Consumer Rights Bill

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 28th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the shadow Minister on the points she made, which we fully endorse, underlining the need for tighter consumer protection. This subject involves myriad issues often arising out of constituency concerns.

I am pleased that the Bill is before the House. Like everyone in the Chamber, I am often contacted on the need for tighter legislation and greater rights for consumers and others. Staff in my advice centre regularly refer cases to the Consumer Council, and sometimes they have to contact the council themselves to ensure that it pushes a matter strongly. It does not always do that, so we have to underline what we are asking it to do. Sometimes it tells us that the legislation is not strong enough and it is important to address that.

[David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

My hon. Friend mentions constituents and the Consumer Council. Like other hon. Members, I am sure, I often receive complaints about the process and bureaucracy of exchanging goods. I think, in particular, about older folk, who have a paper trail to keep, and who sometimes are not good at it. It would be good if that could be addressed.

[Jim Shannon]

I thank my hon. Friend for bringing that matter to the House’s attention. I think that every speaker has underlined that issue, and many have spoken on behalf of elderly constituents who find it difficult to return goods. I have had people in my office complaining about particular retailers, but in true British form, rather than complaining, they say, unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger, “I’ll not be back” to make a complaint. Someone might have lost £100 on a pair of shoes because the heel is too wobbly to walk on, but feel that there is no point in complaining. That underlines the crucial issue that my hon. Friend the Member for Upper Bann (David Simpson) mentioned.

I regularly hear complaints in my office about flights that have been cancelled, about the service and about the fact that prices quoted are often different from the actual prices. These are issues that regularly come to my attention. Many retailers get away with selling substandard merchandise. When somebody brings something back, they simply point to the sign that says, “No sale return”. That is not correct. It does not affect a consumer’s statutory rights. Why does the consumer sometimes have to push so hard to get their rights? Many people are not aware of their rights, and it is my hope that the Bill will clarify consumer rights and make them a little easier to understand and regulate.

Hon. Members have referred to energy suppliers. We have a regulator that controls—or tries to control—prices, but more often than not prices rise faster than inflation. We feel that the regulator should have more power, so I hope the Bill will give us a regulator that can enforce the issue on energy prices. Every one of us, as elected representatives, will be aware how energy prices affect the households we represent.

I am also concerned about insurance premiums. The hon. Member for South Down (Ms Ritchie), who is not here, brought this issue to the Chamber a short time ago. I think every Member from Northern Ireland contributed to that debate. It frustrates and angers me, and it certainly angers my constituents, that people advertise insurance premiums on the television that are available anywhere in the UK—Scotland, Wales and England—except, according to the small print, Northern Ireland. I am as British as anyone in Edinburgh, Cardiff or London and I expect to be treated the same, as do my constituents.

The regulatory measure will reduce the effort both consumers and businesses have to make to resolve problems. Consumers will now have the right to get some money back after one failed repair of faulty goods or one faulty replacement, to demand that substandard services are redone or, failing that, to get a price reduction and a repair or replacement of a piece of faulty digital content such as a film or music download, online game or e-book. It is clear that the more we shop online, the more regulation there needs to be in place. After Christmas, the newspapers indicated that there were greater sales online than there have ever been in the past. In my constituency that is an issue as well; the trend is for online shopping.

In my constituency, there is a business called Excel which, to use its own word, is excelling in online sales. It is a prestigious clothes shop in Newtownards that moved into online sales a few years ago. That business has grown and it gives consumer protection. When it sells goods, it has a sale or return policy. That gives the consumer the opportunity to buy a good, which they are doing in increasing numbers. That business has grown greatly. It is now hoping to sell to the Republic of Ireland, another stage of that growing business in my constituency.

There are many sites online that help someone to stand up for their rights but the ordinary person would never think to look those up and would also not think that they were capable of fighting their corner. Many times people do not want to be involved in controversies or to have to complain. The Bill must be easily readable and understandable and I urge the Minister to ensure that anyone of any educational background is able to apply it to their own situation.

Some hon. Members today have spoken about the issue of those who use Google to get an idea of their rights but are then drawn down a road that takes them away from their real consumer rights. That is an issue about which we need to be concerned. We need to stop the exploitation of the vulnerable because most of the people who come to me are vulnerable people who have no knowledge of all the issues involved. I am concerned that those people are sucked into a process that they find difficult to get out of.

Hon. Members have mentioned credit card companies, banks and payday loans, where consumer protection is needed. Many companies now advertise a method to reclaim or redeem unfair charges. That also needs to be monitored because sometimes we wonder what it all means. If someone is phoned and told that they have a chance to claim back money, a financially vulnerable person might respond and disclose details that they should not disclose. We need a consumer rights Bill that protects people from those things.

The Bill proposes a set 30-day time period during which consumers can return faulty goods and get a full refund. At present, consumers can reject goods as faulty within a reasonable period; interpreted by some retailers as 14 days and by others as up to two months. There is diversity among retailers; let us get it correct for everyone so that everyone knows their rights.

In my constituency, a lady left her shoes to be re-heeled. When she came back to the same place to collect them a few days later, as she was told to do, the shoeman had disappeared and the shop was closed for two months. In such cases there should be a method by which the police or local authority has the right to be involved and to enter the shop; it is about consumer protection and consumer rights.

I hope that the Minister will tell us what attention she will pay to all of the issues raised today about the Bill and protecting consumers. All in all, I believe that the Bill seeks to enhance consumer rights. I support it in principle and look forward to the Minister’s response.