Consumers ‘slow to shop around’ in key sectors

Irish people are slow to check if they can save money by switching providers for regular household expenses like gas, electricity and mobile phone provider.

This is despite the fact that one in three consumers had cause to complain about a service or return an item — up 10% in the past six months to 33%.

According to the latest research on consumer behaviour carried out by the National Consumer Agency (NCA), there continues to be reluctance to check for best value in key sectors, with just 37% of people switching at least one product or service in the past year.