I propose a highly usable, free website which does the following:1. Matches past and current residents of any address in the UK property; then, 2. Connects them together, safely, so they can sort out the post. A current resident could input the addressee’s surname and initial, and connect it with the house number, street and postcode, and then associate their email with that specific entry. Someone wanting to know if there was mail at an address would search Better Post using the same five variables. Where there was a match, Better Post would inform both parties, and provide a hosted method for them to communicate, exchange emails or other social
networking identities.

What problem does it solve?: When moving home, most people do their best to call friends and organisations who they know send them mail, to let them know their new postal address. They sometimes leave a forwarding address, or pay Royal Mail to set up a postal redirect for a few months post-move. This doesn’t work. People are forgetful or have no idea who is sending them mail, and companies are still rubbish at updating details. In every property I have ever lived or owned, the Royal Mail regularly
posts letters for many different previous residents, former tenants and owners. It’s not all junk mail
either: I’ve wrongly received letters from out of touch relatives, old memberships and subscriptions, and creditors. This is sometimes years after people have moved (and then moved again, rendering their forwarding address useless).

So what do we do about this? Currently, the sole option available to me as a resident is to scrawl “return to sender” or “not known at this address on it”, pop it back in a postbox, and hope the sender bothers to update their records. Done? No, the mail just keeps coming. Return to Sender doesn’t solve the real problem: the addressee isn’t informed that somebody is sending them mail, and the actual recipient is stuck. When/if I move house again, I have to start the whole process again. A better way is to connect current and former residents somehow, and let them work out the problem together: a citizen-led solution.

There is no comparable site anywhere in the world. The Royal Mail post forwarding and mail redirect services are the nearest competitor. These cost money and demonstrates their ineffectiveness every time you move house. They’re not appropriate solutions for mobile, tech-savvy populations who don’t want to write a letter to Royal Mail to ask for other letters to be stopped. They also don’t solve the root problem: the addressee needs to know they have mail. There are many services like the Mail Preference Service, which help consumers get off direct marketing lists. These, however, don’t help the unintended recipients of direct mail for other people: I can’t unsubscribe someone else, and no mechanism exists for me to let an address know I am recieving their junkmail, and that they should do something about it.

More demand for info on mobile phones, as more people use them. Phone deals becomming more complicated as operators bundle services together, consumers need clear info to choose between competing businesses.

What problem does it solve?: There’s a gap in the market for providing consumer information after Gap in consumer information – Ofcom stopped running Topcomm (website providing info on fixed line services. Around the same time UKnet (independent website providing info on mobile phones) stopped running their website.

consumers should be able to access this information to help them make decisions when choosing phone providers

What problem does it solve?: The largest companies are amongst the most powerful organisations in the UK and play a very important role in setting the limits of choice and participation of consumers. It is important that there is a greater understanding of the role directors play and the relationships between companies. With greater scrutiny, more positive pressurs can be placed on companies and their directors to take the consumer interest into account.

What problem does it solve?: This would make sure that the views and concerns of consumers are taken into account when businesses and service providers make decisions on how they use energy.

At a time when many people are struggling with high domestic energy bills it is disgraceful that so much waste is going on – the costs of which are ultimately passed on to the consumer.

Separate databases could be established for different types of products such as food, health foods, processed foods etc. or databases for all products that contain such and such an ingredient.

What problem does it solve?: It will make generating research, identifying trends and conducting risk assessments and so on much easier and bring more transparency for the consumer and industry.

Create something similar for companies, so if I wanted to complain about a service/product, I’d do it through this site and then other can see that I’ve sent correspondence to a company and can also view the content of what I’ve written. If the company gives consent, their reply can also be viewed.

What problem does it solve?: Obviously consumer issues with companies are different, but it would be a place where an individual with a problem can see if other consumers have had similar issues (based on the correspondence they’ve sent). It might not be possible/practical/legal to publish a companies response to each letter, but there could be pre-defines outcome tick boxes like:

-Resolved (or more detailed like ‘refunded’, ‘compensation paid’)
-Claim/complaint rejected
-No response

It could also show trends in complaints, either by company or by sector.

If users had to register to use, you could gather info like age group, gender, education, income, location to also monitor trends

What problem does it solve?: This links in to the sustainability work we are doing, encouraging people to cycle to work to benefit their health and the environement. It also aims to improve the cycle network making it safer to cycle and encouraging more and improved cycle lanes. We can use the data to lobby local authorities to improve cycle lanes and make it a viable and safe option to cycle.

What problem does it solve?: Exposes data directly to the Web, allowing easier reuse and mashups. More interoperable than proprietary APIs.

There could be a extra area where people can upload pics of officers that have forgotten to display their number while on public duty. The tool could also list instances of “death in custody” and identify police stations where this happens frequently.

What problem does it solve?: The tool could over time identify which servants need to redo their anger management training and which police forces may have an institutional problem.

It would help people in areas such as Brixton and Canning Town to get justice.

What problem does it solve?: Provides improved enhanced selection criteria when there is a choice of firms within the consumers preferred area.
It will encourage firms to provide the highest levels of consumer satisfaction to enhance their scoring.