Today, we are supporting the launch of the annual National Consumer Week. Run by the Consumer Protection Partnership (CPP), of which we are a member alongside other consumer protection bodies including Citizens Advice, the Competition and Markets Authority and the Trading Standards Institute, this year the focus is on electrical goods and raising awareness amongst the public of product safety and counterfeit goods.

Citizens Advice research has found that across Great Britain, people have experienced 6.4 million problems with electrical goods they have purchased and almost a quarter of people surveyed said they experienced a problem within the last month.

In addition, almost half those polled had decided not to seek a solution to their faulty product despite the fact that the overwhelming number of those who did seek a solution received some form of refund, repair or replacement.

Just under 5% of all the complaints we receive each year are about ads for electrical goods and that’s why we are proud to support the 2016 National Consumer Week and its aim to increase the public’s understanding of their consumer rights and avenues of redress.

The advertising rules are designed to protect consumers by ensuring advertisers do not mislead by making false claims about the performance of an electrical product or by omitting key information that may affect a consumer’s knowledge or understanding of the terms and conditions of a guarantee or warranty.

National consumer week 2016 switched on hashtagIf you have seen, or heard, an ad which you are concerned about, you can make a complaint to us here.

For further information about National Consumer Week, please visit the Citizens Advice website.


  • Keep up to date

    Sign up to our rulings, newsletters and emargoed access for Press. Subscribe now.