Consumer Information
Personal Finance and Financial Services
Housing
The Law and Your Rights

Consumer Information
General
Price Comparisons
Shopping

General
Advice Guide Scotland
Citzens Advice Bureau online service offering guidance and advice on a variety of different subjects.
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/scotland.htm

Consumer Gateway
Information and advice for consumers from the DTI. Topics include: cars, food, holidays, home improvements, money and finance, shopping and e-shopping and utilities. Plus there's advice on how to complain and go to 'Information Sources' for links to the main bodies governing industries and services.
http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk

Directory of Ombudsmen
List of ombudsmen and other complaint-handling bodies in the UK with links.
http://www.bioa.org.uk

Office of Fair Trading
Information about consumers' rights including what to do if things go wrong when shopping online and consumer issues in the news.
http://www.oft.gov.uk

Postwatch
Postwatch looks after consumer interests in all postal matters, local and national, in the UK. It can help with individual complaints and complaints from business about the postal service.
http://www.postwatch.co.uk

Trading Standards
Consumer protection information in the UK and find contact details of your local Trading Standards Office by entering your postcode.
http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk

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Price Comparisons
Energy
General
Holidays and Travel
Motoring

Energy
buy.co.uk
Energy price comparison site - endorsed by Ofgem.
http://www.buy.co.uk

Energywatch
Energywatch is a consumer body set up by Parliament to oversee the interests of all energy users. Included here are energy supplier price comparison sheets, information about how to change your supplier and statistics on complaints.
http://www.energywatch.org.uk

saveonyourbills
Energy price comparison site - endorsed by Ofgem.
http://www.saveonyourbills.co.uk

unravelit
Energy price comparison site - endorsed by Ofgem.
http://www.unravelit.com

uswitch
Energy price comparison site - endorsed by Ofgem.
http://www.uswitch.com

General
Checkaprice
Compare prices of an enormous range of goods/services for sale online: books, computers, financial services, household goods, mobile phones, toys, travel and more...
http://www.checkaprice.com

Kelkoo
Compare prices for a very wide range of goods: books, cars, games, household appliances, mobiles and more....
http://www.kelkoo.co.uk

uSwitch
Compare prices for telephone calls, digital TV packages and gas and electricity suppliers.
http://www.uswitch.com/

Holidays and Travel
Cheapflights
Information about flight and holiday deals worldwide.
http://www.cheapflights.com

Expedia
Find and compare flight times and prices plus car hire, hotel and ferry information.
http://www.expedia.co.uk

Motoring
Parker's Online
Gives details of new and used car prices retrospectively from 1989 - 2002 . Also includes a car import guide and advice on choosing, buying and owning a vehicle.
http://www.parkers.co.uk

What Car
What Car
http://www.whatcar.com

Shopping
Ethical Shopping
Factory and Discount Shops
Farm Shops and Farmers' Markets
General

Ethical Shopping
Fairtrade Foundation
Guidance on fair trade products and where to buy them. Includes links to online shops and to related fair trade organisations.
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/

Green Choices
Information about environmentally friendly goods and services including green holidays.
http://www.greenchoices.org

Factory and Discount Shops
Good Deal Directory
A bargain hunter's site - where to find factory outlets and goods for less in the UK. Sale Finder will give you the latest news about bargains.
http://www.gooddealdirectory.co.uk

Shopping Villages
Select by name or by area in the UK and Ireland for links to the major discount shopping outlets/villages.
http://www.shoppingvillages.com/

Farm Shops and Farmers' Markets
Big Barn
Search for locally produced food and drink. Also has sections on what's in season and recipes.
http://www.bigbarn.co.uk

Farm Shopping
Locate your nearest farm shops and find out what's in season when.
http://www.farmshopping.com

Farmers' Markets
Click on 'List of Markets' to locate farmers' markets by county. Also find information and advice about starting a farmers' market and links to useful organisations.
http://www.farmersmarkets.net/

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General
British Shopping
All types of goods included: gifts, food and wine, jewellery, office items, home and garden, automotive etc.
http://www.british-shopping.com

Lifestyle
Select the shopping option for links to sites arranged by topic.
http://www.lifestyle.co.uk

Shopping Unlimited
Wide-ranging Guardian site: covers where to buy garden furniture to booking train tickets.
http://shopping.guardian.co.uk

