"This research shows that there's still more work to be done with consumer advice, product innovation and take up of energy-efficiency labelling, " he said.
At the time the consumer organisation Citizens Advice dubbed the sale of PPI policies a "protection racket", saying they were often too expensive and failed to provide the level of cover that customers thought they were getting.
Finally, to be sure you have all the advice you need relevant to your individual situation, call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline 0845 4 04 05 06, who will be able advise you and point you in the right direction.
BBC: When stores go bust: How to get your money or goods back
What went wrong for the banks was that firstly, consumer groups like Citizens' Advice and Which? started campaigning against PPI sales.
The biggest change for dealers is shoppers armed with research culled from auto advice Web sites like Consumer Reports, Edmunds or Kelley Blue Book.
Whatever you do and whatever kind of taxpayer you are (business, individual or charity), be a good consumer when it comes to tax advice.
"Citizens Advice Bureaux helped with over 670, 000 consumer credit debt problems last year, " said David Harker, chief executive of the National Association for Citizens Advice Bureaux.
More than ever, qualified, professional objective advice is the key to consumer sanity.
Lindsey Turrentine, Editor-in-Chief of CNET Reviews, stays abreast of new consumer tech products in order to provide advice to users.
The industry's financial "advice" is one area that the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, if it's ever established, should examine very closely.
Citizens Advice, Which? and the National Consumer Council will appear in front of the parliamentary Treasury Select Committee on Tuesday as part of an investigation into whether banks are failing low income consumers.
Consumers who wish to exercise extra caution can follow the advice presented by the Web-based consumer advocacy group Consumeraffairs.com, which advises the avoidance of brains, neck bones and beef cheeks, bone marrow and cuts of beef that are sold on the bone.
In considering filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy case, consumer debtors should proceed cautiously, and only upon the advice of competent, fully informed counsel.
For Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, a deal with Citi would emphasise its consumer businesses at the expense of institutional activities such as underwriting and merger advice.
As evidence that this policy has borne fruit, Celso Amorim, the foreign minister, points out that most of Brazil's trade is now with developing countries, thus anticipating Mr Obama's advice that the world should not rely on the United States as consumer of last resort.
ECONOMIST: Brazil's foreign policy: Lula and his squabbling friends | The
"Firms are not giving the advice or offering the solution that is in the best interests of the consumer, but instead that which is most profitable to them, " it said.
For unbiased advice, check out EvaluateLifeInsurance.org, run by James Hunt, the Consumer Federation of America's life-insurance actuary, and GlennDaily.com, which links to several fee-only insurance consultants.
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