Dave Mendes da Costa

Lead consumer policy at @CitizensAdvice. Used to do policy @TheFCA. Born in West Midlands, live in West Yorkshire. "Optimist" Views my own.

[Dave Mendes da Costa @Dave_MdaC]

🧵Essential Services, Essential Oversight

New blog from me looking at how a focus on outcomes, rather than an ever increasing list of rules, can change the culture of regulators and businesses and place consumers at the heart of the market.

https://t.co/syV0PXcxIh

[Matt Vaughan Wilson @MattleyVW]

📢 Very pleased to see the government's new consultation on council tax administration.
This is only the start of a process - but a a big opportunity to make council tax collection fairer and bring it into line with other types of debt collection. https://t.co/CQtVjej0LB

[Dave Mendes da Costa @Dave_MdaC]

More on our recent work with the Behavioural Insights Team here looking at links between online design and vulnerability.

Linking these ideas together is so important so we're exciting to have the next phase of this work will out soon.

https://t.co/swrmEwfqOm

[Dave Mendes da Costa @Dave_MdaC]

Great to see the ban on drip pricing kick in today. We @CitizensAdvice have been pushing for this for years as part of our work to tackle 'deceptive design' practices online.

We're in the middle of some really exciting work atm in this space.

https://t.co/B50For5QYo

[Dave Mendes da Costa @Dave_MdaC]

Read more here and check out the three reports:

https://t.co/Q96PYdzTvu

[Dave Mendes da Costa @Dave_MdaC]

With essential bills shooting up today we have published three reports by @CitizensAdvice, @IPPR and @policy_practice looking at how support for low income customers can be effectively targeted and automatically delivered to those most in need.

We've summarised them in 7 pics:

[Clare Moriarty @ClareMoriarty]

Everyone agrees the welfare system needs reform, and the government’s commitment to improving employment support is welcome. But reaching for a quick fix of restricting eligibility and reducing people’s incomes is not the way to make lasting change happen
https://t.co/i66pM5C5fp

[Dave Mendes da Costa @Dave_MdaC]

And this report on how the Fair Work Agency needs to be designed to tackle issues like this

https://t.co/xFFPpPROWU

[Dave Mendes da Costa @Dave_MdaC]

Another reminder of how the poor design of the care workers visa led - predictably - to exploitation.

This is something our advisors see sadly all too often @CitizensAdvice. We need to see changes to the visa and an effective Fair Work Agency asap.
https://t.co/xmg1ILLUpb

[Dave Mendes da Costa @Dave_MdaC]

More on what our advisors see in this excellent report

https://t.co/bpG4TwwNGQ

[Chris Lees @chrislees_]

Last year for @CitizensAdvice we asked our Research Community about their expeirences of trying to haggle with their telecoms provider. We found that the toxic combination of a tricky process and common symptoms of mental health problems can make this nearly impossible

[Fair By Design @FairByDesign]

New research from @mmhpi & @CitizensAdvice on unequal access in the telecoms market.

This is a clear example of people with mental health problems paying more for the same essential service. #povertypremium

[Dave Mendes da Costa @Dave_MdaC]

If you want the best price for mobile or broadband you have to ring up and haggle - but not everyone is as confident or able to do this.

It's time for a rethink about how this works. Our report today hopes to get this conversation started - get involved!

https://t.co/GksigOpngN

[Dave Mendes da Costa @Dave_MdaC]

Surely the film industry instinct of signing of sequels has now gone too far.

Does this episode follow our plucky bank manager as he navigates the FCA's new growth agenda while considering the impact of the Consumer Duty on CDFIs?

👀 I actually might watch that 👀

[Dave Mendes da Costa @Dave_MdaC]

I doubt I'm the only loser in this new approach and so many people are going to have the nasty surprise in April of being worse off due to this change.

This was totally predictable and is why we called for a total ban on these price rises, so that fixed really means fixed. END

[Dave Mendes da Costa @Dave_MdaC]

Ofcom's ban on inflation linked mid contract price rises is finally here.

But in falling short of the full ban on these rises which we @CitizensAdvice
called for, Ofcom's new system will see many customers worse off.

A personal example...(1/4)

https://t.co/67gyIvBt8K

[Dave Mendes da Costa @Dave_MdaC]

In the new world, the price goes up by a fixed pounds and pence amount. For my supplier it's £3.50.

But that's a 14.5% rise.

RPI is currently around 3.5% so with the old system my bill would rise by 7.4% - essentially half as much as the rise I'm actually going to see. (3/4)