Our watchdogs need more teeth

This week’s Consumer Helpline  Report from the CCPC gives us a great insight into the sorry state of Ireland’s ‘pack’ of watchdogs.

The CCPC is by far our biggest consumer watchdog and does a decent job of informing consumers, investigating issues and lobbying for change within its narrow remit – but as it admits itself, it does not have very many - or very big - teeth.

It’s like a big, cuddly old St Bernard with a little brandy barrel around its neck who can dispense comfort to complainants – but isn’t that great at aggressively tackling all those big hungry wolves lurking in the consumer space.

It refers nearly two thirds of consumers who contact it on to other ‘watchdogs’, which, this being Ireland, have variable levels of watchfulness and aggression.

Most consumers who contact the CCPC (4900) are referred to the small claims court.

This is a great resource where you can take a case with the full force of the law without hiring a lawyer (though you’ll have to do the legwork yourself) for just  €25.

However, it is limited to dealing with disputes over goods worth €2000 or less, which is very restrictive in this day and age.

Next on the list of referrals is the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, which is a respected organisation. But who wants their case over a car issue referred to the body that represents the motor industry?

Third on the list is Comreg, who have upped their game (slightly) in recent years but don’t inspire that much confidence when it comes to aggressively pursuing the many telecommunications fraudsters that plague our messaging and data spaces.

In fourth place was the European Consumer Centre Ireland, which used to be very pro-active but has now been subsumed into the CCPC, with a resultant 38% drop in queries.

That’s not the CCPC’s fault, although I worry whether the loss of the ECCI’s voice as an independent entity will make it less vocal. And the CCPC’s expansive and expanding role is already confusing enough to consumers.

The CCPC gets more queries than any other watchdog – yet it generally can’t intervene directly on behalf of consumers and secure redress on their behalf directly.

Its powers were increased somewhat under The Consumer Rights Act 2022.It can enforce action against traders who don’t comply with consumer law. It pursues cases against shops and motor dealers for things like not displaying prices properly or fiddling with mileage on car odometers. Companies may also be fined by the courts, following enforcement action taken by the CCPC, although these fines tend to be on the low side.

The CCPC is well aware of these shortcomings.“There’s an awful lot of things you can’t buy for €2000,” a spokesman told RTE News. “If you get your boiler changed, if you get some home renovations done or have issues with a car – it’s all likely to come above that and those kind of consumers are excluded from this simple access to justice.”

It didn’t mention the option of going to a ludicrously expensive,  intimidating and time-consuming courts system. But it doesn’t have to. Only the rich, or repeat compensation-seekers, seemingly want to go there.

The CCPC wants the Small Claims Court limits upped dramatically. It also wants more powers and bigger fines to enable it to tackle big companies rather than just offer advice or referrals.

It about time it got them.

Where CCPC complaints were referred: