Press releases
9 January 2007
Consumer Direct London Reveals Top Ten Complaints in 2006
Consumer Direct London, the government’s telephone and online advice service, received more complaints about mobile phones than for any other specific goods or services in 2006.
The figures released today show that Consumer Direct London logged more than 5000 cases about mobile phones agreements or hardware, over 5 per cent of the total 92,927 cases recorded in 2006.
Complaints about building works came second, while complaints about furniture took the number three slot. The lowest number of registered complaints concerned such topics as mobile food vendors and sea and air taxis, with only single cases logged.
Each case recorded by Consumer Direct is logged using one of 453 product or service codes, enabling the service to build a picture of the areas causing most concern to consumers. This and other data is then used to inform and focus the resources and work of Local Authority Trading Standards Services and the Office of Fair Trading.
Although the results were fairly consistent across the country, mobile phones seem to be a typical London issue. Whereas complaints about second-hand cars top the list in most other regions, mobile phones and especially mobile phone agreements is the number one in the capital.
The top three overall trends were the same as 2005, however ‘telecommunications’, under which mobile phone issues fall, overtook last years trend topper ‘home maintenance and improvements’, now number two, and complaints about furniture is still number three in the over all trends.
Nationally, Consumer Direct took just over 1.5 million telephone calls and emails from consumers in 2006, up 79 per cent against the previous year, due in part to the opening of three new contact centres (in the North West, North East and the West Midlands) and a growing awareness of the service among the general public.
Christine Cryne, Director for Consumer Direct at the Office of Fair Trading said:
'In 2006, Consumer Direct successfully extended its operations to cover the whole of Great Britain. By offering more people access to the service, we have been able to gain greater intelligence about the main issues facing consumers.'
Consumer Direct provides information about consumer rights, offers pre-shopping tips, and advises callers on how to seek redress when things go wrong. The service is managed by the Office of Fair Trading and delivered in partnership with Local Authority Trading Standards Services.
People needing consumer advice can call 08454 040506
Top Ten Complaints about specific goods and services in 2006
| Category | No. of Cases |
% |
| Mobile Phones (service agreements) |
3714 | 4 |
| General building work | 2286 | 2.5 |
| Second hand cars purchased from independent dealers | 1949 | 2.1 |
| TVs | 1489 | 1.6 |
| Internet Service Providers | 1415 | 1.5 |
| Mobile Phones (hardware) | 1287 | 1.4 |
| Women’s clothing | 1066 | 1.1 |
| Car repairs and servicing from independent garages | 1029 | 1.1 |
| Upholstered furniture | 999 | 1.1 |
| Fitted Kitchens | 969 | 1 |
Overall complaint trends in 2006
| Category | No. of Cases |
% |
| Telecommunications | 6822 | 7.7 |
| Home maintenance and Improvements | 6135 | 6.2 |
| Furniture | 4746 | 5.8 |
| Second Hand Cars | 3459 | 5.2 |
| Audio-visual | 3298 | 4.0 |
| Other Personal Goods and Services | 2786 | 3.2 |
| Large Domestic Appliances | 2689 | 2.7 |
| Personal Computers, accessories, software and services | 2665 | 2.5 |
| Professional Services | 2381 | 2.4 |
| Clothing and clothing fabric | 2191 | 2.1 |
