27 January 2010: National Consumer Agency market research relating to Irish consumers' sense of empowerment, and their experience in the area of complaints.

1. National Consumer Agency Consumer Empowerment and Complaints Market Research Findings January 20 10 Research Conducted by

3. Profile of Sample – I (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) Male Female % % % % 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ Married Living as Married Single Wid/Div/ Sep ABC1 C2DE F50+/ F50- MAIN GROCERY SHOPPER Yes No

4. Profile of Sample – II – Main Grocery Shoppers (Base: All Mainly Responsible for Grocery Shopping in Home – 525) Male (47) Female (53) % % % % 15-24 (21) 25-34 (23) 35-44 (18) 45-54 (19) 55+ (19) Married (44) Living as Married (10) Single (35) Wid/Div/ Sep (11) ABC1 (40) C2DE (52) ( ) = Total Sample F50+/ F50- (8)

5. Profile of Sample – III – Internet Use (Base: All Respondents – 1,000) USE INTERNET No Yes EVER PURCHASED ONLINE No Yes BANKING ONLINE No Yes (Base: All Internet Users - 702) (Base: All Internet Users - 702) () = figures from Wave 3 2009 (May /June 2009) (65%) (35%) (49%) (51%) (29%) (71%) % Yes % Yes % Yes Male Female 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ Male Female 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ Male Female 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+

6. Section 1: Consumer Empowerment

7. Confidence About Rights as a Consumer 17 14 19 12 14 57 60 56 58 52 12 11 13 13 13 12 8 12 15 4 3 4 6 6 10 Wave 4 '09 Wave 3 '09 Wave 2 '08 Wave 1 '08 Nov/Dec '07 (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) % Very confident Fairly confident Neither/Nor Not very confident Not at all confident 21% % 18% 70% 66% % 75% 12% % 14% 74% % 15% 74%

8. Knowledge About Consumer Rights 13 13 16 10 13 54 55 53 52 46 13 12 16 14 15 15 11 16 19 5 5 4 8 7 15 Wave 4 '09 Wave 3 '09 Wave 2 '08 Wave 1 '08 Nov/Dec '07 (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) Very knowledgeable Fairly knowledgeable Neither/Nor Not very knowledgeable Not at all knowledgeable % 26% % 24% 62% 59% % 69% 15% % 20% 67% % 20% 68%

9. Protected Regarding Consumer Rights (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) Very protected Fairly protected Neither/Nor Not very protected Not at all protected 12 10 15 9 10 53 55 55 51 51 21 19 20 23 23 13 8 14 12 3 3 2 4 4 11 Wave 4 '09 Wave 3 '09 Wave 2 '08 Wave 1 '08 Nov/Dec '07 % 16% % 18% 60% 61% % 70% 10% % 14% 65% % 16% 65%

10. Summary: Empowerment Levels (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) = Significantly lower than total sample = Significantly higher than total sample Confident 74 % Not Confident 14 % Knowledgeable 67 % Not Knowledgeable 20 % Protected 65 % Not Protected 14 % Male 69% 16% 65% 20% 63% 14% Female 77% 14% 69% 20% 68% 14% 15-24 62% 19% 57% 26% 60% 14% 25-34 74% 14% 69% 20% 64% 16% 35-44 79% 11% 75% 11% 74% 8% 45-54 79% 14% 73% 18% 67% 15% 55+ 73% 15% 63% 23% 63% 16% ABC1 83% 9% 75% 13% 73% 10% C2DE 67% 19% 61% 25% 59% 17% Responsible for main shop 79% 13% 71% 19% 67% 14% Not responsible for main shop 67% 17% 63% 21% 64% 13%

11. Section 2: Making Complaints

12. Propensity To Complain No Yes As a consumer would you be prepared to complain if a problem had occurred or you are dissatisfied with a good or service you have purchased? (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) (24%) (76 %) ( ) = Wave 3 2009

13. (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) % With Reason to Complain or Return Ever PRIMARY SECONDARY 17 13 15 9 7 8 10 6 6 6 5 7 4 (-5%) Wave 4 2009 Wave 3 2009 Wave 2 2008 Wave 1 2008 Goods & Services Bought with Reason to Complain or Return an Item – Primary & Secondary Supermarkets and newsagents Shops selling clothing or footwear Restaurants take-away’s or hotels Communications services including home phone TV Service Providers e.g. Sky, NTL Building and related services e.g. plumbers Shops selling furniture or household appliances Banking products and services, including a current A/C Pubs Airlines Car dealers Insurance products and services Energy suppliers e.g. ESB, Bord Gais

