Alice Rickman

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Alice is a Senior Researcher in the Home Services Research Team and joined Which? in 2006. She writes about getting work done on your home and green issues, as well as being part of Which?'s investigations team. They work to uncover dodgy dealings, misleading sales practices and any other area where consumers are being taken for a ride. In the last four years Alice has got extremely annoyed for consumers whilst writing about everything from scams, to dubious special offers and greenwash.

Post by Alice Rickman

Are you winning the food hygiene postcode lottery?

by , Senior Home Researcher Consumer Rights 22 May 2013
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A dirty plate with knife and fork

Our research has found that food hygiene has become something of a postcode lottery for diners. People are unknowingly taking risks with their health simply by choosing to eat out in the wrong area. (more about food hygiene ratings...)

14 people have joined in this Conversation

Offers on electrical goods – dodging a ‘dodgy deal’

by , Senior Home Researcher Consumer Rights 15 April 2013
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A hand icon clicking on a special offer

Eight in 10 Which? members look out for offers on electrical goods, but we’ve discovered some offers may not be all they’re cracked up to be. Have you spotted a disappointing special offer? (more about special offers on electrical goods...)

2 people have joined in this Conversation

Products are getting smaller while shopping bills get bigger

by , Senior Home Researcher Consumer Rights 21 March 2013
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Mini cupcake

We have discovered yet more household products that have shrunk, while the price has stayed the same or even increased. Are any of your favourite products shrinking? (more about shrinking products...)

48 people have joined in this Conversation

Travelling tellies – where does our electrical recycling go?

by , Senior Home Researcher Energy & Home 18 January 2013
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A television falling through the sky

Most electrical appliances don’t last forever, and there comes a time when they need to be replaced. But how easy is it to recycle old televisions? Where do they end up? (more about recycling electronics...)

7 people have joined in this Conversation

Special offer? Don’t be misled by multibuys

by , Senior Home Researcher Consumer Rights 19 November 2012
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Buy one get one free crossed out

We looked at 115 products, comparing 300,000 prices, and found that multibuy special offers aren’t always as good a deal as they seem. Are they just a supermarket tactic to sell you more than you need? (more about multibuy special offers...)

11 people have joined in this Conversation

Why is the poor cheque payer penalised so much?

by , Senior Home Researcher Energy & Home 19 September 2012
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Woman with money box

Our latest investigation found you could be paying more than £100 extra for your gas and electricity if you pay by cheque or bank transfer rather than direct debit. That’s £100 to process four cheques! (more on paying energy bills by cheque...)

6 people have joined in this Conversation

Teddies, zips & instant potato – our tests fifty years ago

by , Senior Home Researcher Energy & Home 17 September 2012
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Man taking photo of teddy

It’s been 55 years since Which? was founded. Over that time consumer trends have changed dramatically. Our tests have changed also – so what were we putting through its paces fifty years ago? (more about our product tests...)

9 people have joined in this Conversation

Coffee chains vs machines – what’s draining your wallet?

by , Senior Home Researcher Energy & Home 9 August 2012
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Coffee cups

If, like me, you avoid adding up how much you spend on coffee, now would be a good time to look away. What do you think is cheaper – making your own espresso coffees with a machine or buying coffee from chains? (more about buying coffee...)

19 people have joined in this Conversation

Can you trust supermarket special offers? We investigate…

by , Senior Home Researcher Consumer Rights 24 May 2012
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Food prices can

Have you ever been baffled by the seemingly endless succession of BOGOFs, rollbacks and 50% extra free deals adorning supermarket shelves? More to the point, do you trust them to actually save you money? (more about special offers...)

68 people have joined in this Conversation

What’s smoking in your kitchen?

by , Senior Home Researcher Energy & Home 19 April 2012
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Toaster fire

Which kitchen appliances do you think are the most likely to catch fire – cookers, ovens or toasters perhaps? It's actually faulty tumble dryers and washing machines that come out on top. Does this come as a surprise? (more about flammable kitchen appliances ...)

14 people have joined in this Conversation

When pack sizes shrink why don’t their prices?

by , Senior Home Researcher Consumer Rights 19 March 2012
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Shrinking products in hand

Have you had suspicions that supermarket packs are shrinking? Well, we’ve trawled through a years worth of supermarket data to uncover the products that are shrinking – and their prices have stayed the same. (more about shrinking products...)

110 people have joined in this Conversation

What’s your biggest supermarket pricing bugbear?

by , Senior Home Researcher Consumer Rights 13 December 2011
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Woman using calculator in supermarket

Supermarkets are price matching, bombarding us with offers and claiming to drop thousands of prices. But, I’m sure you’ve noticed, the cost of your shop is going up. Do you trust supermarkets to charge a fair price? (more about supermarket pricing bugbears...)

24 people have joined in this Conversation

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