Consumer Affairs

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 11th September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain. It has been a while since you chaired Westminster Hall; it is always a pleasure to see you and I wish you well. I thank the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western) for leading the debate; he is right to highlight all the issues, as well as the examples in relation to his shopping.

I am a diabetic, so I should not be having chocolate, but the odd time that I do, I notice that there are fewer M&M’s in the bag and that a Flake is shorter, smaller and thinner than it was. That probably applies to all the others too, because the price of chocolate and other ingredients has risen. I understand the logic: to keep products at the same price, what is in the bag needs to be restricted.

That is an example of where consumer rights can come into play. Consumer rights are incredibly important, and I have no doubt that we have all had complaints from constituents in some capacity or other involving purchases. It is good to be here to discuss the issue and to make people aware of their rights.

I welcome the Minister to his place and wish him well in all he does. His appointment is a recognition of his ability and interest in the Chamber and outside. He and I share many of the same interests, including human rights and religious persecution. His new role is different from that, but I congratulate him on it.

The hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington referred to flights. I will be getting a flight—hopefully tonight—from London City to Belfast City. It happened to be the cheapest flight, which is the reason why we took it. We usually go from Heathrow. There are occasions when there are only two places left and the price is £640—that happens. Believe it or not, a flight that could be £200, £300 or £400 on one day, could be £640 on another day. We have no choice, because if we do not fly home, we will not get home—the options are very limited.

What about everybody else? One time I made a complaint and asked an urgent question in the Chamber on it. We all turned up for a flight at Belfast City airport, but it had been cancelled three weeks previously. Guess what: it was still showing on the board, we were cleared through security, and we had the boarding passes, but it was a non-existent flight. It was only when we got to the other side that we suddenly found out there was no flight and there had not been a flight for three weeks.

To be fair to British Airways, it reimbursed everyone on that flight. Even though the flight was showing on the board, I found out that it had been cancelled from a disabled guy who was taken through by assistance personnel. When he got through to the far side, he said, “Jim, this flight’s not on, you know.” I said, “What do you mean—it’s on the board?” He said, “No, it was cancelled three weeks ago.” Again, this was a case where consumer rights came into play. To be fair to British Airways, I had a meeting with the chief executive, who recognised the problem and the reason for it. He made sure that every one of the passengers that day was reimbursed or got another flight in lieu.

In Northern Ireland, we have Consumerline, where people can seek advice and report any issues that they have. I have to say that my office and I have a great working relationship with it. We have been in touch regarding faulty goods, scams, service issues and unfair contract matters.

Another notable organisation back home is the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland, which is mainly for issues relating to energy, water, transport or postal services. The list of issues that comes before us as MPs is ginormous. The Consumer Council has also been crucial in providing support for parking fines, which have become an increasingly massive issue in my constituency. Indeed, not a week goes by that we do not have one or perhaps two parking ticket issues—it could be that someone has parked in a disabled section that is not marked, or perhaps there is no sign on the road.

We have to make sure that if a parking ticket is handed out, it is done within the legislation. For instance, when people park at a shopping centre in an area for certain people, or in a private car park, the law is often not clear, and there is an element of greyness. On many such occasions, we have contested parking fines and won, simply because the law is unclear. The ordinary man or woman who finds themselves with a parking ticket probably says, “Oh, I’ll just pay it,” but sometimes, they do not have to. There are occasions when they should make contact with the Consumer Council or Consumerline and check their rights.

I want to highlight a consumer rights issue that I have been dealing with in my office. I was approached by a young couple who had just purchased their first home—they called it their forever home—at the start of 2024. As hon. Members can imagine, they had saved for years—I know them personally—and paid a significant amount for their new build home. They were fortunate, probably, in this day and age to have a good deposit to get them on their way, but to this day, they are still having issues in relation to their snag list. Some 20 months later, minor issues are still unresolved.

Again, the Consumer Council and Consumerline have been very proactive and helpful in trying to sort those matters out. That matters, because after all the avenues have been exhausted, if the issues are still unresolved, the only route to go down is a legal one, which would add more cost for that young couple who just want to enjoy the home that they worked and saved so hard to purchase.

The hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington has previously raised the importance of transparency in pricing, especially online, and he mentioned it today as well. He is absolutely right. For example, with hotel or flight bookings, the add-ons are often left until the very end, and are not transparent. We see these offers of flights to, for example, Cyprus for £59, and then we find that there is an extra cost for baggage. If we want an aisle seat, that is another £20. Before we know it, that £59 has become £159. Those add-ons are an issue for consumer affairs. Those questions are asked in my office every week, as I suspect they are asked in the office of the hon. Member and other hon. Members. Prices are never included in one figure, which can leave the consumer extremely confused.

As I have noticed myself over the last few years, there is no doubt that goods and services are getting much more expensive. The hon. Member mentioned the issue of chocolate as an example; I have found that there are fewer peanuts in the bag. I love nuts, and Brazil nuts in particular, but I have noticed that they are getting smaller—perhaps the crop has not been good, but I suspect that is not the reason. It is because they are chopping them in half and into quarters, and there are fewer of them in the bag than there used to be. I can understand the logic behind it—it is to keep the cost the same, by reducing the amount in the bag—but that is an issue for consumer affairs. Is there somewhere people can go to? They need to have some contact and the ability to speak to support when they have a question to ask.

To conclude, organisations such as the Consumer Council are there for a reason. It is great that they are in place to support consumers, especially when large amounts of money have been paid. It is a bit of an initiation for the Minister today, but I look forward to what he will tell us. I hope that he will commit to ensuring that the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are protected, and that more will be done across these nations collectively so that people get value for money and decent services. It is what they pay for and what they deserve.