Faulty goods, services cost nearly €1bn last year – CCPC
The cost to consumers in Ireland to deal with faulty goods and services last year was close to €1 billion, according to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
The commission calculated the figure based on initial financial outlays by consumers, additional charges added on, and the inconvenience of resolving problems.
The CCPC is charged with enforcing consumer protection laws and improving consumer welfare,
It surveyed 4,500 people for the report, which is titled ‘Understanding Consumer Detriment in Ireland’.
It asked consumers about issues that caused stress, cost money, or took up their time and estimated the total monetary cost of that was €968m in 2023.
The survey considered purchases across 19 categories, but most problems were experienced with home products including electronic devices and domestic appliances.
The second most problematic area concerned telecoms which includes mobile data plans, broadband services and landlines.
Up to 12% of all problems were resolved in a day, 18% within seven days and 22% within four weeks.
Around 4% were unresolved after a year.
CCPC Chairman Brian McHugh said banking and professional services caused the most stress for people, according to the survey.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he said the stress comes from the quality of the service given not being what consumers expected it to be.
He said that telecommunications was another area where people stated it was difficult to get a resolution to issues and trying to get that resolved quickly can take time and “that’s what people find stressful.”
Mr McHugh said it is really important for people to know their rights and people can find out more information through the CCPC.
Mr McHugh said thousands of inspections are carried out each year by the CCPC and in the worst cases, there can be a criminal conviction.
Article Source – Faulty goods, services cost nearly €1bn last year – CCPC – RTE
