Policy paper

Our Consumer Agenda for Government

This is our election manifesto, covering the key reforms we believe the next government should bring forward to improve consumer outcomes and boost economic growth
17 min read

Introduction

Every voter at the next election is a consumer. Their spending accounts for 60% of our economy, but too often their everyday problems are overlooked and left unaddressed. Dodgy traders, unscrupulous businesses and broken markets blight the lives of the consumers who use them. 36 million people experienced a problem with a product or service in a single year, with an economic cost of more than £54bn. They spent upwards of 1.5 billion hours trying to resolve these problems, creating stress and worry. It needn’t be this way. With smart and cost-effective interventions, the next government can improve the lives of millions of consumers throughout the United Kingdom.

Effective consumer policy that strengthens the demand side of our economy will have an even wider impact by encouraging economic growth. It will enhance productivity by improving competition and by encouraging people to try new firms, products and services. Consumer policies are also critical to ensure equitable growth where nobody, and no place, is left behind. 

Throughout this document we provide a set of specific policy recommendations under three overarching objectives. We have focused on sectors and areas where our deep expertise and understanding of the policy landscape allow us to propose robust and specific reforms. While not an exhaustive plan, we believe these recommendations are vital to empower all consumers to actively participate in a modern and sustainable economy. 

3 objectives the next government must prioritise to support consumers: 

  1. Raise Living Standards
    The UK faces a living standards challenge over the coming years, and this should be partly addressed by the next government through important, and long needed, demand-side reforms to empower people to participate more effectively in the modern economy. This should include cost-effective reforms to protect big purchases, build a more resilient financial and digital environment and support better retirement options.
  2. Tackle Online Consumer Crime
    The digitalisation of the economy has brought many benefits for consumers but criminals are also taking advantage of technological developments to make online fraud more sophisticated. Fear of online fraud can limit consumer engagement in the digital economy, constraining innovation and growth. However, all too often crimes against consumers, such as fraud and the sale of unsafe products, are not given the same political debate and attention as wider crimes.
  3. Empower Consumers to Make Sustainable Choices
    If the UK is to meet its net zero ambitions and ensure sustainable economic growth, fundamental changes will be needed to the choices made by consumers – and two of the biggest challenges are in reducing the carbon emissions and energy bills for consumers’ homes and in helping consumers switch to electric vehicles.

Busy motorway

With smart and cost-effective interventions, the next government can improve the lives of millions of consumers throughout the United Kingdom

Raise Living Standards

While the ‘cost of living crisis’ may have subsided by 2025, a more profound ‘living standards challenge’ is emerging, fueled by sluggish economic growth. Addressing this requires the UK to adopt more effective protections against consumer rip-offs, initiatives to improve accessibility to essential services such as banking and telecommunications, and reforms to ensure a more secure retirement for our ageing population. 

In testing times, ensuring fair treatment for consumers who are spending their hard-earned cash is crucial. Introducing robust and effectively enforced consumer protections when things go wrong will build trust, empower consumers, and guarantee that they receive fair value. Creating a regulatory regime that enforces these principles is therefore also essential. 

In today’s digital age, affordable access to good-quality broadband and mobile connection is as essential as other utilities. It serves as a gateway to education, employment, and vital services, thereby narrowing the digital divide and promoting a level playing field. Connectivity is just the initial step; ethically sourced data can unlock affordable solutions that enhance consumers’ daily lives, such as personalised energy information or targeted financial services.

However, despite the benefits of transitioning to the digital economy, the next government needs to ensure those who cannot make the change to digital services, such as online banking, are protected. Cash access and physical banking remain a vital thread in the fabric of economic security and inclusion for those excluded from digital payments.

These areas, coupled with cost effective reforms to improve private pensions, will help individuals to effectively participate in the modern economy, fostering economic growth, as well as live with dignity and plan for their future. 

