history and opinions in ten pages without any subheadings at all. In comparison The Law of Consumer Protection and Fair Trading, which I reviewed in the previous Consumer News gave me just over two pages with numbered paragraphs showing the vital facts I needed.
Though this book would impart a great deal of vital background knowledge for a course on consumer law, of the two legal books I have reviewed this is not the one I would recommend to our general readers.
(Cranston's Consumers and the Law 3rd edition by Colin Scott and Julia Black is published by Butterworths, London 2000 at £32.95 (ISBN 0 406 98802 1)
"Consumer activism is a potent force in British political life, which encompasses a network of non governmental organisations, charities and campaigning groups. Its political style strongly resembles the approach of American citizen groups, and its activists have succeeded in projecting their lobbying operations as those of a social movement. Consumer activists insist they are marginalised outsiders who represent the voice of the powerless consumer. In fact, they have close links with the British Establishment and should be seen as key players who are strongly involved with the political elites. The success of this network is closely linked to a decline in trust in the British political system. Consumer activism thrives in the condition of apathy and social disengagement Consumer activists regard their campaigns as a superior alternative to parliamentary democracy. Their attitude to political participation expresses a strong antidemocratic ethos."
The above is a summary of a fifteen page essay on the subject submitted by Dr. Frank Furedi. Dr. Furedi is a Reader in Sociology at the University of Kent in Canterbury. His main. intellectual interest is the institutionalisation of risk consciousness in western societies and the growth of victim culture. His recently published Culture of Fear dealt with the ascendancy of risk aversion and the tendency for society to panic. The extended essay looks too much towards the USA for its material but is, nevertheless, an interesting read, though much too long to reproduce in Consumer News. If anyone would like to read it, and make comments, please tell The Editor who will send you a copy.
An important booklet has recently been published by the Office of Fair Trading entitled, somewhat pompously "Empowering Consumers in the Enterprise Economy". Although the title may be a bit pompous the content is very interesting, as it details the consumer measures to be included in The Enterprise Bill which arise from that 1999 White Paper, Modern Markets, Confident Consumers, which I am sure you all read. , Melanie Johnson, the Minister for Competition, Consumers and Markets, says the Bill is very much a consumer bill and promises to take it forward in partnership with consumer organisations. I just hope she reads this and has included us! The contact person at the DTI is Julie Davies, Consumer Strategy, Department of Trade and Industry, 1 Victoria Street, London SWIH OET Tel: 0207 215 6471.
The Consumer Affairs Directorate website is www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/index.htm
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