Telcos still dominate consumer complaints, though online trading attracts more grizzles
By Paul McBeth
Sept. 13 (BusinessDesk) - The Commerce Commission's annual consumer issues report shows telecommunications firms
Vodafone New Zealand and Spark New Zealand still attract the most ire from their customers, although the rise of online
shopping has seen a growing number of complaints in that space.
The regulator plans to put greater emphasis on retail telco providers in the current year, as the most complained of
sector attracted 603 complaints in the 2016/17 year out of 7,270 total complaints. Of that, Vodafone was the most
complained about with 186 complaints, followed closely by rival Spark at 180, about twice Two Degrees Mobile's 88. The
commission said about a quarter of those complaints were over incorrect billing and a fifth related to various fees
charged, such as late payments, credit card use, or paper invoices.
"Telecommunications continue to be the most complained about industry with the number of complaints increasing by nearly
a third on last year," commissioner Anna Rawlings said in a statement. "This trend reinforces our decision to make
retail telecommunications a priority focus area for the coming year across both our consumer and regulation work."
The consumer affairs and competition watchdog's annual consumer issues report identifies current and emerging risks it
sees as having the potential to affect consumers and markets.
The report identified the continued growth in online spending attracting a similar increase in complaints, where
consumers struggle to work out whether a vendor mispresented the price or goods or services sold compared to the
experience in a physical outlet.
"It is evident from some complaints that consumers have subsequently had doubts whether they purchased from a legitimate
trader, particularly if the trader is based abroad and the consumer has been unable to make contact with the trader to
resolve concerns about product delivery or quality," the report said.
Rawlings said "consumers need to research the traders they intend to buy from and pay attention to additional costs such
as booking fees, the currency they are paying in, and whether the fine print discloses they have been signed up to a
monthly subscription."
Appliance store retailers were the second most complained about industry with 403 complaints. Common themes to trigger
complaints were misleading pricing practices, especially during advertised sales, and misrepresentations over the
Consumer Guarantees Act when returning a faulty product. Warehouse Group-owned Noel Leeming topped the complaint board
with 82, followed by rival Harvey Norman at 45.
(BusinessDesk)
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