Consumer Direct reveals top 10 complaints in 2009

15/02/2010

Advice service Consumer Direct has revealed its top 10 most complained about topics of 2009. Across the year, Consumer Direct advisors answered more than 1.5 million calls and emails, recording almost 850,000 complaints against traders.

Topping the list of consumer gripes for the fourth year running were complaints about second hand cars bought from independent dealers, with 50,790 complaints recorded, up by eight per cent on the previous year. Complaints about TVs came second ahead of grievances about mobile phone service agreements in third. Debt collection does not appear.

Consumer Direct is OFT-managed, with the data collected used to help the OFT, local authority Trading Standards and other enforcement bodies to build intelligence, determine priorities and focus resources. The high level of used car complaints was a factor in the OFT’s decision to launch a market study into second hand car sales.

The fact that debt collection is absent from the list of most common complaints is a strong sign for the industry, as Claire Aynsley, Head of Membership & Compliance explains: “With CSA members handling over 21million cases annually - far more than sales of used cars - the fact that debt collection doesn’t register among the most common consumer grievances is testament to the hard work and dedication of the 25,000 men and women who work in the industry to handle cases justly and fairly to high industry standards.”