Event of the Ministry for Family, Women, Culture and Integration Rhineland-Palatinate
Invitation to the event: Consumer Protection at Noon – Banks and savings banks on the side of consumers? Do overdraft facilities lead into debt?
As part of the digital event series 'Consumer protection at noon' of the Ministry for Family, Women, Culture and Integration Rhineland-Palatinate with the support of ConPolicy, current consumer policy topics are discussed regularly. In the next event on Friday, July 14, from 12:00 to 13:00, experts will discuss the topic of 'overdraft facilities'.
Rising consumer prices are a burden on many households. More and more people are trying to compensate for this by taking out overdraft facilities and often end up in a debt trap. At the end of June, the consumer protection ministers and senators of the federal states therefore discussed the interest rates on overdraft facilities and the possibilities for improving consumer protection against overindebtedness.
Therefore, the event will discuss the following questions: Is the existing potential for preventing and managing overindebtedness – outside of the insolvency code – already being exploited? And if not, where and how should improvements be made? What is responsible lending? Can credit institutions counteract insolvency with an 'early warning system' or an advisory obligation?
The virtual podium will feature Katharina Binz (Consumer Protection Minister Rhineland-Palatinate) with a keynote speech, Thomas Hirsch (Savings Banks Association Rhineland-Palatinate), Thomas Bieler (ING-DiBa), Ines Moers (Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Schuldnerberatung e.V.) and Josephine Holzhäuser (Verbraucherzentrale Rheinland-Pfalz e.V.). The event will be moderated by ConPolicy managing director Prof. Dr. Christian Thorun.
Brief outline for a process evaluation of the federal project
New ConPolicy project 'Strengthening consumers in the neighborhood'
ConPolicy has been commissioned by the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) to evaluate the methods used in the project 'Verbraucher stärken im Quartier'. The project brings assistance directly to the people in their neighborhoods. The project includes, for example, regular, low-threshold consumer information on various topics as well as personal assistance.
The evaluation of the project by Conpolicy will provide insights into the extent to which the methods and activities used meet the support needs of the target groups. On this basis, conclusions are to be derived for the further development and optimization of future project procedures and follow-up projects in outreach consumer work.
Further information on the project can be found here.
Study for the DIN Consumer Council
New ConPolicy project on digital consumer marketplaces
In recent years, online retail has become increasingly prominent in consumers' everyday lives. In addition to traditional online retailers, online marketplaces, where a large number of retailers offer their products through one platform, are becoming more and more important. For consumers, online marketplaces offer some advantages over conventional e-commerce models, such as the broad selection of different products. At the same time, the rapid spread of marketplaces is accompanied by challenges in the area of consumer protection.
Therefore, the DIN Consumer Council commissioned ConPolicy together with OmniQuest to conduct the research project 'Digital consumer marketplaces – Requirements, problems and barriers in everyday consumer life'. The project aims to identify the requirements, problems, and barriers along the transaction process in B2C online marketplaces.
To successfully implement the project, ConPolicy plans to use a method mix consisting of a literature analysis and a representative online survey. This approach should help to gain a comprehensive understanding of the current challenges and needs of consumers in the context of online marketplaces.
Further information on the project can be found here.
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