The Chancellor banks his hopes on service from days gone by

Its official – I have now entered a time warp where shoppers have gone back to having food delivered by grocery vans, china tea cups and “vintage” florals are the rage and now there is a call for the Dads Army style of bank manager, in the form of Mr Mainwaring, from Chancellor George Osborne. He has cited a few movers and shirkers in the banking world with two new banks as leading the way in face to face banking, harking back to a time when the bank manager personally knew all the customers and businesses who banked with them.

Consumers need bank managers to offer personalised banking

This came about as a result of a question put to him about the decision of Lloyds Bank to axe around 1,000 jobs, which are mainly staff working as small business advisers. Advocating the character of Captain Mainwaring as the role model for bank managers, the Chancellor also singled out Metrobank and Handelsbanken as good examples of personalised banking. Banks should concentrate on building on better relationships and getting to know their customers, said Mr Osborne, just as in the days of Dad’s Army, when the bank manager was at the very heart of local life.

I pondered this statement whilst upcycling (another word for reusing) an old chest of drawers destined for the eldest progeny’s first house, and sorting out some recherished, vintage (second hand in other words) curtains she could use for her bedroom. Not that long ago when I opened my first bank account, decimalisation had been around for a little while, and the bank manager we had, did know all of his customers. The banks concentrated on just the one job in hand which was looking after you and your money, the energy companies were all nationalised and there was only one train company and they managed to run on time without costing you an arm and a leg.

The rag and bone man came around every Saturday and we recycled everything possible that hadn’t been put to good use by other members of the family. Most of us went around wearing hand knitted jumpers and cardigans, we had to cycle to school because we only had one car and my father wouldn’t consider giving us a lift, and all the food we ate was cooked from scratch and we grew our own fruit and vegetables.

Slow down to let the next retro bandwagon through

Now here is another generation hooked on the Great British Bake Off and Kirstie Allsopp entering every possible craft and trade fair going, the number of cyclists on the roads are growing, veggie gardening is fashionable and our food consumer habits are changing to the extent that we are going back to the smaller shops and shopping around for a better deal and good quality. As usual this is not going unnoticed by the politicians who no doubt will be leaping on the next retro bandwagon as it rolls into town – what will be the next new trend I wonder? If you have any ideas then let us know- we’re listening!

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Shopping habits changing as consumers review the way they heat and eat!

This week has seen further evidence that consumer power is on the increase with the first energy company to freeze their bills, the big 4 supermarkets bowing down to the pressure of discount stores such as Aldi and even British Home Stores is getting in on the act and starting to offer food for sale in 100 of their High Street Stores. Not only are we now making price comparisons between a range of companies but many consumers are starting to  compare customer service levels as well. Asda, Morrison’s, Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s have been fighting a battle to retain our loyalty but as the UK households disposable income continues to fall, once loyal customers are choosing to move away from the larger food superstores and shop in a more discriminate manner.

Consumers moving away from large out of town food superstores

Listening to a selection of householders on the radio yesterday it was interesting to hear that many are choosing to shop little and often, planning out their family menus, using independent outlets or the Lidl and Aldi’s of this world, regardless of the loyalty schemes their original supermarket of choice once offered. Sainsbury’s was the only one of the four who had retained their portion of the market share but this month had announced their first decline in nine years. It was suggested by a spokesman from The Grocer that Sainsbury’s success was due to the good job it was doing in convincing shoppers of its Brand Match policy.

As redundancies hit ASDA staff BHS joins the food trade

Asda have just made more than 200 managers redundant as well citing changing consumer habits so it does seem an odd time for Sir Phillip Green, who heads up the Arcadia Group, of which BHS is part, to begin trialling food sales. I like to watch the adverts that are put out by all the food supermarkets, note down what their latest offer is to attract custom and then wait to see how their competitors jump on the bandwagon and offer exactly the same deal but wrap it up in such a way to make it seem to be their own idea.

