Topics of focus - 2022

Topic: Affordability of communications services and consumer debt 

Ofcom’s affordability policy team provided Hub participants with an overview of its ongoing work to help communications consumers who are struggling to afford their communications services and Hub participants shared insights from their respective sectors.

Key messages from stakeholders across the UK:

1. Available support in the communications sector does not meet the requirements of all consumers who are struggling financially and more should be done to understand where gaps lie and provide additional support/tailor support to individual requirements.
2. Consumer awareness of available support in the communications sector is low and more needs to be done to promote support and reach consumers who are struggling financially.
3. Consumers with additional communications requirements who rely on communications support services face additional costs and/or greater risk of exclusion.
4. Greater collaboration across different sectors and adopting a cohesive, joined-up approach could help to reach more consumers in need of support.
5. All consumers should be able to access a minimum level of digital connectivity without having to give up access to other essential services.

A summary of our discussions and who took part can be found here.

Topic: Digital privacy and staying safe online

Ofcom's Market Research team provided insights from Ofcom’s Making Sense of Media programme, which seeks to help improve the online skills, knowledge and understanding of people living in the UK - and participants discussed the findings and online experiences of the consumers they represent.

Key messages from stakeholders across the UK:

1. Organisations should provide clear, accessible, easy to understand and transparent information on how they handle consumer data.
2. Consumers and citizens need to be digitally upskilled to help them participate online both safely and confidently.
3. Organisations providing digital support to consumers, citizens and micro-businesses should work collaboratively to share learnings and streamline ongoing work across the UK Nations.
4. Industry, regulators and enforcement bodies need to do more to help tackle and protect consumers from online scams.

A summary of our discussions and who took part can be found here.

Topic: Supporting communications consumers with additional support requirements

We shared our qualitative research findings on available support for communications consumers with additional support requirements, before moving onto a wider discussion on how providers could best support consumers throughout the customer journey.

Key messages from stakeholders across the UK:

1. Communications providers should ensure that their policies and practices are inclusive by design so that consumers do not face barriers when seeking support.
2. Consumers who require additional support might not identify as ‘vulnerable’ so communications providers need to proactively identify consumer’s support requirements.
3. Communications providers should adopt a consistent approach to how they identify and record consumer’s additional support requirements.
4. Communications providers should widely promote available support services using accessible communications channels; and clear, consistent language
5. Cross-sector collaboration and shared learnings could help providers to adopt and drive-up best practice.

A summary of our discussions and who took part can be found here. 

Topic: UK consumers, citizens and micro-businesses experiences of the postal sector 

Ofcom's post policy team provided an overview of its policy proposals for the future of postal regulation and participants discussed consumers, citizens and micro-businesses experiences of the postal sector across the UK. The outputs fed into the Panel's response to Ofcom's consultation on the future of postal regulation.

Key messages from stakeholders across the UK:

1. Letters remain important even though the market is in steady decline according to Ofcom’s research.
2. Postal services should be inclusive and accessible, and postal operators should seek to identify and consistently meet consumers’ and citizens’ individual requirements.
3. Postal services remain unaffordable for some consumers, citizens and micro-businesses, particularly those who are financially vulnerable and/or living in rural areas where surcharges are commonplace and consumer choice limited.
4. Quality of service should be improved across the postal sector, and where service levels were persistently poor, regulatory intervention should be available.
5. Postal operators should use complaints intelligence to understand and help prevent common issues facing consumers in the postal sector.

Click here to read a summary of our discussions across the UK and see who took part.