History
The National Consumer Council was established by the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007, which merged Postwatch, Energywatch and the Welsh, Scottish and National Consumer Councils as a single organisation under the Consumer Focus brand. The Act gave Consumer Focus the right to investigate any consumer complaint if they are of wider interest, the right to open up information from providers, the power to conduct research and the ability to make an official super-complaint about failing services.
The Government announced in October 2010 that as part of its spending review, Consumer Focus would be abolished, and the Consumer Direct helpline would be taken over by the Citizens Advice Bureau network. The Government announced that some Consumer Focus' functions would transfer to Citizens Advice, Citizens Advice Scotland and the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland following the Public Bodies Act 2011 and any necessary secondary legislation.
Read more about this topic: Consumer Focus
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