14. Goods & Services Bought with Reason to Complain or Return an Item – Tertiary ( Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) % With Reason to Complain or Return Ever 6 4 3 3 5 5 4 4 3 Wave 4 2009 Wave 3 2009 Wave 2 2008 Wave 1 2008 Tertiary Public transport – buses and trains Pharmacies, doctors, hospitals and other medicals Travel agents Education providers e.g. schools and colleges Personal care e.g. hairdressers, cosmetics Local authority bin services Entertainment at home e.g. DVDs, CDs, games Petrol stations Entertainment outside home e.g. cinema

15. Whether Complaint Made When had Reason to Do So No Yes No Yes (60%) (40%) (31%) (69%) (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000 ) (Base: All those who had cause or reason to complain in past 12 months - 356) ( ) = Wave 3 2009 Whether Made Complaint Benchmark 2007 79% Yes Wave 1 2008 70% Yes Wave 2 2008 75% Yes Reason to Complain

16. Reasons for Complaint (Base: All those who made a complaint in past 12 months - 267) Wave 1 2008 Wave 2 2008 Benchmark 2007 Wave 3 2009 Wave 4 2009 Faulty product/service Product/service didn’t do what it said it would do Wrong size/colour/specification Product/service did not confer benefits described to me by salesperson Changed mind/wanted to return the item Unwanted gift Other

17. Assessment of the Complaints Process (Base: All who made a complaint – 267) % Very easy Somewhat easy Neither/Nor Somewhat difficult Very difficult 69% 23% % (Base: All who experienced difficulty – 62) Wave 4 2009 Wave 3 2009 (28) (33) (10) (17) (12) Unhelpful staff Refusal of retailer to refund my money The retailer/provider never got back to me Difficulty contacting trader Had to put complaint in writing I was unsure of my consumer rights Offered a repair when wanted a replacement Refusal of retailer to accept returned item Other # All others 6% or less Level of Difficulty Experienced Difficulty Experienced

18. Helping to Offer Better Customer Service (Base: All aged 15-74 – 1,000) % New question, multiple answers allowed Staff trained in customer service and complaints handling A publicly displayed complaint handling procedure A named point of contact for complaints Informed of the returns policy at point of purchase by sales assistant A publicly displayed returns policy

19. Reasons for Not Complaining (Base: All those who had reason to make a complaint but didn’t in past 12 months - 88) Benchmark 2007 Wave 1 2008 Wave 2 2008 Wave 3 2009 ** ** ** (+8%) (-27%) Wave 4 2009 (+5%) (+22%) – – – – I did not want the hassle of having to make a complaint I didn’t see the point of complaining I didn’t have time to make a complaint I did not want to get anyone in trouble by making a complaint I was afraid to make a complaint I was unsure of my consumer rights Difficulty contacting trader Other Had to put the complaint in writing

20. Resolution Status of Problem (Base: All those who made a complaint in past 12 months - 267) % Completely resolved Partly resolved Not resolved at all Refused/ Not Stated (2%) (73%) (9%) (16%) ( ) = Wave 3 2009 Benchmark 2007 Question not asked in Benchmark survey Wave 1 2008 78% completely resolved Wave 2 2008 66% completely resolved

21. Satisfaction with the Way Complaint was Handled (Base: All who’s complaint was completely resolved – 198) % Completely satisfied 73% % Level of Satisfaction Very satisfied Fairly satisfied Neither/nor/ Don’t know Likely to do as a result 145 People (39) (30) (18) (5) (3) (3) (2) Wave 4 2009 Wave 3 2009 Do nothing, just accept what has happened Tell people you know of your positive experience with them Do more business with them yourself

22. Likelihood of Buying Again from Business that had Reason to Complain About No Yes I don’t have a choice (Base: All those who had reason to make a complaint but didn't in the past 12 months - 88) (28%) (22%) (5%) (45%) Don’t know ( ) = Wave 3 2009 Benchmark 2007 52% Yes 27% No 16% I don’t have a choice Wave 1 2008 59% Yes 29% No 12% I don’t have a choice Wave 2 2008 64% Yes 29% No 7% I don’t have a choice