Fifty percent of consumers in our latest survey rated real estate agents as untrustworthy while 49% thought car dealers couldn’t be trusted.

In third place, although some way behind, were rest home providers: 29% rated them as untrustworthy.

Financial advisers (28%), car repairers (27%) and car insurers (26%) followed.

A quarter of consumers also felt energy retailers, telcos, and house and contents insurers weren’t trustworthy.

We also asked consumers how much confidence they had in one of the main institutions charged with keeping the public informed about business behaviour: the news media. Just 30% of consumers had some degree of confidence in the media; 46% had no confidence.