From Brand Match to Price Promise the fun and games continue, only this time it seems as though consumers are finally in the driving seat. Now the energy companies could be about to start fighting it out for our custom with the news that SSE are freezing their energy bills until 2016. Excellent news for households but not so good for the energy company staff who are going to be made redundant.
If you have changed your shopping habits over the past year or so then get in touch and let us know - we're listening!

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Momentum quickens in demand for faster Broadband speeds

There have been times in the past where it seemed to be quicker to get a courier to fly in a file from abroad than waiting for the computer to download the electronic version. Patience is definitely not a virtue when it comes to broadband speeds and customer care. A garden snail could cross the finishing line quicker than my last broadband connection during which time the children next door, if in earshot, picked up a number of new and varied swearwords. So news that consumer guide Which? has carried out a study of around 2,000 people with around 50% saying they suffered slow speeds all the time or frequently, came as no big surprise.

Survey by Which? reveals consumers unhappy with Broadband provision

The survey did not state if they were urban, suburban or rural broadband users because in some parts of the countryside, even having a mobile phone signal is akin to Archimedes dropping objects into the bath and having a “Eureka” moment. Getting broadband at all for some of these consumers has long been a thorn in their rural sides, let alone the luxury of high speed downloads. However, Which? is now pressing for the broadband providers to guarantee the speed and service paid for by the consumer.

Ofcom site code of practice and other measures in place to help consumers

Ofcom say that there are measures in place to help consumers who have speed-related broadband problems (let us hope those people are not expected to download a complaints procedure and fill it in on line!) and that there is a voluntary code of practice in place for broadband providers. Duly noted, as sharp eyed readers of this blog will have pounced upon, is the word “voluntary”, and although this is the start of help for some consumers, companies are not obliged to sign up for it.

It is worth checking, however, if your broadband provider is one of the few that have committed themselves to this pledge. If they have, then you should have got information in writing, giving a written estimate of the broadband speed at the beginning of your contract. If you then get speeds that are significantly lower than those speeds, your provider has to let you leave your contract without any form of penalty. Which? are behind this code of practice but quite rightly, pushing for it to become mandatory, for providers to fix any speed problems and refund consumers for loss of this service. It remains to be seen if this will be the case but any campaign to speed up broadband has our backing.

If you have had problems with the speed of your broadband then let us know-we’re listening!

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Saturated with food facts as researchers try to butter us up!

Walking past a “vintage” shop on the street today I spotted what seemed to be the contents of my mother’s house in the sixties set out on the pavement, leatherette chairs and settee with a matching black and tan Formica sideboard and “starburst” mirror. I am probably not alone in remembering this layout as most of my friend’s parents had exactly the same set of furniture as customers choices were a little limited back then.

The same could be said of the food on offer, we knew each week what was going to be put on the table in front of us, Friday cod and home-made parsley sauce, Saturday eggs, beans and homemade chips, Sunday roast with bubble and squeak on Monday and a stew with the leftovers on Tuesday, Wednesday usually bangers and mash and Thursday liver and onions. The first time we had a tin of spaghetti with toast still sticks in my memory and thinking back, this was the start of growing awareness of what you could buy in shops.

Polyunsaturated fats do not protect consumers against heart disease

Still everything we ate was made from scratch and supplemented with plenty of home grown vegetables and fruit, we ate butter, cooked eggs and bacon in a frying pan and drank full fat milk, put sugar in our tea and all in all were a fairly healthy and slim bunch of individuals. So it was with interest I read the reports this week regarding the British Heart Foundations research that basically said swapping butter for a sunflower spread does not seem to lower the risk of heart disease.

Not long ago we were all told to limit our egg intake to no more than three per week and hey presto, they are now being advocated as packets of protein and we can safely “go to work on an egg” as the marketing campaign used to say. An apple a day kept the doctor away before the dentists starting to raise concerns about acid on the teeth, chocolate was a no-no before it was found that a chunk of dark chocolate can reduce the chances of having a stroke or heart attack by 20% over 5 years.

