Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
The purpose of this study was to produce quantitative data necessary for a critical evaluation of regulatory techniques.
Main Topics:
Attitudinal/Behavioural Questions Durable goods purchased, advertising (i.e. where product was advertised, content of advertisement, misrepresentation etc), where goods were purchased (i.e. shop/garage, mail order - 8 categories), contact made by seller (in particular, techniques used by salesman), information given by salesman/seller/agent etc (particularly whether this was misleading and whether respondent received the exact goods ordered). Respondent satisfaction with goods purchased and the sales transaction is recorded together with his knowledge of <i>Which?</i> magazine. Detailed information is available for: arrangements for return of goods or cancellation of the deal - if the respondent attempted to do one of these, how he went about it and the outcome are noted; complaints (i.e. from whom advice was sought, action taken, seller's reaction and outcome are given); the agreement (i.e. content, let-out clauses, terms of deposit, credit and interest, etc and surety required for credit are recorded). A section is included particularly on the purchase of motor vehicles. This includes: length of time respondent had been driving when he bought vehicle, age of vehicle bought and whether it had a current MOT Test Certificate, whether respondent had any mechanical check made, whether delivery date was met by seller, whether vehicle was in good condition (whether all accessories ordered were included), whether it was under guarantee (a list of defects is given together with a note of money spent on repairs since purchase and complaints made to the dealer about this). Data on loans: loan company money borrowed from, advertising used (accuracy noted), any contacts between the loan company and the seller of the goods purchased, amount borrowed by respondent (including interest rate, total amount repaid, etc). Content of agreement signed considered in detail and respondent dissatisfaction with loan transaction recorded. If payment became overdue, reason is given and the outcome noted (including a note of the technique used by the company to obtain money-particularly harrassment, court action, etc).Similar data for other sources of credit are also available. Background Variables Household composition, sex, age when ordered goods, occupation and social grade, fluency in English, whether respondent is obviously a member of a minority racial or ethnic group, type of accommodation (i.e. house, flat, etc) and length of time respondent had been resident at address when goods were purchased.
A 2-stage probability sample. First stage: 60 sampling points allocated among the Registrar General's 10 standard regions in proportion to the adult population of each region. Within each standard region, a sampling frame was used that listed all the local authority areas in England and Wales stratified by area type (conurbations, non-conurbation urban areas, non-conurbation rural areas). Within each type by: conurbation; by high employment area/low employment areas, non-conurbation: by high population density/low population density. Within each of the resultant cells, local authority areas were arranged in descending order of socio-economic index derived from the 1966 census of population. Second stage: within each selected polling district, a sample of 25 addresses was drawn from the current Electoral Register by applying a fixed sampling interval to a random start
Face-to-face interview