Protect Big Purchases

With many household budgets under strain, consumers want to know they have the right protections in place when buying a big-ticket item, such as a holiday or renovating their home. Yet in some sectors consumers are not adequately protected when things go wrong – leaving them out of pocket and frustrated. This creates distrust between consumers and businesses and can deter spending.

In travel, the regulator supposed to protect consumers has inadequate powers to enforce consumer law. In car sales and home improvements, there is still no single ombudsman to settle disputes when a rogue trader or cowboy builder fails to deliver on the product or service promised. Alongside this, a lack of collective redress rights means UK consumers, unlike in other parts of the world, cannot club together to seek fair and affordable compensation through the courts.

Underlying all of this is the absence of a regulatory environment that supports consumers who are left inadequately protected by under-resourced Trading Standards Services. 

The latest figures show 36 million consumers experienced a problem with a product or service in a single year, with an economic cost of more than £54bn.

Consumers spent upwards of 1.5 billion hours trying to resolve problems, creating stress and worry. 

Busy British city street

The next government should:

  • Undertake a fundamental review of Trading Standards Services and better understand how this local authority function relates to central regulators and fits within a future-proofed consumer enforcement system that delivers for consumers as well as responsible businesses. This needs to ensure an appropriate balance of resources and skills at central, regional and local levels. It must be supported by effective intelligence-sharing and regulatory powers that are fit for purpose.
  • Ensure consumers’ voices are heard in debates about how to support the economy and are represented alongside the ‘Big Five’ business trade associations in the government’s economic advisory groups. This would support a consideration of how we boost consumer confidence following the recent period of high inflation, and how we help raise living standards.
  • Enhance Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes to empower consumers to get their money back when things go wrong. The lack of a mandatory ADR ombudsman in key sectors (aviation, motoring and home improvements) forces consumers to take disputes to court, costing them time and money. Home improvements and green heating is a key area for action with the CMA repeatedly calling for better consumer protections in these markets.
  • Give the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) the powers to fine airlines for transgressions of consumer law and enhance the law on airline insolvency. This would give the CAA similar powers to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), in line with the Department of Transport’s and CAA Independent Review recommendations.
  • Commit to a review on how to introduce collective redress proceedings within UK consumer law. Enabling easier routes to collective redress would help increase consumers’ options when deciding to take action against companies breaching consumer law and act as a deterrent against wider infringements. Collective proceedings bring strength in numbers and give access to justice on a wider scale.

Provide Better Retirement Outcomes for Consumers

Despite the success of auto-enrolment, many people will have a poor living standard in retirement because they are under-saving. While the staging of increases will take years to implement, higher minimum contribution rates cannot be avoided. The next government should set out a timetable for increased minimum pension contributions in order to give consumers a better chance of an adequate retirement. 

In the shorter term, there are three cost-effective actions the next government can take to help boost retirement incomes. These policies will increase consumer transparency and empower savers to take control of their pensions, whilst also safeguarding individuals against excessive fees and charges on their pension products. 

4.1 million people are projected to have a pension income that falls below the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association minimum retirement living standard (£12,800 a year) with 17.7 million people not reaching the moderate standard (£23,300 a year). 

The value of lost pension pots is estimated to be £27bn.

The next government should:

  • Support savers by prioritising the delivery of pension dashboards. Pension dashboards will be vital for helping consumers to keep track of their pensions, but implementation to date has been slow and beset by delays.
  • Bring forward legislation to enable the automatic consolidation of small, deferred pension pots. Automatic enrolment has resulted in people holding numerous small, deferred pension pots and pots reduce value for money because they needlessly create costs for pension schemes.
  • Introduce a charge cap with a clear pricing structure that consumers can understand for any default decumulation services that may be introduced. Alongside this, implement a value-for-money framework and proceed with the primary legislation needed to deliver it at the earliest opportunity. As the pensions industry evolves to offer more decumulation products, better protection for consumers is vital. 

