CONSUMER INFORMATION OVERLOAD - "Warning: too much information can harm". How to ensure information is used where it can make a difference? How to help consumers make choices, while minimizing costs for business? How to make information more clearly accessible? A report on Consumers and information by the National Consumer Council and the Better Regulation Executive in the UK gives some answers to these questions. Below some extracts from the final booklet (Nov 2007) and a link to the UK Government Business department website and the booklet. It mentions the need for national stakeholders (English in this case, but it applies to all other nationals) to get involved in international dialogue with its European peers in order to make a real difference in the area of consumer protection. „In the domain of the publication of regulated information many regulators are currently considering the benefits from publishing data that they hold. The Government has previously accepted the recommendation of the Power of Information Review that it should promote publication of regulatory information. There are some initial signs of encouraging progress. For example the Financial Ombudsman Service is currently assessing the potential to publish data about upheld complaints against firms. …. IMPROVEMENTS ARE NEEDED IN THE STATUTORY INFORMATION PROVIDED ON FINANCIAL ISSUES Our focus group research found that consumer credit agreements seemed to be failing to impart information clearly and effectively, and may be alienating consumers from all backgrounds. Some of this was due to the length of agreements and the complexity of the information communicated by providers but other pieces of statutory information were not considered helpful by consumers. The implementation of the Consumer Credit directive at the EU level in the next few years will regulate the design of requirements but is also an opportunity to revise and improve the statutory information. ….. More broadly in financial services consumers responded positively to the decision tree guidance on the Child Trust Fund despite the low levels of financial capability. A structured approach to presenting different types of financial products offers high potential to guide consumers through the complexities of financial markets. ……… RECOMMENDATION 8 Within the context of the implementation of the consumer credit directive, the Government should work with industry to ensure the statutory information provided with consumer credit products provides clear, effective guidance for consumers. RECOMMENDATION 9 The Financial Services Authority should continue its work with the industry to provide consumers with the information they need about financial products in a form they can use. -------------------------------------- From BERR website: REVIEWING CONSUMER INFORMATION FOLLOWING EXTENSIVE RESEARCH, THE GOVERNMENT HAS COMMITTED TO IMPROVING AND CLARIFYING THE REGULATED INFORMATION CONSUMERS RECEIVE FROM ORGANIZATIONS THEY DEAL WITH EVERY DAY. Regulated information is all around us – from credit agreements to nutritional panels on cereal boxes. The nation’s health and well-being depend on this information being clear, accurate and easily accessible for everyone. It costs businesses about £1.5bn to produce the information every year. But a review by the Better Regulation Executive (BRE) and National Consumer Council (NCC) found that it often doesn’t achieve its goals. This is because the content is too long or complex, and so not easily understood. REVIEW AND REPORT As part of the review, the BRE and NCC ran numerous focus groups and held more than 60 stakeholder interviews in the spring of 2007. They then compiled a report called ‘Warning: too much information can harm’, which detailed several ways to: - ensure information is used where it can make a difference - help consumers make choices, while minimizing costs for business - make information more clearly accessible, with less jargon - improve information in specific areas such as financial products and recycling - test and evaluate information more effectively. Please find below a linkto the report: ADVICE FOR POLICY-MAKERS The BRE and NCC have also published a guide to help policy-makers decide when, where and how to use regulated information. The final report and guide build on the areas for discussion set out in the joint BRE/NCC interim report. The study also resulted in the publication of a report by Vanilla Research. ID: 41310 Author(s): iff Publication date: 01/04/08     URL(s): Link to BERR Warning: too much information can harm. A final report Warning! Regulated information: a guide for policy-makers Consumer information and regulation: report prepared by Vanilla Research

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