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Personal Finance and Financial Services
General
The Budget
General

Annualcreditreport.co.uk
Your credit report online free. Not yet available nationwide - being introduced region by region. Date expectd for East region is 1 March 2007.
http://www.annualcreditreport.co.uk/

Association of British Insurers (ABI)
Includes a Consumer Information Service section with factsheets on different types of insurance: motor, household and personal, travel, medical, life insurance and pensions, mortgages and small business.
http://www.abi.org.uk

Consumer Credit Counselling Service
A registered charity whose purpose is "to assist people who are in financial difficulty by providing free, independent, impartial and realistic advice".
http://www.cccs.co.uk

Financial Services Authority (FSA)
An independent body set up by the government to regulate financial services. The site includes a 'Consumer Help' section giving advice on financial planning plus simple explanations of different financial products and services such as banking, insurance, mortgages, pensions, shares. There is a link to the Central Register of firms currently or formerly authorised to carry on investment business in the UK.
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/

FIND: Financial information net directory
http://www.find.co.uk

FT Your Money
All aspects of personal finance, such as banking, saving, investment, insurance, mortgages, pensions, loans, housebuying, credit cards and tax.
http://news.ft.com/yourmoney

Guardian Money
All aspects of personal finance, such as banking, saving, investment, insurance, mortgages, pensions, loans, credit cards and tax, ethical money and debt.
http://money.guardian.co.uk/

HM Revenue and Customs
Includes Budget Notes, Budget Illustrative Tables and more.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2006/

Independent Financial Advisors
You can enter a postcode and find an advisor.
http://www.ifap.org.uk

Inland Revenue
Tax and National Insurance information.
http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk

j4b
Grants and loans information service for businesses.
http://www.j4b.co.uk

MoneyExpert
Compare current accounts, savings, credit cards, loans, offset banking, student banking, mortgages, insurance, gas and electricity.
http://www.moneyexpert.com

Moneyextra
All aspects of personal finance such as saving, investment, insurance, mortgages, pensions, loans, housebuying, credit cards and tax.
http://www.moneyextra.com

Moneyfacts
All aspects of personal finance, such as saving, investment, mortgages, pensions, loans, credit cards and life assurance.
http://www.moneyfacts.co.uk/

Moneysavingexpert.com
Detailed guidance on consumer financial matters and other consumer services such as telephones, energy and holidays, from a specialised journalist.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/

Oanda.com
Flexible and easy-to-use currency conversion tools, including historical rates (see 'FXHistory' in menu).
http://www.oanda.com

Opra - the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority
UK regulator of pension arrangements offered by employers. Includes the Pension Schemes Registry which can help you find pension schemes you have belonged to in the past.
http://www.opra.gov.uk/

Reuters Currencies
Currency converter
http://today.reuters.co.uk/investing/Currencies.aspx

UK Social Investment Forum
Links to many ethical investment sites.
http://www.uksif.org

X-rates
Currency services site including currency converter with current and historical rates.
http://www.x-rates.com

XE
Currency services site including a currency converter with over 180 currencies. For historical rates see the 'Currency Services Site Map' for the link to an 'Interactive Currency Table'.
http://www.xe.net/ucc/full.shtml

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The Budget
HM Revenue and Customs - Previous Budgets
Past budget information back to 2000.
http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/ menus/ budget.htm

HM Treasury
Full details of the Budget.
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget/budget_06/bud_bud06_index.cfm

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Housing
General
Council Tax
DIY and Self-Build
Home Environment
Housing Associations, Council Housing and Cooperatives
Planning and Building Standards
Property Ownership
Trades and Professions

General

East Lothian Council
Information and advice on all types of housing available within the council area.
http://www.eastlothian.gov.uk/content/0,1094,274,00.html

Shelter Scotland
Practical information and advice on housing from Shelter.
http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/home/index.cfm/setcountry/true/

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Council Tax

East Lothian Council
Council Tax information for East Lothian including links to payment.
http://www.eastlothian.gov.uk/content/0,,3072,00.html

Scottish Assessors Association
The SAA Portal provides all Scotland Valuation Rolls & Council Tax Lists on-line.
http://www.saa.gov.uk/central/

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DIY and Self-Build
DIY Doctor
Information on many DIY projects and on self-build.
http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/

Ebuild
Site for self-builders. Includes UK Building Plots Database.
http://www.ebuild.co.uk/

