MID-YEAR STATISTICAL REPORT - 2018
A publication of the Consumer Affairs Unit
Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 2 Analysis................................................................................................................................ 3 Total complaints and accumulated value ........................................................................ 3 Number of Complaints by Industry ................................................................................. 5 Value of Complaints by Industry ..................................................................................... 7 Status of Complaints ........................................................................................................ 9 Complaints solved by Industry ...................................................................................... 10 Resolution Summary of Solved Complaints ................................................................... 11 Complaints by Industry and Section of the Consumer Affairs Act contravened .......... 12 Average Time taken to resolve Cases by Industry ......................................................... 15 Top ten (10) Respondents/Suppliers ....................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Status of Complaints by top ten (10) Respondents/Suppliers . Error! Bookmark not defined. Section of the Consumer Affairs Act contravened by the Top 10 Respondents/Suppliers ............................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Average Time taken to resolve complaints for top ten (10) Respondents ............ Error! Bookmark not defined.
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Introduction The Consumer Affairs Unit (CAU) of the Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission (CCAC) continues to execute its mandate, that is, protecting consumers from being unfairly treated by businesses and also providing a legal framework by which businesses can use to operate. With increased advocacy, knowledge of the Commission has improved, thus resulting in a rise in the number of complaints. In fact, when compared to the mid year analysis of 2017, complaints received by the unit have increased by a massive 78%, clearly signally the direction in which the commission is headed. Therefore, the main objective of this report is to provide a detailed analysis of cases received by the Unit for the period January to June, 2018, in an effort to assist with policy decisions, or any addendum to the Consumer Affairs Act.
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Analysis Total complaints and accumulated value For the period, January – June, 2018, the unit received a total of 139 complaints (Table 1) with an aggregate monetary value of $ 54,407,415 (Table 2). January recorded the highest amount of complaints for the period while February recorded the lowest as seen in Table 1. When compared to 2017, January also accounted for the largest amount of complaints received for the stated period. On the other hand, April accounted for the highest monetary value, $ 17,457,745 or 32% for the period while February recorded the lowest, $ 1, 588,522 or 3%, as seen in Table 2. The majority of complaints received by the Commission came from persons residing in Region 4. This figure being 97 or 70%. 25 or 18% of the complaints came from persons in Region 3 while 9 or 6% came from persons in Region 10. The remaining 6% came from Regions 2, 5, 6, 7 and 9. No complaints were received from persons in Regions 1 and 8.
TABLE 1: COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY MONTH Month January February March April May June Total
No. of Complaints 30 19 27 21 22 20 139
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FIGURE 1: COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY MONTH No. of Complaints 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
January February March
April
May
June
TABLE 2: VALUE OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY MONTH Month
Value of Complaints
January
$ 9,133,892
February
$ 1,588,522
March
$ 14,772,597
April
$ 17,457,745
May
$ 5,086,753
June
$ 6,367,906
Total
$ 54,407,415
TABLE 3: COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY REGION Region 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 Total
No. of Complaints 2 25 97 1 3 1 1 9 139
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Number of Complaints by Industry For the period, the Electronics Industry attracted the majority of complaints, 51 or 37%. The Auto industry was next in line accounting for 19% of complaints while the Appliance industry accounted for 13%. The remaining 31% were distributed among the various industries as shown in Table 4 below.
TABLE 4: NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS BY INDUSTRY Industry
No of Complaints
Electronics
51
Auto Industry
27
Appliance
18
Clothing & Accessories
12
Furniture/Household Items
8
Construction Materials
7
Equipment
2
Shipping
2
Stationery/Other Supplies
2
Airline Industry
1
Classes
1
Financial Services
1
Heavy Duty Equipment
1
Land
1
Legal Service
1
Medical Service
1
Other
1
Service - Electronics
1
Hair/Hair Products
1
Total
139
5
FIGURE 2: NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS BY INDUSTRY Number of Complaints by Industry 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
No of Complaints
6
Value of Complaints by Industry The Auto Industry accounted for a vast 75% of the overall monetary value of complaints received while the remaining 25% were distributed among the various industries as shown in Table 5.
TABLE 5: VALUE OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY INDUSTRY Industry Auto Industry Construction Materials Electronics Appliance Financial Services Heavy Duty Equipment Furniture/Household Items Airline Industry Clothing & Accessories Land Shipping Service - Electronics Equipment Classes Legal Service Stationery/Other Supplies Medical Service Hair/Hair Products Other Total
Value of Complaints $ 40,749,606 $ 4,854,885 $ 2,062,615 $ 1,824,992 $ 1,500,000 $ 1,400,000 $ 710,500 $ 359,000 $ 355,180 $ 215,000 $ 117,257 $ 110,000 $ 78,180 $ 50,000 $ 10,000 $ 6,300 $ 2,000 $ 1,900 $ $ 54,407,415
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FIGURE 3: VALUE OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY INDUSTRY Value of Complaints by Industry Other Medical Service Legal Service Equipment Shipping Clothing & Accessories Furniture/Household Items Financial Services Electronics Auto Industry $-
$10,000,000 $20,000,000 $30,000,000 $40,000,000 $50,000,000
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Status of Complaints As shown in Table 6, 79 or 57% of the cases received for the period were solved while 53 or 38% are still ongoing. 7 or 5% were sent to the Board.
