Miliband calls for end of ‘rip-off’ culture

ED MILIBAND has called on the Government to end Britain’s “rip-off consumer culture” by taking a tougher line on companies who exploit their customers by charging exorbitant rates.

The Labour leader called for a new consumer watchdog to limit pension fees, car parking charges and airline levies after expressing concern that companies were taking advantage of families struggling with austerity measures.

Mr Miliband said: “In every area, you have to call time on the surcharge culture.

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“Making a fair profit is important but it can’t be done in an underhand and predatory way.

“This is about power in relation to private services and how government can be on the consumer’s side. Lots of businesses recognise this.

“It’s part of how you build a competitive economy in the world.”

He identified a number of areas for immediate action, demanding that pension firms should clearly set out how much they are charging savers to invest and calling for a ban on excessive overdraft fees from banks, which make more than £2bn from the charges for unauthorised lending each year.

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He added that the cost of parking at railway stations should be capped and airlines should not be able to charge for extra baggage.

It follows a decision by Southeastern trains to increase car parking charges by 16 per cent, on top of recent above-inflation rises on rail season tickets.

Big energy firms should be broken up and transparent pricing introduced to enable proper competition, Mr Miliband said.

“People’s living standards are squeezed as never before, and we have to do everything we can to relieve that burden,” he said.

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The Labour leader said he was ridiculed when warning of the dangers of “predatory” capitalism in a speech last year, but his approach had since been adopted by the Coalition.

Prime Minister David Cameron is expected to call for a “genuinely inclusive and popular capitalism” in a speech today, while Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg earlier this week recommended a “John Lewis economy” with tax breaks for companies that offer shares to employees.

Southeastern Trains said Mr Miliband’s comments were not correct and insisted that the average car park price increase was only three per cent.