Consumers urged to use comparison sites
Consumers in the UK have been urged by a government service to use comparison sites and search engines to find the best deals available to them.
A spokesperson for Consumer Direct said that such tools enable people to get a good idea of the price of deals, meaning they can make more informed decisions on energy, credit card and insurance deals.
He added that a study the Office of Fair Trading earlier this year claimed consumers could save between £150 million and £240 million by searching for the best deals more effectively.
"We'd advise using different price comparison sites and multiple search engines and to look at not only the price but … at the other elements of the deal," he explained.
"Are there manufacturers' guarantees included? What are the prices for postage and packaging? You need to look at the whole deal rather than just the basic price."
A recent report by the Financial Services Authority urged people get advice on financial issues, after research found that a quarter of financial service firms' websites presented information in a misleading way.
© 2009 Adfero Ltd
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