Tag: which
Virgin Media and O2 face choice between mid-contract price rises or large exit fees, claims Which?
Virgin Media and O2 customers face being trapped this April as they are presented with a choice between huge mid-contract broadband and mobile price rises or crippling exit fees, according to Which?'s research. Virgin Media and O2 are expected to go ahead with price increases of 8.8% this April – the latest RPI figure of…
Brands failing to tell customers when smart appliance support will end
Hive has switched off support for many of its security cameras making them obsolete, just a few years after launch Big brands behind expensive smart appliances, including washing machines, dishwashers, TVs and security cameras are keeping customers in the dark about how long it will be before they abandon products by…
Which? urges telecoms firms to scrap mid-contract broadband price hikes
Which? is calling on telecoms firms to halt any plans to press ahead with ‘unconscionable’ broadband and mobile price hikes in April, even after the industry regulator found the practice harms consumers and set out proposals to ban it. Ofcom recently proposed a ban on the practice of inflation-linked mid-contract price rises, saying that they…
Which? warns against buying ‘cheap’ appliances that rack up huge energy bills
Kettles, like this one from Cookworks, are very cheap to buy but very expensive to run, Which? research has found Some ‘cheap’ freezers, ovens and washing machines that cost under £500 could be pricier in the long run by adding hundreds of pounds to your energy bills over a year, Which?…
ChatGPT and Bard risk ‘new wave of scams’, Which? warns
ChatGPT and Bard lack effective defences to prevent fraudsters from unleashing a new wave of convincing scams by exploiting their AI tools, a Which? investigation has found. A key way for consumers to identify scam emails and texts is that they are often in badly-written English, but the consumer watchdog's latest research found it could…
UK’s Online Safety Bill finally becomes law
The Online Safety Act has today (Thursday 26 October) received Royal Assent, placing increased legal duties on social media platforms. The new laws take a zero-tolerance approach to protecting children from online harm, claims the UK Government, while empowering adults with more choices over what their children can see online. The Act places legal responsibility…
One in 10 Amazon customers offered ‘bribes’ for positive reviews, Which? finds
One in 10 Amazon shoppers could have been offered an incentive in exchange for a five-star review of one of its products in the last year, according to Which? research. The consumer association is concerned that unscrupulous sellers are cheating their way to the top of the Amazon rankings by bombarding customers with Amazon gift…
Rishi Sunak confirms Government U-Turn on petrol/diesel ban
Rishi Sunak has announced that the UK's green policies are being watered down with the ban on new petrol and diesel cars being pushed back from 2030 to 2035. The Prime Minister confirmed the move in a speech from Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon. Mr Sunak insisted he was acting to avoid a public “backlash”…
Which? warns of security cameras sending data to TikTok
Smart home device owners are being asked to provide swathes of data to manufacturers, which could compromise their privacy and potentially result in them handing their personal information to social media and marketing firms, Which? research has found. The consumer association found companies appear to hoover up far more data than is needed for the…
Which? demands Ofcom investigates Virgin Media contracts
Which? has asked Ofcom to urgently investigate concerns that Virgin Media could potentially be breaking the law by giving itself sweeping powers to hike customer broadband bills. The consumer association believes Virgin Media’s terms for customers are an attempt by the firm to “have its cake and eat it” by applying aggressive inflation-linked annual mid-contract…