Protect Face-to-Face Banking Services 

Face-to-face banking and access to cash remains crucial for many consumers to retain a decent living standard. They offer financial inclusion for those who struggle with digital literacy, lack access to technology or are unable to pay for a satisfactory online connection. These individuals, often elderly or in low-income communities, rely on bank branches and cash to manage their finances, pay bills, and participate in the economy. Cash still offers control and flexibility, allowing for budgeting, and emergency savings. 

In a world increasingly dominated by digital finance, maintaining access to physical banking facilities and cash ensures everyone can participate in the financial system and enjoy a decent standard of living. 

Over 5,800 branches have closed since 2015 – a rate of around 54 each month and  more than half the total number of branches that were open at the start of 2015. 

Our research shows that 30 parliamentary constituencies, with an estimated population of 2.8 million people, will have no physical bank branches left by the end of this year. 

More than half (52%) of bank customers with disabilities say that bank branch closures have had a negative impact on their ability to access vital banking services.

Closing bank branch

The next government should:

  • Set a target for delivery of a minimum number of shared banking hubs. A modest target would be to deliver at least 200 shared banking hubs in the first two years of a new administration. As bank branch closures are likely to continue in the coming years, any target may need to be revised upwards to keep pace.

Improve Connectivity 

In today’s world, a decent broadband and mobile connection isn’t a luxury, it is key for unlocking opportunity and participation in the economy. It fuels education, opens doors to remote work, connects us to loved ones, and gives access to better products and services. Without it, we risk leaving individuals and communities behind in an increasingly digital world. Ensuring access to strong and affordable connections is key to bridge the digital divide and ensure everyone in the UK has a chance to thrive in the digital age. 

Around half a million premises do not have access to decent broadband via a fixed connection. 

There has been a 140% increase in the UK average download speed since the Universal Service Obligation was conceived (28.9mbps in 2015 v 69.4mbps in 2023). The current minimum download speed requirement is almost seven times slower than the national average. 

The proportion of consumers reporting communications affordability issues has doubled in recent years from 15% in 2021 to 30% in 2023.

The next government should: 

  • Boost rural access to 5G connections across the Shared Rural Network which is currently only targeting 4G coverage. This is despite the current government’s ambition for populated areas to receive 5G by 2030.
  • Increase the current minimum download speed of 10mb/s (set out in the Broadband Universal Service Obligation) which currently fails to meet the requirements of today’s consumers and businesses. This would ensure those with the slowest connections are not held back from participating in the digital economy.
  • Lower the rate of VAT on connectivity (20%) so it is in line with other essential services like energy (5%) and water (0%). It’s wrong that some consumers are priced out of a good quality connection, as access to the internet is an essential service for modern living.

Roll Out Smart Data

Smart data schemes give consumers the power to use their own data in ways that can deliver more personalised and efficient products and services. They bring opportunities for innovative businesses who can supply these. 

Currently, the UK’s only operational Smart Data scheme is Open Banking, enabling consumers to share their banking data with trusted third parties. 

There is an opportunity for the next government to build on this by creating new, interoperable Smart Data schemes. These might, for example, allow consumers to more easily compare insurance policies, mobile coverage, broadband prices, energy tariffs, connect to their smart appliances or speed up the home-buying process. 

The benefits of these schemes can only be realised if data-holding businesses are encouraged, or if necessary compelled, to participate and if consumer protections are embedded in schemes to engender consumer trust and promote take-up. 

By some estimates, the productivity and competition benefits from increased personal data mobility across the economy could increase GDP by £31bn per year.

One in nine consumers are already active users of Open Banking services, helping them make better-informed financial decisions.

The next government should: 

  • Maintain the cross-industry, consumer and small business representation of the Smart Data Council to drive the rollout of smart data schemes that are inclusive for all industries and audiences. Specifically, through this council, they should commit to implementing best practice user experiences so consumers are confident when they give consent for their data to be accessed, whilst building trust and awareness in this emerging technology.

