£4BN FURY FOR FED-UP SHOPPERS
Consumers suffer 20m issues
Scottish consumers encountered almost 20million problems with £4.7billion worth of purchases last year, an official report has claimed.
The UK Government’s Consumer Protection Study found that 72 per cent of people experienced at least one detrimental incident between April 2020 and the same month last year.
The figure was the highest in Britain and compared to 70 per cent in England, 60 per cent in Wales and 56 per cent in Northern Ireland, with a UK average of 69 per cent.
Charity Advice Direct Scotland has urged people
to know their rights since publication of the report, produced by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Conor Forbes, Advice Direct Scotland’s head of business development and policy, said: “Consumer detriment describes the loss or damage that a consumer could experience as a direct result of purchasing goods or services not meeting the required requirements, whether that is due to poor quality or overpricing.
“We would advise people to make comparisons before signing up to contracts, to make the most of free trials and samples when they are available, and to negotiate with their current supplier or provider if they feel they are paying too much.
“We would also encourage people to report rip-offs to the relevant regulators and to report suspected scams.”
As well as issues with goods sold legally, online fraud statistics reached record highs over lockdown.
Advice Direct Scotland can offer free, tailored advice at consumeradvice.scot or on 0808 164 6000.