CONSUMING INTEREST
Group Therapy
By LESLIE ADRIAN
Derby and District's Choice has an article on local government in its current issue which records that 'there is no longer the avid en- thusiasm which once accompanied debates in the council chambers and the local elec- tions. . . .' Whatever the reasons (too much party line, too little personal response?), 12,000 individuals now seem to get some sense of satis- faction in joining consumer groups and using them as spearhead units through which to get things done in their locality, instead of waiting for the Victorian procedures of local govern- ment to grind out a decision.
But the dissatisfaction with services spreads beyond those offered in exchange for ratepayers' money. The groups are pressing for better garages and service stations (forty magazines dealt with them last year), laundries and dry cleaners, estate agents, postal and telephone ser- vices, television rental and servicing, fuel supply, banking services, restaurants and fish-and-chip shops.
Which? concentrates on comparative test- ing and virtually ignores services, leaving a gap that the Consumer Council's Focus (2s. 6d.), launched last week, could fill. It did, in fact, tackle packaged holidays and the registration of travel agents, and showed what a muddle there is in the weights and measures legislation. Even when Britain 'goes metric,' a lot will depend 'on the honesty of butchers and greengrocers. And with prices constantly on the increase, it is difficult to see how manufacturers can mark both price and weight on packages with a six- month shelf life, unless they budget for a lag in their response to costs.
Yes, costing one's living nowadays is complex and time-wasting. The local consumer groups can help to sort out some of the mess for their members. I would expect them to receive more and more support in the next few years. They may even put up 'consumer councillors.' Why not? It would make a pleasant change from party blocs.
Advice on starting up a local group can be requested from the National Federation of Con- sumer Groups, 13 Buckingham Street, London, WC2.
A fascinating formula from Focus: the cost components of a 334 r.p.m. LP. Material 8d., cutting and pressing 3s., copyrights and royalties 3s. 4d., selling promotion Is. 6d., sleeve and pack- ing ls. Total 9s. 6d., wholesale price 19s. 41d., tax 4s. 71d., price to you and me 27s. 41d. I would like to see more of these 'break-downs.' Here and there profit margins are ludicrously large. Incidentally, most of the record sleeves I get can't cost anything like ls.—much too flimsy and very little working life.,
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In my 1966 predictions I surprised Birds*Eye by awarding them Batchelor's Surprise Peas, which are not accelerated freeze-dried but air- dried. Birds Eye only freeze, while Batchelor's specialise in all forms of dehydration. Well, I suppose there must be some division of labour in a group like Unilever. I wonder if Lord Cole ever gets as confused as I did.
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