A spoonful of sugar helps swallow the bitter facts about health research

At the moment it is sugar that is, if you read the papers and magazines, enemy number one, and with all the dark and dire warnings anyone visiting from outer space would assume we were all busy sprinkling cyanide over our breakfast cereals. How long will it be before research decides that some sugar is quite good for us in the long run?

As with all things in life, everything in moderation is probably the best watchword for consumers, and the more we have to choose from, the more we should remember that fact. I take most research findings with a pinch of salt these days, (the proper stuff and not the Lo- salt I hasten to add) but I did like the findings about chocolate, particularly when the report said that one chunk a day could have the same result as exercising for half an hour.

Let us know your food fact likes and dislikes – we’re listening!

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Parents rekindle discussion on internet access for mobile devices

Protecting your child from accessing inappropriate material over the internet is something that most parents are keen to enforce and with internet filters and parental control screening many consumers feel they have this covered. As did a mother of a teenage boy who, upon getting him a Kindle, followed the instructions given out on the Amazon website and clicked on the Settings menu to switch on the Parental Control and also restricted web browsing, thinking this would screen out unsuitable sites.

Consumer’s expenditure was protected but not their child’s internet access.

 However, sometime later when picking up her sons Kindle, she was understandably horrified to find very graphic images stored on the device from several hard core pornography sites. Talking to a radio consumer programme she described how she had contacted Amazon only to be told that the parental control was only there to prevent children from accessing the registered card on the website. So in effect, the only control being exercised was protecting the consumer’s expenditure.

She told the radio interviewer that on the Amazon website it has said that “simply add a password to the Settings menu to restrict access to web browsing”. Her complaint, which seems to be a justified one is that it should be much more explicit because she thought she was screening out inappropriate sites and content. She is not alone in this as a spokesperson from Childnet explained that parental controls are a help but not a solution because they usually don’t have content filters.

Consumers advised to contact home internet provider

There are steps you can take to protect your children and in the first instance you do need to contact your home internet provider because they can provide a free filter to help with screening out access to internet sites. This can be a bit of a time consuming process but Childnet have made the process simple for parents as they have a video on their website that takes you through step by step showing how to set up controls. This can be accessed on their website www.saferinternet.org.uk/parentsand it is worth spending some time browsing their site and the advice they offer.

Another important point was raised about what your children can access when away from home, so staying with a friend for a sleepover or school trip for example. Childnet recommend that parents need to speak with other families if they have your child over to stay and ask what filters they use for their own offspring. We can never fully be certain of everything our child is accessing via the web, but the message that came across from this radio programme is not to assume the technology will do this for you, and making Childnet a favourite on your browser seems a good starting point.

If you have had the same experience with your child then get in touch and let us know- we’re listening!

www.irateislate.co.uk

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Rating advice from manufacturers of domestic products could be a waste of energy!

 

I think it is fair to say that when in school I was not the most studious of pupils and to this day the closest I have ever come to achieving an A+ was when I purchased an energy efficient fridge freezer. Standing in the corner of the kitchen proudly boasting it’s A+++ rating, I felt quite pleased with myself for having chosen my appliance wisely ensuring I was doing my bit to save energy whilst chilling the Sauvignon Blanc. However, today’s report on consumer programme You and Yours, saying that one in five electrical appliances don't deliver the promised energy rating, left me feeling a little hotter under the collar!