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Home Environment
Envirosearch Residential
Type in your postcode to get a brief environmental report for your locality. You can check flooding, landfill and waste, hazardous substances, pollution, radioactivity, contamination, coal mining and transmitters.
http://www.envirosearch.info

Up My Street
Enter a postcode or town to find local data such as property prices, unemployment rates, council tax bands, crime rates etc. You can compare your postcode area with the national average or another postcode.
http://www.upmystreet.com/

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Housing Associations, Council Housing and Cooperatives
H.O.M.E.S. (Housing Mobility and Exchange Services)
Includes the UK-wide register of council, housing association and housing co-operative tenants who want to swap homes; a mobility scheme; and a shared ownership scheme.
http://www.homes.org.uk/

National Federation of Housing Associations
Represents the independent social housing sector. The site includes a list of Federation members (housing associations) that have their own web sites, and a categorised set of links other housing organisations.
http://www.housing.org.uk

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Planning and Building Standards
East Lothian Council
Council pages on planning and building standards for East Lothian.
http://www.eastlothian.gov.uk/content/0,1094,4225,00.html

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Property Ownership

Nationwide
House price changes in the UK – includes a calculator to find out how much the value of your house has changed since you bought it.
http://www.nationwide.co.uk/hpi

Nethouseprices
Free details of property prices. You can type in a postcode, or a street and town, or just a town, and see the prices paid for individual properties. Covers England, Wales and Scotland, under licence from the land registries.
http://www.nethouseprices.com

Registers of Scotland
Up-to-date information on land and property ownership and prices.
http://www.ros.gov.uk/citizen/index.html

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Trades and Professions
ARB (Architects Registration Board)
Includes a searchable register of architects. ARB is the independent regulator for the architects' profession in the UK.
http://www.arb.org.uk

Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering
Includes database, searchble by postcode, of registered plumbers.
http://www.iphe.org.uk/index.html

RICS Directory
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors directory of firms of surveyors.
http://www.rics.org/

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The Law and Your Rights
General
Data Protection and Freedom of Information
Legal Funding and Assistance

General
Access to Law
Wide-ranginge gateway to legal resources selected & annotated by Inner Temple Library. Covers UK, Commonwealth countries, Europe, USA and other jurisdictions.
http://www.accesstolaw.com

British and Irish Legal Information Institute
"The most comprehensive set of British and Irish primary legal materials that are available for free and in one place on the internet." Searchable databases of legislation, cases and other materials.
http://www.bailii.org/

Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations
Mainly covers law reports and law periodicals, but also includes some legislative publications and major textbooks
http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk/

Scottish Criminal Justice System
Scottish Executive site with links and information on the Criminal Justice System in Scotland.
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Justice/criminal

EUR-LEX
Full text of European Union treaties, legislation, proposals for legislation, case law and recent editions of the Official Journal.
http://europa.eu.int/ eur-lex/ en/ index.html

Infolaw
Gateway to law resources including key legal sites; organisations; goods and services for lawyers; UK, Irish and offshore lawyers and national and international groups; and, under 'More legal searches', the facility to search HMSO and other key sites in ways different from those provided on the sites themselves (eg using Google).
http://www.infolaw.co.uk

UK Legal Resources
Gateway site linking to many law sites in the UK, Europe, USA and other countries.
http://www.venables.co.uk

World Legal Institute
Free access to worldwide law.
http://www.worldlii.org/

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Data Protection and Freedom of Information
East Lothian Council
Details of who to contact for Freedom of Information requests regarding East Lothian Council.
http://www.eastlothian.gov.uk/content/0,1094,1043,00.html

Scottish Information Commissioner
The information commissioner is responsible for enforcing and promoting the Freedom of Information Act, which gives the right to access public information.
http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/

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Legal Funding and Assistance
Scottish Legal Aid Board
Legal aid allows people who would not otherwise be able to afford it to get help for their legal problems. The Scottish Legal Aid Board is responsible for managing legal aid in Scotland.
http://www.slab.org.uk/

Law Society Scotland
The Law Society of Scotland is the governing body for Scottish solicitors.  All practising solicitors in Scotland must be members of the Society and must hold a current Practising Certificate which is issued by the Society.  Use the link on their public information page to find a solicitor.
http://www.lawscot.org.uk/Public_Information/

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