Consumers know their rights
The results of the New Zealand Consumer Survey show nearly all consumers are aware laws exist to protect their rights and their knowledge of these rights has improved over the past two years.
The survey was commissioned by Consumer Protection, part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), to find out what Kiwis know about their rights and their experiences of dealing with problems.
It was responded to by about 1,700 people aged 18-plus. The 2020 survey is the third in the series which also enables reporting on emerging trends.
Mark Hollingsworth, national manager of Consumer Protection, says more consumers correctly answering questions designed to assess practical knowledge of their rights is encouraging, but there is room for more improvement.
“Around half of Kiwis do not know that if your fridge breaks down a month or so after the manufacturer’s 12-month warranty runs out, the store usually still has to sort it free of charge, or if you buy something online from a website that ends in ‘.co.nz’ it might not be a New Zealand-based business.”
In 2020, 26 per cent of respondents answered at least six out of 10 true or false statements correctly compared to 19 per cent in 2018.
The survey also found that 49 per cent of people report experiencing a problem with something they had purchased in the past two years.
Twenty-six per cent of those who experienced a consumer issue said Covid-19 or the lockdown caused the problem or made it worse.
“Almost three-quarters of consumers report taking action to try to resolve their most recent problem and this has been trending upwards since 2016,” says Hollingsworth.
“Consumers should feel empowered to seek a resolution if things go wrong and most businesses will do the right thing.
“This means being able to recognise when there is a genuine problem and asking businesses to make things right. There are remedies available and consumers need to know how to make use of them.”
The full New Zealand Consumer Survey 2020 findings and supporting infographic can be found here.