One in five electrical appliances are not so energy efficient

The Energy Saving Trust (EST), who are a public body set up to help consumers use less energy, are launching the “Market Watch” project, with funding from the EU, to investigate 20 household appliances and monitor the manufacturers claims of energy efficiency. Tom Lock from the EST explained that this will allow the trust to be the “eyes and ears for the consumer” over the next 3 years. The EST are going to be subjecting these appliances to a range of testing under laboratory conditions by “normalising the behaviour of consumers.” Considering that the Government recently challenged the EST’s claims of how much energy a household could save, by checking the output of consumers who had insulated walls and lofts and followed the Trust’s advice, and the EST then had to revise down their claim, I hoped, that with this new project the EST would test out the appliances in real life households and not under laboratory conditions

Consumers left unsure as to the reliability of energy rating labels

The Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances said the claim that 1 in 5 appliances were not as energy efficient as stated on the energy labels, came from data used on a study between 2009 and 2011. Their industry had spent millions on investing in energy efficient products and encouraging their members to be compliant and they certainly welcomed continued monitoring, but questioned the age and relevancy of the data used in the 1 in 5 claim. The problem arises, as the presenter of the consumer programme so succinctly put it, in consumers beginning to lose faith in what they have been told by the experts on energy efficiency and in advisory labelling around energy ratings.

 

I carried out a quick normalised behaviour of the consumer at this point and went to put the kettle on for a cup of tea, walking past the washing machine and dishwasher who may now be relegated down to B minus status. This time it should be the manufacturers and those who monitor the labelling of these products who will have to “try harder”. If you have bought an electrical appliance based on its energy rating then let us know – we’re listening!

 

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Food labelling on soya products has consumers going nuts!

Food labelling for many consumers is a matter of life or death, particularly if they or their child is subject to food allergies that can trigger encephalitic shock. Young children who have nut or dairy allergies are at extreme risk so many parents have to take extreme care in the food and drink they offer to them. It can be hard enough to be a parent of a child with a potential life threatening allergy, but trying to ensure that child gets the relevant vitamins and minerals they need to grow up strong and healthy, whilst balancing producing family meals that don’t trigger an allergic reaction can be a nightmare. Up until recently many families have been able to buy Alpro soya milk and yoghurts, enriched with calcium as a safe substitute for dairy products but all this has changed as one consumer on today’s Radio 4 You and Yours programme explained.

Manufacturing of nut based products sharing a space with soya foods

Alpro have now added the labelling “May contain nuts” to their products due to the fact that for commercial reasons they have had to move production of their almond and hazelnut products into the same place that manufactures the soya milk. Consumer forum groups were made aware of this as Alpro wanted to be as transparent as possible about what they were doing. They updated the information on their website to let consumers know that from 2014 these changes would be taking place. They have also put in place high standards of batch checking and cleaning to ensure cross contamination does not take place, but as one mother put it, “ if that is the case why do they need to state the product may contain nuts.”

Due to this change, her daughter’s nursery school will no longer be able to offer this product as an alternative to dairy, a product that she referred to as her “go to staple” replacement for dairy. The mother in question is not prepared to take any risk with her daughters health and also the coffee shops or restaurants she normally takes her family to, who also used the Alpro product, will probably not be willing to do so in the future.

Consumers campaigning for return to status quo

One hopeful sign is that Alpro have met with consumers campaigning against this move, and the reporter on You and Yours did state that Alpro are looking into the production of their Junior Soya Milk at a nut free site. Let’s hope they don’t delay this decision for too long not just for the health and wellbeing of our children but also for their social wellbeing and development. It is bad enough not to be able to eat the same dishes, sweets or puddings as your friends, but when it impacts on where you can go for a meal with your family, or you have to take your own food with you to parties because the “Go to staple” is not going to be available to you, then it does make life difficult. If you or your family are going to be affected by this change then let us know – we’re listening!

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Suggestion of a sugar tax leaves a bitter taste in consumer mouths

Forty years ago I can remember going into the small supermarket that was a mile or so from where we lived, and seeing women fighting to get the last bag of sugar off the shelves. Rows of shelves were emptied within minutes of a delivery and my mother, not normally a hoarder, had got several bags stacked away in her walk in larder. That was back in 1974 when the sugar stock got so low in this country that some food stores such as Fine Fare rationed customers to no more than 4 bags of sugar. At the time, we were not overweight, my mother and her mother cooked their meals from scratch and we all had good sets of teeth, and still have, which are coming in handy as I find myself gritting them together today at the news of a possible taxing on sugar.