Tackle Online Consumer Crime 

The digital economy has brought enormous benefits to consumers’ lives, transforming the way they interact with products, services, and information. However, digitalisation is also compounding old harms and has the potential to introduce new ones because the regulation and enforcement of digitally-enabled crimes has not kept pace with those perpetrating them.

All too often, crimes against consumers are not given the same attention as other crimes, and this creates among victims a sense of helplessness and a feeling that scams and the mis-selling of products online are not ‘serious’ crimes. A deterioration of consumer confidence online means that people will be unwilling to try new products and services, limiting their economic activity and creating a digital divide. 

The majority of consumer crimes online relate to fraud, which is now the most common crime in the UK. There is a growing consensus that targeted fraud attacks against consumers have far-reaching consequences and are often perpetrated by dangerous organised crime groups - whose enterprises facilitate terrorism, human trafficking and drugs. However, fraud is not typically discussed in the same breath as ‘serious crime’, tending to attract less attention in political debate. 

To make matters worse, the lack of any proper regulation and enforcement to prevent dodgy and unsafe products being sold through marketplaces means that consumers’ safety is regularly put at risk. The next government must take tackling online consumer crime seriously, and introduce wider reforms to our enforcement regime to make sure there are effective, consumer-focused regulators in place. 

Fight Fraud

Scams have exponentially increased in the digital age, as fraudsters leverage online channels and new technologies to launch mass attacks on unsuspecting consumers, causing financial loss and emotional harm. The rapid rise of generative AI will turbocharge online fraud. The next government must be prepared to take on fraudsters and criminal gangs from day one. 

In recent years, Which? has championed and welcomed the introduction of new laws to tackle consumer-related scams such as the Online Safety Act and the creation of a world-leading mandatory authorised push payment fraud reimbursement scheme in financial services.

The current government’s Fraud Strategy is a first step in setting out an overarching plan for protecting consumers. However, this needs to go further through greater cross-sector leadership and actions to plug existing legal gaps in fraud prevention. 

There were £1.6bn in consumer losses reported to Action Fraud in 2023.

It is estimated that over 43m UK adult internet users have encountered scams online.

Our research showed that the annual cost to wellbeing from being scammed online is £7.2bn.

The next government should: 

  • Appoint a dedicated Fraud Minister and make fighting fraud a national priority. This minister must use their authority to work across multiple government departments, and with industry, to lead a clear strategy to stop organised crime online and focus on fraud as a fundamental part of the UK’s wider crime strategy.
  • Create new legal duties to plug the gaps in the digital economy to prevent fraudsters reaching consumers. New duties, equivalent to existing obligations for banks and online platforms, should be placed on telecom providers, online advertising providers and domain registrars to ensure they verify the legitimacy of users.
  • Lead a task force including public and private sectors to share their intelligence on fraud. The task force must focus on breaking down barriers to sharing information on online fraud and delivering data-sharing schemes. Fraud can’t be solved in isolation. Without a government-led scheme to break down barriers to sharing information on fraud, organised crime will continue to flourish.
  • Contribute its own data to the fraud prevention ecosystem. This includes HMRC, ICO and newly fortified Companies House data to help verify that a business is legitimate and businesses must be supported to take better prevention systems. Fraudsters rely on quick, easy, cheap entry to digital channels, and using government held data as part of onboarding verification will disrupt this pathway.
  • Deliver on the recommendations of the Future of Payments Review and establish better consumer protections and dispute resolution across the entire payments landscape. Consumers should be able to use digital payment methods with the confidence that suitable safeguards are in place.

Strengthen Product Safety Rules 

Online marketplaces bring tremendous benefits, opening up access to markets for smaller businesses and giving ease and greater choice for consumers. However, they have also created a gateway for the sale of products which fail UK safety standards. Our safety testing, and those of organisations like Electrical Safety First, are regularly identifying products, often imported from countries with lower standards, which are dangerous to human health and undermine honest retailers who play by the rules. 

