Consumer rights

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How do people in the US describe customer service in 2026? ‘Debilitating, depressing, enraging. Ugh’

We asked people in the US about their customer service battles and hundreds responded on the financial and emotional costsGuardian readers from across the US wrote in to tell us about their battles with big companies, and the time, expense and emotional toll exacted by businesses they say are prioritizing the bottom line over all […]

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‘They kill games, we fight back’: the activists campaigning to keep video games playable

When a company decided to shut down an online game’s servers, there wasn’t much the players who had bought that title could do – until a group called Stop Killing Games began lobbying for new consumer protection lawsYou can never be sure how long an online video game will last. Developer BioWare shut off sci-fi

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Openreach said yes to full fibre broadband, then branded it ‘uneconomical’

Its ‘fibre checker’ tool confirmed I could have a connection, but a month later it changed its mindMy internet provider informed me by email that full fibre broadband had become available for my property, confirmed by Openreach’s “fibre checker” tool. After a month, Openreach declared the connection uneconomical due to blockages in the conduits below

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Why did I get a £100 parking fine when charging my electric car?

The charger firm claimed the site operated 24 hours a day, but the parking operator had different ideasI charged my electric car at the 24-hour Mer EV charging station in my local B&Q car park.I then received a £100 parking charge notice (PCN) from the car park operator, Ocean Parking. It said no parking is

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Amazon insists I return a phone it says ‘may be lost’

I have paid two monthly £108 instalments but am now phone-less and out of pocketI ordered a £544 phone from Amazon. A tracking update later informed me that it “may be lost” and I could request a refund. I pressed the refund option and was directed to customer service, which insisted I wait a week

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Valve Bans Forced In-Game Ads on Steam: A Win for Gamers?

Steam’s Stance on Advertising: A Clear-Cut Policy Valve has taken a firm stance against in-game advertising models that force players to watch ads before accessing gameplay. While product placements and cross-promotions remain permitted, the gaming giant has explicitly prohibited pay-to-watch ad mechanics, reinforcing its commitment to a seamless player experience. In a move that many…

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Democratic senators investigate data centers’ effects on electricity prices

Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Van Hollen demand answers from tech firms including Google and AmazonThree Democratic US senators announced on Tuesday that they are investigating whether big tech companies are passing the soaring utility costs of “energy-guzzling” data centers on to ordinary Americans. The trio sent letters to the heads of Google, Microsoft,

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