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THE NATIONAL CONSUMER Agency secured two convictions last year and also took enforcement actions on companies like Ryanair, Aer Lingus and Greyhound.
The cases were detailed in the NCA’s annual report for 2013 published today and outlined that 115 actions were taken last year for breaches in consumer law.
Both Ryanair and Aer Lingus were investigated for failing to provide an email address on their website and were issued with a notice of compliance. Although both airlines appealed the notice to the district court they withdrew their appeals and added the addresses as requested.
Chief executive Karen O’Leary says that people seeking help for the purchase of goods and services online is one of the main trends they have observed in recent times:
The number of consumers contacting us on e-commerce or distance selling issues is also increasing as more and more people buy online. Our enforcement actions against Aer Lingus and Ryanair for failing to provide an email contact address for consumers is an example of our enforcement work in this increasingly important channel.
The two convictions pursued by the NCA in 2013 both related to cases of ‘car clocking’ where the mileage of a car is altered illegally. A car trader from Kanturk in Co. Cork and a second based in Tallaght in Dublin were convicted of the offence with both ordered to pay compensation to the consumer.
In another case, the agency reviewed the contracts being used by waste operators and ordered that they be changed as they were considered to be unfair.
The changes were secured following reviews of waste operators Greyhound (in December 2012), City Bin, Panda Waste, Greenstar, Advanced Environmental Solutions, Country Clean Recycling and Oxigen.
In the report the agency also pointed to its dealings with consumers over the the sale of pre-ordered Xbox One consoles at Xtra-Vision last year in which consumers complained that they were being asked to buy a game along with the console.
Consumer contact
In total there were more than 56,000 contacts from consumers to the agency last year with the sale of second hand cars the most complained about issue. The sale of mobile phone handsets was in second in terms of the most inquired about transactions.
The top ten companies prompting consumer contacts during 2013 were Vodafone, Bank of Ireland, Three, Eircom, AIB, Meteor, Greyhound, O2, Ulster Bank with Harvey Norman and UPC both tied in tenth place.
The NCA, which is to be merged with the Competition Authority this year, handled an average of 160 contacts a day from consumers last year and had a total of 1.15 million visits to its website.
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton says the merging of the two agencies will bring benefits for consumers:
This is an important year for the National Consumer Agency. Following the passage of the Competition and Consumer Protection Bill through the Oireachtas recently, the Agency will be amalgamating with the Competition Authority to create a new, more powerful consumer watchdog with a range of consumer and criminal powers at its disposal.
“As the results published today show, the agency which will form a crucial part of the new Consumer and Competition Protection Commission continues to perform strongly in advocating on behalf of consumers,” he added.
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Foster could’ve helped the situation by not allowing people on to the island from Britain. The woman’s insufferable
@Pól Ó’hAodha: The head on her.
@Vonvonic: very sad that this inane comment would get 70 likes.
@Vonvonic: If she looked at a litre of milk, it would turn sour!
@Ann Basquille Smith: I’m.not sure I’d you’re acquainted with the expression but it had more to.do.with her attitude than her looks.
@Vonvonic: *sure if you’re…
Were Arlene et al of a mind to share the passenger information of those who landed in Belfast Airport and off the ferry in Larne? Not to mention the amount of her fellow country men and women travelling into the “free state” to work when our numbers were low and they were riddled? She’s a pox bottle!
@Barry Evans: You lost me at “pox”.
@Fachtna Roe: didn’t realise my statement was that hard to follow…….
I would assume there’s a GDPR issue considering the north’s is in the UK and not an EU state any longer. Sharing peoples location and movements would breach Eu privacy laws. If only they could join some type of contenental collective union so we could work together and share information without problems like this.
@Colm Walsh: Perhaps they could even reunite with the rest of the country. Arlene has done more for Irish reunification in the past few years than anyone.
