‘Consumer complacency costing economy €840m annually’

The chair of the Government's new National Consumer Agency has claimed that consumer complacency is costing the economy hundreds of millions of euros every year.

In an interview published this morning, Anne Fitzgerald said research had uncovered a huge lack of awareness among consumers about their rights and entitlements.

She said consumers demanding better services forced companies to become more innovative and cost-efficient.

However, consumer passiveness in Ireland was preventing this from happening and was costing the economy €840m annually by allowing a continuation of sub-standard services.

Ms Fitzgerald criticised successive Governments for failing to act on behalf of consumers, saying the power of vested interests in preventing people from getting a fair deal was "frightening".