News in January 2006
- 31 Jan 2006 Shoppers snub Dixons and Powerhouse Electrical giants Dixons and Powerhouse are among British shoppers' least favourite stores, a new Which? survey has found.
- 31 Jan 2006 Healthcare change plans Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt unveiled the plans in a White Paper which she said would bring healthcare 'closer to people's homes'.
- 31 Jan 2006 Shopper satisfaction survey Shoppers say Marks & Spencer (M&S;) and Next are Britain's leading clothes stores when it comes to keeping customers happy, a Which? survey reveals.
- 31 Jan 2006 Waitrose tops the shops A Which? survey on customer satisfaction revealed Waitrose to be the top high street chain
- 30 Jan 2006 New TrustMark logo A new government-backed body launches a logo today to help consumers identify decent builders, electricians, plumbers and other tradespeople.
- 30 Jan 2006 Junk food firms exposed Major food manufacturers are coming up with increasingly novel ways to target kids
- 28 Jan 2006 Massive confusion on cashpoint fees Almost half of bank customers are confused about whether they can use the Big Four banks' cashpoints for free.
- 27 Jan 2006 Eating fruit and vegetables cuts stroke risk Eating more than the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables per pay dramatically cuts the risk of suffering a stroke, a new report claims today.
- 26 Jan 2006 OFT stops Swiss 'clairvoyant' The OFT clamped down on a scam by a Swiss 'clairvoyant'
- 26 Jan 2006 Super watchdog planned The government is planning ot create a new super watchdog which will unite many leading consumer bodies
- 26 Jan 2006 Soft drink giants relent Leading fizzy drinks manufacturers have agreed to stop targeting kids
- 25 Jan 2006 Michelin recalls tyres Tyre manufacturer Michelin is recalling 10,000 tyres which may have a dangerous defect.
- 25 Jan 2006 Reverse call ad banned A TV advert for reverse-charge calls featuring pop star Holly Valance has been banned for failing to give call costs
- 25 Jan 2006 GPs to prescribe more statins Millions of patients at risk of heart disease will be offered cholesterol-lowering drugs in a bid to save thousands of lives.
- 25 Jan 2006 Ofcom site helps cut cost of calls from abroad Holidaymakers should consider switching their mobile phone tariff before they leave the UK - or face rip-off charges when calling home.
- 24 Jan 2006 Company threatens customer A midlands company has been fined for threatening a customer who queried an invoice
- 24 Jan 2006 Citizens Advice says banks fail poor people Banks are failing people on low incomes by blocking access to accounts or lumbering them with high charges, according to a damning Citizens Advice report.
- 23 Jan 2006 Asda's budget bridal range
- 20 Jan 2006 OFT slammed The competition watchdog has been slammed by MPs
- 20 Jan 2006 Mobile phone link denied A four year survey has fialed to identify a linki between brain tumours and mobile phones
- 19 Jan 2006 Alfa 159 gets top rating The new Alfa Romeo 159 large family car has been awarded the maximum five stars for occupant safety from Euro NCAP, the crash-test organisation co-founded by Which?.
- 19 Jan 2006 Tesco launches internet phone Supermarket giant Tesco has launched an internet phone service for broadband users which it claims with slash the cost of the average phone bill.
- 19 Jan 2006 A better deal from lawyers As ministers today discuss a radical overhaul of the legal profession, Which? reveals that most clients don't trust lawyers to investigate complaints about their own profession.
- 18 Jan 2006 Cheap petrol website Motorists can now sign up to a website which claims to show the cheapest places to buy petrol.
- 18 Jan 2006 Hospital call charges probe The Department of Health (DoH) has been told to carry out a review into sky-high charges for calling hospital patients.
- 18 Jan 2006 Bill disputes top energy-complaints list Gas and electricity bill disputes are the chief source of consumer complaints about energy companies, figures announced today show.
- 17 Jan 2006 Insecticides leukaemia risk Regularly exposing children to household insecticides may double their risk of developing acute childhood leukaemia, a new French study suggests.
- 17 Jan 2006 Nationwide account pays high interest Nationwide Building Societyhas thrown down the gauntlet to high street banks by announcing a current account that pays 4.25 per cent interest.
- 16 Jan 2006 Cosmetic surgery increase Figures released today show a dramatic increase in the number of people using cosmetic surgery to try to improve their looks.
- 16 Jan 2006 Billing blunder at Carphone Warehouse Carphone Warehousehas admitted to a billing mistake that left customers fuming over 'lost' free minutes.
- 13 Jan 2006 Food shoppers sceptical of marketing Shoppers are sceptical when companies use marketing terms such as 'quality', 'home made' and 'real' to describe food products, according to a new survey.
- 13 Jan 2006 Firm fined for mishandling complaints Guardian Assurancehas been fined GBP 750,000 by the City watchdog for mishandling endowment mortgage complaints.
- 11 Jan 2006 Apple launches faster laptop Computer giant Apple has unveiled a new laptop which it says is four to five times faster than its predecessor.
- 11 Jan 2006 Sky launches movie download service Sky customers can now download and watch hundreds of films and thousands of sports clips on their home computers.
- 11 Jan 2006 Court rules airlines must pay for delays Airlines have been told they can't wriggle out of paying compensation to passengers whose flights are cancelled or delayed.
- 10 Jan 2006 Safety fears over World Cup stadiums Tests on the 12 stadiums hosting this year's World Cup have revealed that four have serious safety problems with fans' escape routes.
- 09 Jan 2006 Cancer Research says obese people 'in denial' More than a quarter of overweight or obese people don't want to lose weight and many are 'in denial' about their size, a survey has found.
- 06 Jan 2006 Equity release schemes cost homeowners dear Older people who try to raise money by releasing the equity on their homes could be plunged into a financial nightmare, according to a new Which? study.
- 05 Jan 2006 Scams have hit five million people Five million people across the UK have been duped into responding to scams, Which? reveals today.
- 04 Jan 2006 Wi-Fi sky to cover nine cities A UK company has announced a major initiative to bring wireless broadband blanket coverage to nine British cities.
- 04 Jan 2006 ASA slams Colgate and GSK for dentist claims Watchdogs have criticised toothpaste adverts for implying that dentists had recommended products for sensitive teeth.
- 04 Jan 2006 AA refuses help to grieving relatives A grieving family has condemned the AA after it refused to move the car of an AA member who had died at the wheel.
- 04 Jan 2006 DVLA launches tax renewal online The DVLA has launched a service which allows motorists to renew their tax discs over the internet.
- 03 Jan 2006 Former Which? Chairman dies Tributes have been paid to former Which? Chairman Phillip Whitehead MEP who died over the weekend.
- 03 Jan 2006 Russia pledges to restore gas supplies The threat to British gas supplies from the spat between Russia and Ukraine seems to be lessening but more price hikes are making it a miserable winter for energy customers anyway.
