Consumer Council Shows You How To ‘weather The Winter’
Wednesday 7 December 2011
What to do and who to call if snow affects your flight, there’s a sudden power cut, or your pipes freeze or burst, are just three of the topics covered in the Consumer Council’s new ‘Weather the Winter’ leaflet, which launches the Council’s Winter Campaign today (7 December).
The wallet-sized resource also includes your rights when shopping online, as well as tips for saving money on your Christmas shopping, oil, electricity and gas bills. Free copies are available to download at www.consumercouncil.org.uk or by calling 0800 121 6022.
Antoinette McKeown, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council said: “Last winter was one of the coldest on record, resulting in disrupted water supplies for thousands, and affecting people’s travel plans at one of the busiest times in the year. This year, we are advising consumers to be as prepared as possible and our handy leaflet provides tips as well as telephone numbers and website addresses to get information quickly and easily, should bad weather cause problems. We advise all consumers to keep a copy of our Weather the Winter leaflet in their wallets, near their telephone and home computer; they could even download it from our website and save it to their desktop. Consumers who are online can also get valuable information from www.nidirect.gov.uk/winter.
Explaining the additional benefits of the Weather the Winter leaflet, Antoinette continued: “Christmas can be an expensive time of year with the cost of Christmas presents, heating and food bills. Our leaflet offers consumers tips on how to budget for the Christmas period, how to shop safely online and what your rights are should you need to return an unwanted Christmas present. Consumers can also make sure they’re getting the best price for their home heating oil in their area by using our oil price checker at www.consumercouncil.org.uk and can check if they could save money by switching electricity or gas supplier with our online comparison tool. The Consumer Council wants to help keep as much money in people’s pockets as possible so they can have a very happy Christmas.”
ENDS
- Consumer Council media contact: Irene Overend, telephone, 028 9067 4816 or 07825147496 or e-mail, ioverend@consumercouncil.org.uk
· For detailed information on your rights as an air passenger please download our ‘Plane Facts’ guide, free from www.consumercouncil.org.ukor telephone 0800 121 6022 to obtain a copy by post. People with a disability or mobility issues can also get a free copy of our Access to Air Travel guide.
· For detailed information on ferry travel, please download ‘Plain Sailing’ free from www.consumercouncil.org.ukor telephone 0800 121 6022 to obtain a copy by post.
- The Consumer Council is an independent consumer organisation, working to bring about change to benefit Northern Ireland’s consumers. The Council campaigns for high standards of service and protection and a fair deal for all. It also carries out research, gives advice and publishes reports and other publications. It deals with individual complaints about buses, trains, planes, ferries, natural gas, electricity, coal and water.
- For more information, visit our website at www.consumercouncil.org.uk
