Ticketmaster, Eir and Ryanair were the three companies that prompted most complaints to the State’s consumer watchdog last year, a report published on Tuesday has revealed.
More broadly, issues with vehicles and transport, telecoms and home improvements topped the list of concerns from those who contacted the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
The other concerns highlighted by callers to its helplines were holidays and travel as well as problems with the purchase of clothes, shoes and accessories.
Ticketmaster was top with 614 complaints; Eir was second on 604 and Ryanair third with 554, Other firms in the top 10 were Sky, Harvey Norman, Vodafone, Currys, Aer Lingus, Virgin Media and Lidl.
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Ticketmaster made headlines last summer as consumers reacted furiously to the dynamic pricing model used for the forthcoming Oasis comeback tour. Broadband company Eir found itself in the spotlight as concerns over its customer service mounted and even reached the District Court where it faced heavy fines for letting people down.
The number of complaints the commission handled jumped sharply last year with almost 45,000 people contacting its helplines, up more than 5,000 when compared with 2023.
The most common consumer queries CCPC staff dealt involved faulty goods and services.
Such issues generated close to 9,500 queries. In second place were contract deposits payments and charges, with just under 3,000 queries handled, followed by contract performance, cancelling a contract and buying a product online.
Consumers reported spending an average of €6,013 on the goods or services they contacted the helpline about.
According to the CCPC data, the average spend by consumers with concerns of vehicles and transport was just under €19,000 while the average amount spent on home building and improvements came in at €10,599.
Telecommunications costs for consumers were put at €388, while the average spend on holidays and travel was €1,445 with the typical spend for clothing footwear and accessory issues said to be €260
When it came to referrals from the CCPC most people were advised to contact the Small Claims Court followed by the Society for the Irish Motor Industry, the European Consumer Centre and ComReg.
The number of people who used its personal finance information service climbed to 3,612, up from 3,323 a year earlier. The queries that generated the most interest were motor insurance, mortgage and equity release loans, current account home insurance, and health insurance.
“We’re very glad to see that a growing number of consumers are checking their rights with the CCPC when they run into difficulties,” the commission’s spokeswoman Grainne Griffin said.
She said its helpline reports “shine a light on the challenges faced day to day by consumers. These aren’t trivial, and neither are the costs involved.”
Ms Griffin said the average cost quoted by a consumer of just over €6,000 was “driven by very high costs related to second-hand cars and home improvements”.
She said consumers who had spent such sums would be blocked from using the Small Claims Court as an avenue for redress as it only deals with cases worth up to €2,000.
“This limit urgently needs to be addressed,” Ms Griffin said.
She said many of the consumers who got in touch with the CCPC were “having real trouble with something they bought and struggling to get redress. Over 9,000 people contacted us about faulty goods or services. Over 2,000 got in touch about issues cancelling a contract.”
With vehicles and transport topping the list of sectors that generated complaints last year, Ms Griffin said it highlighted a need for the issue to be addressed by government.
“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,” she said.
