Power to the People!

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2296848.ece
25 February 2007 11:18
Consumers' revolt: Power to the people
Consumer militancy erupts as individuals join forces on the internet
to fight back against the state and big business

Published: 23 February 2007


Banks

A mass revolt has left the high street banks facing thousands of
claims from customers seeking to claw back some of the £4.75bn levied
annually on charges for overdrafts and bounced cheques. More than one
million forms demanding refunds have been downloaded from a number of
consumer websites. The banks are settling out of court, often paying
£1,000 a time.

Utilities

While average gas and electricity bills approached £1,000 last year,
a record 4 million householders have dumped their supplier after an
internet-led consumer campaign. British Gas admitted yesterday it
lost 1.1m customers in just 12 months, and two weeks ago slashed gas
bills by 17 per cent and electricity bills by 11 per cent. Other big
suppliers, Powergen and npower, are expected to follow suit.

Road pricing

Plans for road pricing have faced massive public opposition
spearheaded by an internet campaign. In just three months 1.8 million
people have signed an online petition, linked to a new section of the
Downing Street website, launched by a disgruntled motorist from Telford.

Supermarkets

From Devon to Inverness, planning applications for superstores are
being thwarted by residents' campaigns orchestrated on the internet.
Tesco scrapped a superstore plan in Darlington last year following
opposition and this week residents sank a Tesco plan for a £130m
retail development in Tolworth, Surrey. Friends of the Earth is co-
ordinating the protests across the country.

Air travel

"Green" travellers are boycotting air travel because of climate
change. Campaigners have staged sit-ins at airports while hundreds of
people have signed up to an online pledge set up by a veteran
environmental campaigner. An estimated 3 per cent of people have
stopped flying to help the environment, while 10 per cent are cutting
back on flights.

Packaging

A campaign launched by The Independent urging supermarkets to reduce
excessive packaging has prompted a remarkable response. Supermarkets
have had to defend their practices after thousands of readers emailed
examples of environmentally damaging packaging. The campaign gained
widespread public support - a day of action is planned later this
year - and has been backed in an early day motion in the House of
Commons.

Football tickets

Football fans fed up with paying £50 a time to watch games have
joined forces online to put pressure on clubs to slash prices.
Manchester City fans led a boycott of the club's match at Wigan in
protest at the cost of tickets. Chelsea have announced a freeze on
most ticket prices next year and Bolton promised a 10 per cent cut.

Post Offices

Government proposals to axe 2,500 post offices has prompted an
organised revolt from pensioners and consumer groups across Britain.
The Federation of Subpostmasters and a number of other organisations
have launched online petitions opposing the plan, and a rally was
staged in London on Tuesday to increase the pressure on the
Government to save the post offices from closure.