The State consumer watchdog is calling for companies that breach consumer law to be hit with far bigger fines.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) this morning released its latest consumer helpline report – warning that queries and complaints increased by 18% between January and June.
Telecoms company Eir and airline Ryanair topped the list for customer complaints and queries in the first half of this year, according to the report.
Sky came in third, followed by Vodafone and Harvey Norman.
In all, the CCPC received complaints from 22,347 customers with five sectors sharing the highest number of queries.
- Vehicles and transport: 2,904 contacts
- Telecommunications: 1,534 contacts
- Home building and improvements: 1,228 contacts
- Holidays and travel: 1,110 contacts
- Clothing, footwear and accessories: 1,018 contacts
On Breakfast Business this morning, CCPC spokesperson Grainne Griffen said Ireland’s Small Claims Court urgently needs to be reformed to ensure customers have access to justice.
"I think it is clear report that consumers are experiencing issues and I suppose for us, the big question that arises is, where do those consumers go next?" she said.
“We talk them through their rights and obviously we step in when you have these particularly big or egregious breaches of the law.
“But for your day to day issues, it's really important that consumers can go somewhere and present their case to a judge or an adjudicator and have someone say who's right and who's wrong.
“In Ireland, the main route for a lot of people is the small claims court but the cap there is €2,000 and that was set nearly 20 years ago in 2006.
“It’s completely out of step with the cost of living in today's world.”
The companies topping the CCPC list for complaints and queries. Image: CCPCMs Griffen said consumers are often paying companies far more than €2,000 – especially when you consider they could be buying cars, holidays or home renovations.
“When something goes wrong, obviously a lot of things are resolved by traders,” she said. “You know, businesses trade on the reputation and they put a lot of work into solving problems.
“But for those traders that don't resolve issues when they arise, consumers need access to justice and we do think that the Small Claims Court urgently needs to be reformed.”
A sign for Tesco Clubcard prices, 30-9-23. Image: Becky Selina / AlamyMs Griffen said the CCPC itself also needs to be empowered to hand out significant fines for “really serious breaches of consumer protection law”.
She pointed to the recent case the CCPC took against Tesco – which saw the UK supermarket chain pleading guilty to failing to correctly display its Clubcard prices.
She said the chain was ultimately asked to pay a “very small amount of money” for the breach.
“Tesco pleaded guilty in that case, they put their hands up, but ultimately they avoided prosecution and it was a €1,000 donation to the Penny Dinners on Meath Street,” she said.
“So, what we'd really like to see is that for big companies like that, where you have these really serious breaches of the law that affect huge numbers of consumers, that we can really issue serious fines that are going to act as a deterrent for those traders in terms of doing it again.”
CCPC
The CCPC referred around 4,900 callers to the Small Claims Court in the first half of the year.
It also referred nearly 1,100 to the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), 815 to Comreg and 603 to the European Consumer Centre Ireland (ECCI).
