The Department cannot provide advice on individual consumer or competition problems or complaints, or interpret legislation in individual cases.

Individual consumer complaints are best directed to the Office of Fair Trading,  your local Trading Standards Department or Citizens Advice Bureaux.

Our Fact Sheets, and Consumer Direct can help consumers find the appropriate body to deal with their problem.

Consumer Direct is an advice and information service, supported by the Department of Trade and Industry. It provides consumers with clear, practical advice to help sort out problems and disagreements with suppliers of goods or services.

The telephone service currently operates in East of England, London, Scotland, South East England, South West England, Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber. National rollout is expected to be complete in 2006.

The Consumer Direct website offers advice and information on a range of topics, and allows consumers to submit complaints and feedback online: www.consumerdirect.gov.uk.

The Consumer Direct Project Information Site provides background information and updates on the continuing development of the service: www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/project.

This booklet gives the background to the Consumer Direct project and provides further information.
 

Consumer Direct - An Introduction (12 pages).

DTI recognises that empowering consumers through education, advice and information needs to be provided at all life stages. This will give both the young and older consumers the practical life skills needed for everyday living.

By providing people with the knowledge, tools and confidence to be able to resolve matters for themselves:

•  good businesses will be encouraged to improve

•  rip-off and scam merchants, who prey on the vulnerable, thwarted and discouraged.

Empowered and confident consumers will know how to avoid scams and traders who break the law, and be better equipped to seek out reputable traders who will give them a fair deal. 

Since 2002 an element of consumer education – rights and responsibilities - has been included in the national curriculum, for England, as part of the framework for Citizenship at key stage 4. 

Elements of consumer education are also included in other stages of the Citizenship curriculum. So future generations will be leaving school better equipped to resolve their consumer problems. For more details see www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/ks4citizenship/cit09/?view=get. 

For details on how “personal finance” is delivered under the national curriculum, see under Personal Social and Health education http://www.nc.uk.net/webdav/servlet/XRM?Page/@id=6004&Subject/@id=4212

The national curricula for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all different.

The curriculum for Scotland may be viewed on: www.ltscotland.org.uk/;

for Wales, http://www.accac.org.uk 

and for Northern Ireland on www.ccea.org.uk/.

Modernisation Fund 2003/4

Progress continues on 2003’s three successful consumer education projects supported by the DTI’s Modernisation Fund:

Warwickshire Trading Standards and partners, Virtual High Street project which will deliver lessons to Key Stage 4 students on their consumer rights and responsibilities, over an inter-active website.

North of England Trading Standards Group, Doorstep Selling and Crime initiative to train local authority staff and volunteer organisations to educate older people on their rights and how to avoid the pitfalls of doorstep selling. See www.doorstoppers.info

Cambridgeshire Trading Standards, and partners development of the third, Community, section of the “Ask Cedric” website (www.askcedric.org.uk)  to signpost further consumer education resources for formal and informal educators, and for adult consumers. The Schools and Business sections of this three-pronged website have already been developed with DTI support.

Websites aimed at teachers and young people include:

Personal Finance and Education Group (pfeg): www.pfeg.org

Welsh Consumer Council: www.consumereducation.org.uk

Contacts

 

DTI Enquiry Unit dti.enquiries@dti.gsi.gov.uk

020 7215 5000