Comcom: online trading issues up 40%

The Commerce Commission has released its Consumer Issues Report for the year to June 30, 2017. The report is one of the initiatives undertaken by the commission to better understand the potential issues facing New Zealand consumers and where there is likely to be the greatest harm.  Industries that feature in the most complained about categories include motor vehicle traders, telecommunications providers, domestic appliance retailers, electricity retailers and supermarkets. Commissioner Anna Rawlings says the report takes a detailed look at the 7,270 complaints the commission received during the financial year and describes a range of interesting trends.  “We are receiving an increasing number of complaints about Fair Trading Act issues such as pricing practices, representations about goods and services, warranties and guarantees, and traders not delivering the goods purchased,” Rawlings says.  In regards to sales and financing of motor vehicles, the report noted the following trends. The report found that complaints about the quality of vehicles sold by motor traders is widespread across the country and industry and that consumers complain that motor vehicle lenders charge unreasonable fees. The report also noted that complaint narratives indicate that not all motor vehicle traders display CIN notices. Complaints about warranties and guarantees for goods and services increased by 160 per cent in the 2016/17 financial year, up to 694 complaints, when compared to the 267 complaints received in the 2015 calendar year. Consumers raise more concerns about warranties and guarantees offered by domestic appliance retailers and motor vehicle retailers than they do for any other industry, the report notes. The Commerce Commission suggests that this could be due to the high-value, technical goods that traders in these sectors sell. The Commission suggests that the high value of motor vehicles increases the chance for customer dissatisfaction, should the consumer perceive there to be any problems with their purchase. While most New Zealand consumers trust businesses not to mislead them, 35% of respondents stated they generally did not trust businesses in the motor vehicle retail sector, the report said. Though the Commission suggests that issues with customer dissatisfaction are spread throughout the motor sales industry and the country, they note that historically roughly 85 per cent of these complaints are lodged against traders who are non-MTA members.