Consumers could end up paying more for a sweet treat

The Chief Medical Officer for England has been speaking to a committee of MP’s regarding the problems with obesity and stating that she believes “research will find sugar addictive” and one of her suggestions was to possibly introduce a tax on sugar. At this point my blood start to boil at roughly the same temperature it takes to make a pound and a half of strawberry fudge. Having successfully given up adding sugar to tea many years ago, and being educated to read, I feel that along with many consumers in this country, I can check food labels for sugar content, I am able to cook healthy meals and concoct desserts and sweets without too much risk to my health and well-being and the only thing that will be hurting if there is a tax on sugar, will be my purse strings.

Focus on education and youth and community resources not additional taxation

Sugary drinks consumed in the UK runs to nearly 6,000 million litres and the Department of Health have already got in place what they call a “responsibility deal” that sees food and drink manufacturers voluntarily signing up to a pledge to help tackle obesity. Consumers can make an informed choice with the information found on food labelling and any additional tax burden placed on the poorer families is not going to help. It would be far better for the government to focus its resources on education in schools with actual practical cookery classes or reinvesting in local youth and community groups and sports facilities to help tackle obesity. I spoke recently with a friend whose daughter spent a whole term learning about pizzas in what used to be the home economics or cookery class, but never actually baked one from start to finish which would have been much more useful.
The whole “tax it if it is no good for you” approach is not working and for consumers struggling to pay food bills, this suggestion cannot come at a worse time. If you have any alternative solutions then let us know – we’re listening!

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Virtually a new way to spend money as the Bitcoin comes to town

Having just about come to accept using the Euro and managing to get the hang of online banking, and chip and pin cards, news that the first Bitcoin cash machine was installed in the “Old Shoreditch Station” bar in London caught my technophobic attention. A Bitcoin, apparently, is the most popular of the virtual crypto currencies which are internet based money that have lines of computer code which is supposed to make it more secure to use. At this point I was struggling to understand just how a Bitcoin cash machine was going to work but according to the owner of the bar, it is quite simple. You put your cash in the machine and scan a code or show a picture of a code on your phone, with the Bitcoin cash machine and it then downloads Bitcoins to your phone. Consumers in effect have their wallet in their phone for further transactions including buying a pint or two at the Old Shoreditch Station one would presume.

Consumers have mixed reaction to latest crypto currency

Bitcoin has been praised by its users because in effect it is supposed to be safer and easier for consumers to use over the internet then transferring money for example. It also means not using credit cards, dealing with foreign exchange rates nor any cash handling fees, and is not supposed to be as susceptible to fraud. A Bitcoin is designed so that it can be tracked with the digital signature of every single person who comes into contact with it and uses it to purchase services and goods on line. Each one possesses value and trade just the same as if you had a pocket of gold coins and their value can increase or decrease.

Bitcoin exchange goes offline due to "unusual activity"

However, Bitcoins are not subjected to regulation in the same way that traditional currencies are because unlike currencies managed by bank, Bitcoins are not controlled by any one authority. This has led to concerns that the system can be used for, as one reporter carefully put it, “other less mainstream uses.” This apprehension,alongside the fact that the most popular Bitcoin exchange this week went offline at a cost of millions to some, still has consumers reviewing this monetary currency with some reservations. Supporters of the Bitcoin scheme speak of it as being a “borderless payment” and the way that future monetary exchanges will take place, but for others there are still quite a few details to be ironed out before they will commit themselves.

It will be interesting to see whether the Bitcoin cash machine in London will take off so that eventually they become as commonplace as our current ATM’s across the country, and how the banks will react to this form of currency.

If you are a Bitcoin user get in touch and tell us about your experience – we’re listening!

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