Without significant reform we are concerned that this problem will continue to get worse, exposing more people to serious harm. A forward-looking approach to revising product safety laws is overdue, alongside making online marketplaces responsible for the safety of all products sold through their platforms and placing the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) on an independent statutory footing, giving it a clear objective to enhance consumer safety. 

95% of consumers have made a purchase from an online marketplace in the last 2 years. 

Nearly half of people we surveyed (46%) think online marketplaces provide them with the same product safety protections as other retailers.

Between 2021–22, the OPSS tested 2,260 unbranded or unknown branded products sold via online marketplaces identified as potentially risky and found 81% failed to meet safety standards.

The next government should: 

Urgently prioritise legislation to update our product safety laws to prevent consumers paying for unsafe and potentially deadly products - in particular to place a new legal duty on online marketplaces to prevent the sale of unsafe products on their websites.

Empower Consumers to Make Sustainable Choices

 The UK’s ambitious net zero targets will require households to adopt a range of more sustainable technologies over the coming years. The Climate Change Committee has identified that consumers will have to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, move away from fossil fuels for home heating and switch to electric vehicles (EVs). 

Our research has found that people recognise their own important role in the transition to net zero, but feel they need support to be able to play their part. 

The next government must set out clear timelines to help consumers make this transition. It is essential that businesses are given the clarity to be confident to invest in low carbon products and services, so that the transition to sustainable economic growth is as affordable, equitable and easy as possible for consumers. Our priorities in this area for the next government focus on sustainable home heating and insulation and on improving EV charging networks. 

Improve Sustainable Home Heating 

The UK faces a major challenge to reduce its carbon emissions and improve energy security. Installing low-carbon heating systems, such as heat pumps, will dramatically reduce the carbon emissions that come from our homes, and improving insulation will benefit households through lower energy use, greater comfort and lower bills at a time of heightened energy costs.

Households will need support from government and businesses to overcome some of the significant barriers in making this transition to energy-efficient homes and low-carbon heating. This includes help in identifying the right measures for their home, support with high upfront costs and a straightforward process to find qualified and reliable installers. 

In order to reach government targets for home energy efficiency approximately 60% of UK homes (19 million) will need to be upgraded by 2035.

We found one in five people say they had put off renovations due to anxiety about being let down or ‘ripped off’. 

British suburb

The next government should: 

  • Reform Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) to make them a more reliable and useful tool for householders. For many households, and prospective homeowners, EPCs will be the first step in getting information and advice on how to improve energy efficiency.
  • Expand the home heating information service and link it to accredited local and national One Stop Shops so that households have advice and support that is specific to their property and circumstances. This should sit alongside a public engagement campaign to give people the information they need to take on home renovations.
  • Make it easier for consumers to hire a qualified and reliable installer by encouraging consumers to use providers certified by high-quality certification schemes and take steps to announce a deadline by which all installers must be certified. The certification landscape will need reforming as the supply of installers increases alongside the demand for retrofitting. It’s essential that the right certification processes are in place to ensure that work is done to a good quality and people are protected against the small minority of rogue traders and cowboy builders.

Boost Electric Vehicle Charging Networks 

To encourage consumers to switch to electric vehicles (EVs), it is critical that they are confident that they will be able to access the charging infrastructure they need, no matter where they live and travel in the UK. 

Among EV drivers who have tried using public charging, but no longer use it, the main reasons given were that charge points are too expensive, there are not enough charge points and the payment methods aren’t convenient. 

In 2023, two-thirds of electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid vehicle owners reported that they are dissatisfied with the current public charging infrastructure. 

We found the top three barriers preventing people from investing in an EV are cost (63%), availability of public charge points (51%), and the cost of installing a charge point at home (50%).

The next government should: 

  • Deliver on proposals for a Rapid Charging Fund and mandate minimum charge point numbers at specific sites. Alongside this, provide local authorities with the support and responsibility to plan for and provide charge point infrastructure, and ensure there are adequate consumer protections in place, including effective complaint handling and redress when the charging infrastructure lets consumers down.