TABLE 6: STATUS OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED Status Solved Ongoing Sent to Board Total
No. of Complaints 79 53 7 139
FIGURE 4: STATUS OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED Status of Complaints/Cases
5%
38% 57%
Ongoing
Solved
Sent to Board
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Complaints solved by Industry 100% resolution rates were achieved for complaints received for the Clothing & Accessories, Equipment, Stationery/Other Supplies, Classes, Financial Services, Hair/Hair Products, Legal Service, Medical Service and Airline Industries. However, the Electronics, Auto, Land and the Heavy-Duty Equipment Industries reflected resolution rates below 50% as shown in Table 7. The Shipping, Construction materials, Furniture/Household Items and Appliance Industries saw resolutions rates of 50%, 57%, 63% and 67% respectively.
TABLE 7: NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF COMPLAINTS SOLVED BY INDUSTRY Industry Electronics Auto Industry Appliance Clothing & Accessories Furniture/Household Items Construction Materials Shipping Equipment Stationery/Other Supplies Heavy Duty Equipment Land Other Service - Electronics Airline Industry Classes Financial Services Hair/Hair Products Legal Service Medical Service Total/Average
Total Complaints 51 27 18 12
Complaints Solved 24 11 12 12
% of Complaints Solved 47% 41% 67% 100%
8 7 2 2
5 4 1 2
63% 57% 50% 100%
2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 139
2 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 79
100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 57%
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Resolution Summary of Solved Complaints As shown in Table 8, out of the 79 complaints solved, the majority, 57 or 72% were due to Supplier liability while a mere 14 or 18% were due to Consumer liability. The remaining 8 or 10% were due to the goods having no defect or the complainant requesting for the case to be closed.
TABLE 8: RESOLUTION SUMMARY OF SOLVED COMPLAINTS Resolution Summary
No. of Complaints/Cases
Supplier Liability
57
Consumer Liability
14
No Defect
5
Request for case to be closed
3
Total
79
FIGURE 5: RESOLUTION SUMMARY OF SOLVED COMPLAINTS Resolution Summary
6%
4%
18%
72%
Supplier Liability
Consumer Liability
No Defect
Request for case to be closed
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Complaints by Industry and Section of the Consumer Affairs Act contravened The Electronics industry had the highest number of contraventions with Section 22 Return of defective goods, being the most dominant section that was contravened. In fact, 86% of complaints received for the industry were due to the goods being defective. Furthermore, the Appliance and Auto Industries also saw a large amount of complaints for defective goods, accounting for 94% and 56% of complaints received for each industry respectively, as shown in Table 9.
TABLE 9: NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS BY INDUSTRY AND SECTION OF THE CAA CONTRAVENED Industry/Section of CAA Airline Industry Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 29 - Where the consumer does not get benefit of services. Appliance Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 22 - Return of defective goods Part V – Unfair Trade Practices, Section 31 – Misleading or deceptive conduct. Auto Industry No Contravention Identified Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 21 - Return of goods. Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 19 - Warranties Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 22 - Return of defective goods Part V - Unfair Trade Practices, Section 31 - Misleading or deceptive conduct. Part V - Unfair Trade Practices, Section 37 – Non-delivery of goods or services Classes Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 28 - Law away purchase sale. Clothing & Accessories Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 21 - Return of goods Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 22 - Return of defective goods Part V - Unfair Trade Practices, Section 33 - False Representation Construction Materials No Contravention Identified Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 16 - Measurement of goods (3) Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 22 - Return of defective goods Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 23 - Return of Materially different goods. Part V - Unfair Trade Practices, Section 33 - False Representation Part V – Unfair Trading Practices, Section 31 – Misleading or deceptive conduct
No. of Complaints 1 1 18 17 1 27 1 1 1 15 7 2 1 1 12 6 4 2 7 1 1 2 1 1 1 12
Electronics
51
Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 19 - Warranties Part IV - Duties of Supplier, Section 23 - Return of Materially Different Goods.
2
44
Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 22 - Return of defective goods, Section 23 - Return of materially different goods Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 25 - Supplier to provide only requested goods or services. Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 27 - Compensation for Loss Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 28 - Law away purchase sale. Part V – Unfair Trading Practices, Section 31 – Misleading or deceptive conduct.
1 1 1 1 1
Equipment Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 22 - Return of defective goods
2
Financial Services Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 29 - Where the consumer does not the benefit of services.
1
Furniture/Household Items
8
Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 21 - Return of goods. Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 28 - Law away purchase sale. Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 22 - Return of defective goods
1
5
Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 17 - Price and fees
1
Heavy Duty Equipment Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 25 - Supplier to provide only requested goods or services.
1
Land Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 29 - Where consumer does not get benefit - Subsection 2-B.
1
Legal Service Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 25 - Supplier to provide only requested goods or services.
1
Medical Service Part IV - Duties of the Suppliers, Section 15 - Information to Consumers.
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
13
Other Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 18 - Receipts to be given to customers.
1
Service - Electronics Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 27 - Compensation for Loss
1
Shipping Part IV – Duties of Supplier, Section 29 – Where consumer does not get benefit of service (2-b). Part V - Unfair Trade Practices, Section 37 – Non-delivery of goods or services
2
Stationery/Other Supplies Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 22 - Return of defective goods
2
Hair/Hair Products
1
Part IV - Duties of Suppliers, Section 21 - Return of goods
1
Total
1
1
1 1
2
139
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Average Time taken to resolve Cases by Industry As shown in Table 10, it takes an average of 28 days to resolve a case. The maximum average time taken was 88 days (Classes) while the minimum average time taken was 1 day (Medical service).
TABLE 10: AVERAGE TIME TAKEN (DAYS) TO RESOLVE CASES BY INDUSTRY Industry Classes Airline Industry Hair/Hair Products Appliance Electronics Auto Industry Equipment Legal Service Construction Materials Stationery/Other Supplies Shipping Financial Services Clothing & Accessories Furniture/Household Items Medical Service Overall Average Time
Average Time Taken to Solve Cases (Days) 88 59 44 39 38 27 23 20 20 16 14 12 11 5 1 28
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