@Colm Walsh: Can you kindly keep your sensible logic away from the Journal’s sensationalist posts. We’re trying to foment anger and surface level opinions here, not to educate people on simple reasoning and looking for contextual information. Sincerely, Brendan.
@Seán Óg: oh Sean Og shes gonna love your comment. She could blow a head gasket
@Colm Walsh: precisely.
@Colm Walsh: Personal data used by GCHQ for surveillance purposes. No way!!
FFG would want to get there house in order,we are handed a perfect opportunity to hand an olive branch out to Northern Ireland with both brexit and Covid has thrown the dust up.our Taoiseach waffling on about maybe in 5 years time to ask the question about a border pole,until then he don’t want to know,our tanaiste blaming Sinn Fein on everything instead of showing a strong hand with them with Northern Ireland.baffling
@reginald: FG and FF don’t want a border poll. In 5 years time they will say “in 5 years time” ad infinitum.
@reginald: I don’t think a lot of our present government, but to fair to them, they tried to get Northern Ireland to take an all ireland approach to covid 19 at the very start and to try work with the Republic to do the same as New Zealand did and secure the borders entire island of Ireland.
But his was dismissed by Arlene and her cronies, stating that they as part of the UK, would take a UK stance on the matter.
Brexit was helped into reality by Arlene and the DUP playing politics, instead of being concerned with the outcome of Brexit for all the people of Northern Ireland.
And now when they have left the EU and realised their glorious sovereignty as an independent United kingdom, now they want to complain about a lack of cooperation on the Island of Ireland???
Now that’s ironic!
@Seán Óg: Seems to be a misconception by many that a border poll would go the way of a United Ireland when in fact polls don’t indicate that at present. There’s a risk of “jumping the gun” and being colonial about the whole thing. If the aim is just to annex NI against their will, that wouldn’t make Ireland a whole lot better than the English..
The “long game” being played, of aligning NI economically more with Europe instead of Britain, changing supply chains, soft power with things like Erasmus and EU passports, letting NI people realize that the DUP/Westminster aren’t doing much good – these are wise and correct ways to go about UI. The best way is to have a *clear* majority there who conclude that they will be better off in an inclusive Ireland whichever nationality they identify as.
@Seán Óg: Correct – “The time is not right” in 2121, they will still be saying the time is not right. Unionists will call for talks around a border poll before FF and FG.
A bit of a spat now would be very timely indeed. Button it Arlene ffs.
@Vonvonic: Just a smokescreen to hide from the fact that the supermarket shelves in the north are empty due to DUP incompetence and a belief that Boris had their best interests at heart. Should have taken Mrs May’s deal instead of stabbing her in the back.
@Seán Óg: Indeed. The sweetest deal of all was the one offered to Cameron not to have the referendum in the first place. Dominos.
This works 2 ways and you allowed flights into Belfast & Derry and the ferry into Larne it was ye who allowed most people into the island so were is your paper work on all those you allowed in when the South had stopped UK travel. Majority of these passengers and you knew full well came to the South and you didn’t blink an eye about this.
I seen the photo then misread the headline as “Leaders in North Korea..”
@Humphrey De Fluff: well kim has better hair than arlene for a start…
@Paddy Kennedy: lol very good
GDPR rules.
I don’t think it would be appropriate to share that type of information with a foreign power, and non EU member.
@John Mulligan: Absolutely correct. Personal data which would be used by GCHQ for surveillance purposes.
This gave me a good laugh . They have a worse problem than us and thousands cross the border daily and weekly to work in the south.
Fair play to Arlene
@Rorymcrory: Why?
@Setanta Stylfox: She’s done yards more for Irish unity than any other party
Apparently she’s a lovely bloke.
Oh F off Robbie Coltrane
Why would we share personal data with the UK which would then be used by GCHQ for surveillance purposes. Another example of the NoI’s disconnect with the real world. Then again GCHQ probably have the data anyway through hacking the Republic’s systems without our knowing it.
They couldn’t agree on what cereal to have for breakfast up there.
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