Overview of Consumer Direct

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Overview of Consumer Direct
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About Consumer Direct

• First set up in 2004
• Telephone and online consumer advice service
• Funded by central government, managed by the
  Office of Fair Trading and delivered in
  partnership with Local Authority Trading
  Standards Services (TSS).
• Offers consumers clear, practical and impartial
  advice and information about all kinds of
  consumer issues.
• A single national telephone number 08454 040506
  - plus a Welsh language and minicom service.

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Consumer DirectKey Numbers
Consumer Direct Contact Centres

• 19m a year
• 11 contact centres
• 350 trained advisors
• 140,000 contacts a month
• More than1.7 million contacts in 2006
• 83 satisfaction
• 21 awareness

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Stakeholder relationships

• Successful partnership with TSS
• 97 local authorities divert calls to CD
• 80 of calls dealt with directly
• 20 referred to other organisations

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Consumer Directs Objectives

• Increase access to quality assured advice and
  information
• Give people the knowledge, tools and confidence
  to resolve matters themselves
• Improve the quality and coverage of information
  for TSS and strategic partners
• Act as a gateway to other services for further
  help if required or specialist advice

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What do we offer?

• Pre-shopping tips
• Information on consumer rights
• Advice on how to solve specific consumer problems
• Referrals/notifications to relevant TSS and
  signposts to other second tier advice providers
  when necessary
• Access to national complaints data for
  enforcements agencies such as TSS.

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Overview of Consumer Voice Project
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Consumer Voice

• Consumers, Estates Agents Redress Act 2007
• Abolish Postwatch, energywatch and current
  National Consumer Council
• Possibly Consumer Council for Water in the future
• Set up new National Consumer Council
• Set up new redress schemes for Post and Energy

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Consumer Voice

• Consumer Direct to deal with 1st tier energy and
  postal issues and disputes
• New National Consumer Council to assist with
  vulnerable consumers
• Implementation by 1st October 2008
• Consumer Direct to upgrade in-house systems and
  future-proof service

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New Empowerment process
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Empowerment Process

• CV is an opportunity to make the empowerment
  process better for consumers and suppliers
• Empowerment cases can be emailed to suppliers
  with an agreed time frame for response
• This procedure give suppliers an opportunity to
  respond to the consumer with a full response
• Suppliers can allocated resources more
  efficiently to deal with complaints

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• Possible Empowerment Process

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Contacts

• Michele Shambrook
• Deputy Operation Manager Consumer Direct
• 020 7211 8523
• 07747 457589
• michele.shambrook_at_oft.gsi.gov.uk
• Peter Hives
• Consumer Voice Project Manager
• 020 7211 8596
• 07850 505933
• peter.hives_at_oft.gsi.gov.uk
• Tom Ballard
• Consumer Voice Project Officer
• 020 7211 8388
• 07810 181076
• tom.ballard_at_oft.gsi.gov.uk