Today, the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv) released its Consumer Report 2018 on consumers’ assessment of consumer protection issues. For its study, the vzbv interviewed 1,000 people in Germany about their opinions on various topics related to consumer protection. The report shows that German consumers consider consumer protection important and would appreciate more political attention in this respect.
More key findings of the report are:
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The vast majority of respondents claim that consumer protection contribute to their personal safety and 86 percent would like more political attention to be paid to their problems as consumers.
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While 83 percent of consumers consider politics responsible for consumer protection, only a quarter say that they trust politics to do the right thing.
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Moreover, more than 70 percent of respondents desire more independent information services and easier and less expensive possibilities for redress.
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Consumers consider health and care, telecommunications as well as transport and travel as areas with the greatest need for improvement. Compared to last year, the share of consumers who see their interests sufficiently protected fell by more than five percentage points.
Klaus Müller, CEO of vzbv, noted on this: "For many people, consumer protection means safety in their everyday life. Therefore, it is all the more alarming that respondents' trust in consumer protection policies is very low. In this regard, flight cancellation chaos and the diesel scandal certainly contributed to this feeling of uncertainty. The German federal government cannot let its efforts culminate in insufficient results. People expect solutions to their problems. The government must at last put consumer interests at its core.”
Source: vzbv
More information and report overview