Consumer

▶ Consumer

• I have a problem with an item/product/service I have bought, what should I do?

  This will depend on the type of product of service you have purchased. Citizens Advice has a dedicated consumer section on their website which covers many popular products & services. For more information see:  http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/your_world/consumer_e.htm

  For more information from Northumberland Trading Standards, see www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/northumberland/index.htm

  You may also want to visit http://www.fca.org.uk/consumers they regulate financial services firms in the UK, including banks and building societies, mortgage and insurance brokers, and financial advisers.  They also regulate firms offering consumer credit, which include credit card issuers, payday lenders and debt management firms.

  Find out more about:

  • how to complain  
  • details of unauthorised firms to avoid  
  • how to claim mis-sold PPI  
  • your rights with unauthorised payments
  • how to spot and avoid scams  

• Sample Letters

  Citizen's Advice have produced a range of sample letters to help you with your consumer problems.  To view and download the letters please click here.

• Scams

  For information on how to spot a scam, how to report a scam and a whole range of information around scams, why not visit the Citizens Advice Scam Aware page of their website?

  Don’t be rushed, don’t be hushed

  It’s why we all have to be aware. Stay alert enough to question. Keep ourselves informed of the latest techniques the latest scams. Learn our lessons, share them. Take our time: Don’t be rushed.

  To tell our stories when we get scammed: not be hushed by a sense of shame embarrassment or weary acceptance.

  It’s a humiliating, messy business being scammed. But you learn from it. And part of the process involves putting your experience out there loud and clear in the shared awareness of others.

  Find out more about the campaign and how you can get involved by heading to our website. Share your own tips and experiences on Twitter or Audioboom with the hashtag #scamaware.

  You can read and download a leaflet produced by DAWN Advice/Citizens Advice here.

  
  

  Downloads

  • scam_leaflet.pdf

• FACTSHEETS

  A range of printable fact sheets on Consumer Issues is available here