Research and analysis

Consumer protection study 2022

Study of the problems consumers faced with purchases, their impacts on consumers and how successfully they were resolved.

Documents

Consumer protection study 2022: understanding the impacts and resolution of consumer problems

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Consumer protection study: detailed tables of survey results at respondent level

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Consumer protection study: detailed tables of survey results on detriment instances experienced

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Details

This study aimed to understand consumers’ experiences with purchasing items and services, the type and impact of problems they faced in doing so, and how they managed to resolve these problems.

It found that:

  • many purchases do not result in problems
  • most problems are resolved to the satisfaction of consumers
  • most consumers who do face negative consequences experience low-value detriment

But it also found:

  • a small number of problems had a high value detriment which left £54 billion of aggregate consumer detriment unaddressed
  • a handful of product types account for a large portion of unresolved detriment
  • some purchase channels and problem types are associated with a higher prevalence of negative consequences
  • some consumer groups are more likely to experience a problem and as a result face more negative consequences

These findings will be of most interest to:

  • government departments responsible for consumer protection regulation
  • consumer law enforcement bodies
  • consumer advice and advocate organisations
  • relevant academics

Detailed analysis tables

The first set of tables contains data on respondents: these can be used to explore what socio-economic demographics (for example age, gender, ethnicity) are associated with given detriment outcomes and patterns.

The second set of tables cover the detriment instances experienced and show in more detail how they vary by type of product, channel of purchase, type of problem, and more.

Published 20 April 2022