Vodafone leads list of complaints
Just 21 traders were the subject of 20 per cent of all complaints to the Commerce Commission in the 12 months to the end of June, and giant telecommunications company Vodafone topped the list.
The latest edition of the Consumer Issues report outlines the areas of interest the consumer watchdog is currently focusing on.
But it also reveals a list of the most complained about corporations in the country, with telcos Vodafone and Spark taking the top two places.
However, the commission was careful to warn the public not to jump to conclusions about the businesses which make the top 20.
‘‘Many of these traders are large retailers with a national presence and a high volume of sales,’’ the commission said.
‘‘While a higher volume of sales might reasonably be expected to generate a higher number of complaints, this is not always the case.’’
Vodafone issued a statement saying it was disappointed with its ranking.
‘‘Vodafone serves nearly 3 million customers and our chief priority is to deliver a great experience to all of them.
‘‘We benchmark our progress constantly, and our own numbers show a 15 per cent reduction in inbound calls and a 42 per cent drop in consumer complaints made to Vodafone compared to this time last year.’’
It said the industry was working with the commission to determine a ‘‘newer, more accurate’’ framework for measuring and addressing customer service issues across the telecommunications sector.
‘‘The teething issues that come with big technology and network
upgrades can be a real pain point for our customers and we’ve seen that theme come through this year.’’
People complaining to the commission do so because they believe a trader has broken the Fair Trading Act, but the commission cautioned that high levels of complaints do not necessarily indicate companies have broken the law.
Among those most complained about were telecoms companies (themes include incorrect billing, slow broadband, and mobile phone termination fees), supermarkets (advertised special prices on products which appear to have been incorrectly priced on in-store shelves or charged incorrectly at check-out), and online shopping websites.