Vehicles And Transport Top List Of Irish Consumer Angst

Almost 45k consumers contacted the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (CCPC) National Consumer Helpline last year – a significant increase of more than 5,000 from the previous year.

Ticketmaster, Eir and Ryanair were the top three companies which generated the most contacts to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission last year.

But buying a second-hand car was the most common reason why consumers contacted the organisation.

Its helpline received almost 45 thousand calls last year, up 13 per cent on the previous.

Published ahead of World Consumer Rights Day (Saturday 15 March), the CCPC’s 2024 Helpline Report breaks down the sectors, issues and traders detailed by consumers who got in touch with the CCPC for information on their rights.

• 44,247 consumers contacted the CCPC last year – over 5k more than in 2023, an increase of 13%
• Issues with cars were the biggest call driver, with almost 5.5k contacts about vehicles
• Consumers had spent an average of €6k on each product or service they had an issue with
• Almost 9.5k people had problems with faulty goods or services

Consumer costs and small claims

• Vehicles & transport topped the list of sectors consumers got in touch about
• Telecommunications and home building & improvements were the next biggest sectors
• Consumers reported spending an average of €6,013 on the goods or services they contacted the helpline about

CCPC spokeswoman Grainne Griffin said,

“We’re very glad to see that a growing number of consumers are checking their rights with the CCPC when they run into difficulties. Almost 45,000 consumers contacted us last year and we were able to explain their rights or point them towards an agency or service that could help them.

Our helpline reports shine a light on the challenges faced day to day by consumers; these aren’t trivial, and neither are the costs involved. The average cost quoted by a consumer calling our helpline was just over six thousand euros. This is driven by very high costs related to second-hand cars and home improvements. Unfortunately for those consumers, they will not be able to use the small claims process to resolve their issue, because the small claims court only deals with cases up to €2,000. This limit urgently needs to be addressed.”

Faulty goods and services, problems with cars

Grainne Griffin said,

“Many consumers who got in touch were having real trouble with something they bought and struggling to get redress. Over nine thousand people contacted us about faulty goods or services, over two thousand got in touch about issues cancelling a contract.

Vehicles and transport topped the list of sectors yet again, with over five thousand people contacting us about issues buying cars. We have recently called on the Minister for Transport to introduce an online car history portal, gathering information from insurers and the NCT and making it free to the public. This would help car buyers avoid unsafe, crashed or clocked cars.”