News
Knowledge is power - The same is true for consumer policy. Knowledge is also the prerequisite for learning. That is why ConPolicy shares information about relevant news in the world of consumer policy and activities of the institute.
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Older news can be found in this section.
OFT criticizes insufficient competition in the market for extended warranties
Yesterday, the British Office of Fair Trading (OFT) published the results of a market study on extended warranties in the market for electricity goods. The study highlights that despite some improvements in the 1 billion... > read more
British consumers surf faster, but honest advertising is still a challenge
Today the UK communication regulator, Ofcom, published a study which shows that UK consumers are achieving 22 percent faster broadband speeds at home than they were 12 months ago. In November 2011, the average actual UK... > read more
EU Commission proposes new rules for data protection
Today the European Commission proposed a comprehensive reform of the EU’s 1995 data protection rules. The objectives of the proposal are to strengthen online privacy rights and boost Europe’s digital economy. The proposals... > read more
Consumer credit websites underperform consumers - results of an EU-wide investigation
Yesterday, on the 10th of January 2012 the European Commission published the results of an EU-wide investigation of websites offering consumer credit. The key question was whether consumers are receiving the information to which... > read more
Label should better protect Chinese consumers in E-Commerce - kick-off of research project
In November 2011 a study on the status quo of consumer protection in Chinese E-Commerce was published. One of the recommendations of the study was the introduction of an E-Commerce label that could better protect Chinese... > read more
ConPolicy to provide behavioural studies to the European Commission
A consortium which is led by London Economics and which comprises also of Nuffield College (University of Oxford), Ipsos MORI and ConPolicy has entered a framework contract with the European Commission. The objective is to... > read more
German Network Consumer Research constituted
On World Consumer Day the German Federal Minister for Consumer Protection Ilse Aigner announced the creation of a “Network Consumer Research”. Today the Network met for a constitutional meeting in Berlin. The objective of... > read more
Study on consumer protection in E-commerce in China and Germany published
E-Commerce is growing rapidly in China and Germany. A research project, at which ConPolicy participated, investigated how E-Commerce should best be regulated to improve consumer protection. The results of this study are now... > read more
European Commission presents new Consumer Programme 2014-2020
On Wednesday, 9th of November 2011 the European Commission adopted proposals for a new Consumer Programm. The programm will run from 2014 until 2020 with a budget of 197 million Euro. The objective of the programme is to place... > read more
Green Light for a new „Competence Center Consumer Research NRW”
On Wednesday, 9th of November 2011, Science Minister Svenja Schulze and Consumer Minister Johannes Remmel of the German State of North Rhine Westfalia (NRW) signed an agreement with the Consumer Advice Center NRW... > read more
ConPolicy at BVL-Symposium on Challenges in 2012
While there exist largely harmonised European standards for rights supporting the economic protection of consumers, in practice these rights are often breached, both nationally and cross-border. On 7 November 2011 the Federal... > read more
Survey of the innovation project “Privacy portal - Your right to access” is now online
Until October 2012 a privacy portal will be developed that assists consumers in making use of their right to access. Furthermore, tools will be developed that assist companies to systematically and more effectively process... > read more
Financial services and fuel markets fail consumers - says European Commission
On 21st of October the European Commission published the latest results of the Consumer Markets Scoreboard. The Scoreboard ranks the consumer markets, in terms of consumer trust, satisfaction, the ease of comparing offers,... > read more
EU Commission proposes partial prohibition of third-party payments in financial services
Today the EU Commission tabled proposals to revise the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). The proposals aim to make financial markets more efficient, resilient and transparent, and to strengthen the protection of... > read more
Theses on the concept of the enlightened consumer
On 4th of October 2011 the NRW Ministry for Innovation, Science and Research (MIWF), the NRW Ministry for Consumer Protection (MKULNV) and the Consumer Advice Centre NRW hosted a workshop in Dusseldorf. The workshop focused on... > read more
German consumer organisation initiates petition on privacy
The Federation of German Consumer Organisations announced a new petition on privacy today. The petition is directed at the German Parliament. It calls upon the Parliament to change privacy regulation so that consumer products and... > read more
British consumer organisation complaints about high fees when buying money or using credit cards overseas
The British consumer organisation Consumer Focus has issued today a super-complaint to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). In the complaint Consumer Focus criticizes that UK travellers pay too much for foreign currency. The... > read more
Invitation to the online seminar “Digital Public Affairs”
Today press relations officers and spokespersons not only need to know how to communicate with classical media, but also how to address critical stakeholders in the Internet. The online seminar “Digital Public Affairs” gives an... > read more
European and US consumer organizations call for stricter regulation of online behavioural advertising
In a letter to the Chairman of the Article 29 Working Party and to the Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection consumer organisations from the US and Europe who are organized under the umbrella of the Trans-Atlantic... > read more
British financial service providers pay 215 million pounds redress
The British Financial Services Authority (FSA) published the amount of redress that firms paid during the first six months of 2011 to consumers who have complained about the way they were sold payment protection insurance (PPI).... > read more
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