PSA publishes research on consumer experiences of and expectations for refunds

The PSA has published research from market research agency Futuresight. The research looked at attitudes and experiences of refunds for phone-paid services and was conducted using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods. 

The key findings were: 

• The main reason for consumers seeking a refund for a phone-paid service is because charges were unexpected.
• For non-phone-paid services, consumers are more likely to seek a refund because they were unhappy with the product or service.
• Generally, consumers were more confident of receiving a refund from a company they had knowingly engaged with, rather than one from whom they had received unexpected charges.
• Consumers would like choice. Consumers of phone-paid services would either like to choose freely how they are refunded or be refunded in the same way that they were charged.

We will be convening a workshop with industry stakeholders to discuss improvements to refunds provision in the market. Details will follow in the near future.