Our next step…
Author: Adam Carter
Exciting future but first a nod to our past.
About four years ago, Lou came to me and said “Adam, I want you to help me create a website that talks about consumer rights”. I obviously straight away dismissed this as another one of Lou’s annoying ideas that should be ignored. Lou has approximately 100 ideas a day, I have learnt to dismiss all of them if they only pop up once.
Just for your information, of these 100 ideas, she makes a start on about 10 of them (and by make a start I mean she asks Chat GPT what it thinks, gets distracted and ends up somewhere else, before filing it away), but the ones that she keeps coming back to are the ones to pay attention to, they’re the ones I pay attention to anyway.
Louise makes things happen; she is a mega consumer champion. She hates it that the world isn't equal. She didn't give up nagging me.
So she kept on talking about this website that she wanted my help on, I kept on saying things like ‘You haven’t got the time!’ and ‘stop being annoying’ until I finally said I’ll help but only if we can do a podcast, she loved the idea, mainly because she loves talking and getting people to listen to her. Consumer Friend was born! She annoyed me into it, damn you LouBax!! I think I really mean ‘Thank you LouBax’.
Fast forward three years and Consumer Friend is a thriving organisation that has trained over 11,000 people on consumer vulnerability. We provides free consumer advice to anyone and everyone, we have completed three seasons of a podcast talking about everything from consumer rights to retrofitting your home to human behaviour and fraud. We have interviewed industry experts, created a Consumer Vulnerability Academy and launched it for all consumer facing people, to help them to understand more about consumer vulnerability, communication and inclusive design. Almost launched ask CRIS (amazing Consumer Advice tool), SO CLOSE. I JUST NEED TO get Louise to sit down long enough.
Don’t ruin your face
Me and Lou got a bit of a face lift for our ‘Don’t ruin your face campaign’ back in 2023 which spoke aboput the dangers of illegal, counterfit and unsafe cosmetics.
I didn’t have a clue about consumer rights before Consumer Friend, I still don’t know as much as I should. My dad says that if you talk with confidence and authority, then people will believe you, good plan. I sometimes feel like I’m winging it but also assume that most people get those feelings now and then. Luckily Lou is here to say (and know) all the right things. Yes, I have spent the last eight years working for a national Trading Standards Team but the team is all about fraud, not what to do if your flooglebinders (Tom Cruise – Cocktail) fall off the end of your shoe laces!
It’s all been done in our spare time; I only went down to four days a week on my main job this year!
A couple of months ago Kevin Grix from The Ombuds Group came down to Eastbourne where me and Lou live and treated us to a curry at the very popular Ashoka in Cornfield Terrace.
Side note - Kev had been on our podcast the year before talking about what an ombudsman does and why its got a terrible, inaccessible name. As the average consumer in the team, I learnt a lot from Kev that day, can’t remember much of it now. Note to self – go back and listen to the Kev podcast to find out what they do.
Anyway, he came down with James Walker, also with The Ombuds Group and also a former guest of our podcast talking about how your data travels around the world and what to do about it. I look back now and think that Kev wanted to check me and Lou out for his grand plan of re-energising the training arm of the Ombuds group, we passed the test over a beer and some Naan bread!
A few weeks later Kev got in touch with us and said he (not him personally, that would be weird, The Ombuds Group) wanted to partner with Consumer Friend including me and Lou!, we didn’t know what that meant! We were obviously flattered that someone wanted us, we couldn’t believe it. So me and Lou had a chat and we were going to go up to Stevenage to see them and say thanks but no thanks.
So up we go, we see the offices, we sit down and chat through stuff, we have lunch and we don’t say no! we think ‘Sod it, lets give it a go!’ and I think it’s going to be one of the best decisions we will ever make, other than saying yes to Lou three years ago that is.
Consumer Friend is now proudly part of The Ombuds Group as of 1 July 2025
We are both so excited to be talking Consumer Friend to the next level and to be able to spend more time talking, training and campaigning under the Ombuds Group banner, and learning about what they do (and probably forgetting again). We will still continue to fight fraud in the National Trading Standards Scams Team most of the time but on those days we don’t, we will continue to talk to businesses about consumer vulnerability, consumer rights and also learn and help deliver the current Ombuds Group training packages.
