Eir, Bord Gáis and Harvey Norman top list of consumer queries to watchdog last year
Aer Lingus was the subject of 307 complaints made to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission last year.
Complaints to the consumer watchdog about utilities and fuel more than doubled last year, as more people made contact over Eir than any other company.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) said that issues with vehicles and transport topped the list of consumer concerns for the second year in a row, with complaints about telecommunications and holidays, and travel also featuring highly.
In all, there were 32,431 contacts made to the CCPC’s helpline last year with queries and complaints, and over 7,000 consumers were referred to the Small Claims Court for redress.
While 490 of the contacts received related to Eir, Bord Gáis was a close second with 481 complaints or queries to the consumer watchdog.
Also featuring in the top 10 was Harvey Norman (442 contacts), Ryanair (421), Sky (340), Currys (340), Vodafone (336), Aer Lingus (307), Ticketmaster (250) and Power City (230).
This top 10 accounted for one-fifth of all queries and complaints to the CCPC last year.
In just under three in five cases, consumers were referred onwards by the watchdog to seek redress.
The vast majority of these were referred to the Small Claims Court. This court aims to provide a fast and easy way for consumers and businesses to resolve disputes without the need for a solicitor, and is for claims of €2,000 or less.
Officially, the other party is given 15 days to respond but, according to the Consumer Association of Ireland, many small claims offices give significantly longer than that.
“The Dublin Office, for example, gives six weeks,” it said.
“The rationale for this is that if the process is rushed at the early stages, delays might arise later on with respondents claiming that they never received their notifications and filing to set the cases back. Such complications benefit nobody, so time is given at the start to ascertain the exact position of the respondent.”
This advocacy body said “broadly speaking”, the process of negotiation can take two-to-three months when a claim is disputed but this is just an indicative timeframe.
The referrals by the CCPC to the energy regulator CRU, meanwhile, rose 84% last year as consumers faced soaring energy bills.
Referrals to the Law Society of Ireland almost trebled, rising 183%.
In one example cited by the CCPC, one man got in touch after availing of a supermarket deal which promised money off his electricity bill. Two weeks after submitting the voucher to his electricity company, the credit still had not been applied.
He tried phoning and emailing the company but got nowhere, and contacted the CCPC. It advised that it may be a breach of contract, and he should submit a final formal complaint and then escalate it to energy regulator CRU if it was not resolved.
The CCPC’s Kevin O’Brien said: “We now have stronger and clearer remedies for consumers dealing with faulty goods and services, so whether there’s a strange noise coming from your new car or you can’t log in to your online streaming service, you have rights.
“Value for money is of paramount importance to consumers this year, and consumers have a right to reliable goods and services. Unscrupulous traders depend on people not exercising their rights.”
