Ed Miliband calls for an end to the 'rip-off consumer culture'Replay the live debate

19 January 2012

Ed Miliband

Labour leader Ed Miliband voices his concerns over 'rip-off consumer culture'

Ed Milband has declared his support for a stronger financial regulator, a key ask of the Watchdog not Lapdog campaign. He joined Which? this morning for a live consumer debate.

On Thursday 19 January, the leader of the opposition, Ed Miliband MP, met a panel of consumers at Which? to discuss what should be done to tackle the 'rip offs' people experience in their daily lives.

Consumer 'rip offs'

If you're interested in the discussions, you can replay the debate:

Earlier this week, Mr Miliband said his argument for a stronger regulator could show 'how [the] government can be on [the] consumer's side'.

Unauthorised overdraft fees

Mr Miliband has identified unauthorised overdraft fees as one of his biggest concerns.

Which? research shows how hard it is to calculate unauthorised overdraft fees under the current charging structures of the main banks.

Watchdog not Lapdog

We launched our Watchdog not Lapdog campaign earlier this week, calling on the government to make the new financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a strong watchdog and not a weak lapdog.

Mr Miliband has backed plans to give the new consumer watchdog the power to intervene and outlaw excessive fees in the finance sector.

'Predatory' sales culture

He said: 'In every area, you have to call time on the surcharge culture. Making a fair profit is important, but it can't be done in an underhand and predatory way.'

Which? has had recent success on the surcharging front with our stop 'rip-off' charges campaign last year. The government agreed to stop excessive surcharges, on the purchasing of goods and services, following our surcharge super complaint. The campaign was aided by the support of over 50,000 consumers.

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