Making consumer rights easier to understand and navigate.

Consumer rights touch almost every part of everyday life.

The things we buy. The companies we deal with. Our money. Our homes. Our
energy bills. The services we pay for. The contracts we enter into. The
support and funding we may be entitled to.

But when something goes wrong, understanding your rights isn’t always
easy.

Information can be spread across legislation, government departments,
regulators, ombudsman services, local authorities and individual companies.
Even when the answer exists, knowing where to look, who is responsible and
what to do next can be unnecessarily complicated.

Consumer Rights exists to make that easier.

We are an independent consumer information and advocacy organisation helping
people understand their rights, navigate complex systems and find the
information, support and organisations relevant to their situation.

Our purpose is simple:

Make consumer rights easier to understand. Make them easier to navigate. And
help people understand what they can do next.

Why Consumer Rights exists

There is a huge amount of consumer information available in the UK.

The problem is that it isn’t always easy to navigate.

A single consumer issue can involve a company, a regulator, an ombudsman,
legislation and a complaints process — all with different websites,
terminology, rules and responsibilities.

For someone encountering a problem for the first time, even knowing where to
begin can be difficult.

We believe there should be a clearer route.

Consumer-Rights.org brings together practical consumer information and
organises it around the problems people are actually trying to solve.

You shouldn’t need to know which regulator oversees an industry before
you can find out who to contact.

You shouldn’t need to understand the name of a piece of legislation
before you can understand the protection it gives you.

And you shouldn’t need specialist knowledge simply to work out what your
next step should be.

What we do

Consumer-Rights.org is being developed as a comprehensive resource for
consumers across the UK.

We research complicated subjects and turn them into clear, practical
information covering areas such as:

  • Your consumer rights and protections
  • Money and personal finance
  • Energy, utilities and household bills
  • Housing and the home
  • Products and services
  • Complaints and disputes
  • Travel and transport
  • Scams and unfair practices
  • Government and household funding
  • Grants and financial support
  • Regulators and ombudsman services
  • Companies and service providers

The objective isn’t simply to tell you that a right, scheme or
organisation exists.

We want to help you understand what it means for you.

From “What are my rights?” to “What do I do next?”

Most people don’t search for consumer information out of curiosity.

They have a problem they are trying to solve.

A company may have refused a refund. A financial product may not have
performed as expected. An energy bill may be disputed. A service may have been
poorly delivered. Someone may be looking for help with household costs or
trying to establish whether funding is available.

In those situations, knowing the law or the name of a regulator is only the
beginning.

People need practical answers:

  • What are my rights?
  • Does this apply to me?
  • Who should I contact first?
  • How do I make a complaint?
  • What evidence should I keep?
  • When can I escalate the problem?
  • Which regulator or ombudsman deals with this?
  • Is there funding or support available?
  • What happens if the company still doesn’t resolve it?

Our content is designed around answering those questions.

Bringing fragmented information together

The UK’s consumer protection landscape is extensive.

Different industries and issues can involve different legislation, regulators,
ombudsman services, government departments, complaint procedures, funding
programmes and dispute-resolution schemes.

Much of that information already exists.

But it exists in different places.

Our role is to help connect it.

Consumer-Rights.org provides guides, resources and directories designed to
help people move through the consumer landscape without having to understand
its structure before they begin.

Where another organisation is ultimately responsible for helping with an
issue, we aim to make that clear and point consumers in the right direction.

We don’t need to be the final destination for every problem. We want to
make it easier to find the right one.

Information built around trusted sources

Consumer information needs to be accurate.

Our research uses authoritative sources such as legislation, government
departments, regulators, ombudsman services, public bodies and recognised
consumer organisations.

Depending on the subject, this may include information from GOV.UK, Citizens
Advice, the Financial Conduct Authority, Financial Ombudsman Service, Ofgem,
Ofcom, the Competition and Markets Authority and other relevant authorities.

We use these sources to establish the facts and then explain the information
independently in clear, accessible language.

We do not aim to replace government departments, regulators, ombudsman
services or professional legal or financial advice.

Our role is to make the landscape easier to understand and navigate.

Helping consumers find support and funding

Consumer rights aren’t only about complaints.

For many households, knowing what help is available can be just as important.

Government departments, local authorities, energy providers, charities and
other organisations operate a wide range of grants, funding programmes and
support schemes.

Eligibility can vary considerably, and programmes can open, close or change
over time.

We help consumers understand the support that may be available, how schemes
work, who they are intended for and where to find the official information
needed to take the next step.

Rather than focusing on any single programme, our aim is to help consumers
navigate the wider and continually changing landscape of household support and
funding.

Independent. Clear. Practical.

Our approach is based on a few straightforward principles.

  • Make complicated things understandable — Consumer
    rights shouldn’t require a legal or regulatory background to
    understand.
  • Start with the consumer’s problem — We organise
    information around what people are actually trying to find out, rather than
    expecting them to understand how an industry is structured.
  • Use authoritative information — Important factual
    information should be researched using reliable and, wherever possible,
    primary sources.
  • Explain the next step — Good information should leave
    someone knowing more than when they arrived, and with a clearer idea of what
    they can do.
  • Keep improving — Consumer rights, regulations,
    markets, government programmes and available support change. Our resource
    must evolve with them.

Our ambition

Our ambition is to make Consumer-Rights.org one of the UK’s most
comprehensive and useful independent consumer information resources.

A place where someone can start with a question and find a clear route through
the information surrounding it.

A resource that connects consumer rights, complaints, finance, household
support, funding, regulators, companies and practical guidance rather than
treating each as an isolated subject.

And, most importantly, a website built around the person trying to find an
answer.

Consumer rights can be complicated. Finding out where you stand
shouldn’t be.