Matthew Upton, Acting Executive Director of Policy & Advocacy at Citizens Advice responds to Consumer Bill

Matthew Upton, Acting Executive Director of Policy & Advocacy at Citizens Advice, said:

“We all need new protections in the fast-changing consumer landscape. So it’s encouraging to see regulators given more powers to crack down on the businesses taking consumers for a ride.

“We’re glad to see action on subscriptions traps, after our own research showed people in the UK spent half a billion pounds on auto-renewals without realising.

“These are promising steps but the government has to acknowledge the pressure on consumers' pockets. This has to be the start of reforms, not the end.”

Background:

• Citizens Advice found that people in the UK in 2021 spent half a billion pounds on subscriptions that auto-renewed without them realising, and more than £306 million on unused subscriptions.

Notes to editors

1. Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.
2. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.
3. Citizens Advice helped 2.55 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2021-22. And we had 40.6 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.
4. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 18,500 trained volunteers, working at over 2,500 service outlets across England and Wales.
5. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.