The best thing that has come out of this is that it’s no longer just me that has to listen to Louises constant stream of ideas. Kev – I don’t think you truly realise what you are letting yourself in for!
Good luck and cheers.
Adam
Media release - 1 July 2025
The Ombuds Group Acquires Consumer Friend to Boost Expertise and Enter New Sectors The Ombuds Group announces the acquisition of Consumer Friend, an independent provider of consumer advice, advocacy and business training.
Consumer Friend will officially join The Ombuds Group as of the 1st July. This strategic move marks an important milestone in the Ombuds Group’s continued growth, significantly strengthening its expertise in consumer affairs and expanding its already established training offer of City & Guilds-accredited courses with an in creased portfolio of multiple new sector learning solutions.
Founded and led by two key trading standards professionals, Consumer Friend has a strong reputation for championing consumer rights and delivering impactful training helping businesses to deliver better customer outcomes. Its highly regarded Consumer Friend Academy, which includes courses on Consumer Vulnerability, Achieving Better Outcomes, and a wide range of e-learning modules, will now be delivered under The Ombuds Group banner.
The existing Consumer Friend team are excited to join the Ombuds Group team and will continue their valuable work as part of the Group. Their knowledge and insight will support The Ombuds Group’s mission to deliver fairer outcomes and enable ex pansion into new and emerging sectors.
This acquisition forms part of the Group’s broader strategy to extend its reach and deepen its impact across industries that are new to its current remit. It also enhances the organisation’s internal capabilities by adding further expertise and high-quality training resources.
Kevin Grix, CEO & Chief Ombudsman of The Ombuds Group, commented,
“We are delighted to welcome Consumer Friend to The Ombuds Group. This is a forward thinking organisation working in sectors that represent exciting growth areas for us. Their expertise bolsters our position as a trusted provider of consumer insight and training, allowing us to support more individuals and businesses across a broader landscape. Most importantly, this acquisition is about people. We’re gaining a values-led, highly experienced team who share our commitment to fairness and better outcomes for consumers and businesses alike. I’m looking forward to what we can achieve to gether.”
Louise Baxter MBE and Co-Founder of Consumer Friend, said,
“This next chapter is all about people. At Consumer Friend, we’ve always championed the importance of understanding consumer rights and recognising vulnerability. Not as a box to tick, but as a foundation for better outcomes. Becoming part of The Ombuds Group gives us the opportunity to expand that mission, helping more organisations put peo-ple first, build fairer services and ensure every consumer is supported, protected and heard. We can’t wait to get started."
About The Ombuds Group
The Ombuds Group is an independent, not-for-profit, government-approved organi sation established in 1992 by the Office of Fair Trading. Our mission is to resolve dis putes and raise standards. The Group includes the Rail Ombudsman, Dispute Resolu tion Ombudsman, and the Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman. It also pro vides staff and expertise to the Independent Football Ombudsman.
This acquisition also creates new opportunities for colleagues across The Ombuds Group to develop, lead, and innovate—reinforcing its commitment to fairness,
Ends
For further information regarding the Ombuds Group please contact:
Kate Slater, on 079 811 95062 or email: media@fhio.org
Notes to editors:
The Ombuds Group is a not-for-profit, government-approved Ombudsman scheme, providing Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)across a range of industries. Led by staff with both dispute resolution and legal qualifications, the Ombuds Group has a heritage of over 30 years having been established in 1992 by the Office of Fair Trading. Neither a consumer champion nor an industry body, we are independent and draw upon extensive experience in providing similar services across a broad range of regulated and unregulated sectors including furniture, rail, retail, licensing, logistics and home improvement. We also provide staff and expertise to the Independent Football Ombudsman which was set up and funded by the Premier League, EFL and Football Association.
Consumer Friend are experts in consumer regulation, consumer education, consumer vulnerability and business advice and guidance. For more information go to https://www.consumerfriend.org.uk/ Premier House, First Floor, 1-5 Argyle Way, Stevenage, Hertfordshire. SG1 2AD Registered in England and Wales: 8945616