Burnham vows crackdown on ‘rip-off’ corporate tactics to alleviate cost of living
The PM’s first “everyday fixes” will be to eliminate fraudulent discounts and make it easier to cancel unwanted subscriptions
Andy Burnham: I will stop the rip-offs people loathe
Andy Burnham has pledged a slew of steps to cut the cost of living, including a ban on false discounts and making it simpler to cancel unwanted subscriptions.
The crackdown on “rip-off” company tactics is estimated to save consumers £400m a year and is the first of a series of “everyday fixes” to be rolled out in the coming months.
In a piece for the Guardian, the prime minister said his government would intervene wherever it could as he aimed to make the cost of living the centrepiece of his reign.
“We won’t be able to fix all frustrations overnight,” he wrote. “But where the government can save money for people, remove an unnecessary obstacle or make something work better, we should and we will.”
Crackdown on misleading discounts
The government will restrict misleading pricing methods that businesses employ to make discounts look better than they are, including phoney “was” prices, manufactured reductions and misleading recommended retail prices.
In the autumn ministers will discuss the specific practices to be included and the operation of the ban before laying the measures before Parliament in secondary legislation.
Downing Street expects measures can be put in place as soon as possible and does not envisage a prolonged parliamentary process.
The reforms would avoid merchants bumping up the price of an item before discounting it, creating a false sense of a bigger bargain for shoppers.
Burnham wrote: “If anything is advertized as half cheap, it really should be half price. “When families pick up a bargain, we will ensure they have confidence that they are genuinely saving. “That’s the least they deserve when budgets are so tight.”
Unwanted subscription crackdown
The government is also accelerating additional precautions against subscription traps, bringing their introduction ahead from next spring to January. The laws would compel companies to offer clearer information when consumers join up, notify them about their subscriptions regularly and make it easier for them to quit. Customers will also get a 14-day cooling-off period if a trial ends or a long-term contract renews.
Government estimates show the average person has approximately three subscriptions and spends around £500 a year on them. There are over 155m active subscriptions across the UK, and some £1.6bn a year is spent on undesirable
Ministers said consumers will save an average of £14 a month for every undesirable subscription they are able to abandon early.
“Too many companies want you to enrolll in seconds, but make it impossible to leave. “It is exhausting,” Burnham wrote.
Cost of living and household finances
The test for the prime minister will be whether smaller, consumer-focused policies can deliver savings that people feel while many are still under pressure.
There will be more to come in the coming months as he seeks to demonstrate voters that his government can make a tangible difference to household finances.
Mr Burnham also pledged “bigger plans to make life easier and fairer for people over the longer term” but Downing Street has yet to outline what they would be.
“Big, small, whatever size, if it is a problem for you, it is a problem for us,” Burnham wrote. That’s why I’ve been very clear from day one that creating room to breathe is my number one priority, and the rest of government is very much on board on that.”
“Every unexpected payment, rip-off or hidden catch chips away at hope. That seems dramatic, but it is true. “Every one of them is just another message that this country is built to catch people out and not help them get on.”
Citizens Advice praised the improvements but added they “can’t be the end of the story”.
Burnham’s UK cost of living plans
Burnham is due to spend the rest of his summer touring around Britain in a bid to re-engage the government with people, particularly in places where Labour has lost support, the announcement comes.
“I’ll be asking people what they want to see done about the cost of living,” Burnham wrote. ‘If we truly want to find out what makes life difficult on a daily basis, we need to listen to those who are living it.
It is not clear if what Burnham hears will affect the next batch of “everyday fixes” from Downing Street.