The types of businesses that receive the most consumer complaints in South Africa

The Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) has published its annual report for the period ending February 2022, highlighting the most complained about businesses and services over the past year.
The report shows that telecoms, satellite services, retailers and manufacturers of appliances and furniture generate just under 70% of consumer complaints received by this office. Goods, services, and agreements accounted for 94% of all complaints received.
E-commerce accounted for 25% of complaints received by the sector compared to 27% last year.
It is published in compliance with the provisions of clause 9.2.11 of the Consumer Goods and Services Industry Code of Conduct (CGSI Code), promulgated by the Minister of Trade and Industry on 29 April 2015.
The Ombud is mandated to mediate disputes between consumers and suppliers of goods and services in South Africa and ensure that industry players abide by the Consumer Goods and Services Industry Code of Conduct.
The group said it received 11,834 complaints, compared to 14,438 cases in the previous period, indicating a return to pre-Covid volumes. Of these, 2,983 fell out of the CGSO’s jurisdiction and were referred to other Ombud offices, regulators and sector-specific alternate dispute resolution entities.
As many as 13,946 cases were closed, successfully clearing the backlog from the previous period’s record influx of complaints fuelled by unresolved issues over cancellations due to the
Covid pandemic, and delivery and service malfunctions associated with the unprecedented rise in online shopping due to lockdown.
Following numerous unresolved complaints against the same online retailers and continued lack of cooperation by these entities with the CGSO office, consumer alerts were issued for four online outfits for accepting payment from consumers and then failing or refusing to deliver the goods or services as follows:
- Mr Shopper – furniture and electronics (May 2021);
- Wiegenkind Boutique – baby and maternity wear (September 2021);
- Ana Eleven Brand – women’s clothing (October 2021); and
- Liepies Online – women’s clothing, shoes, and accessories (February 2022).
The Ombud said that 60% of complaints resolved resulted in a positive outcome for consumers, with cash refunds totalling R11.5 million.
What consumers complained about
For the first time, the Ombud said it also received complaints relating to civil unrest which took place in parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in July 2021.
These included cases of goods that were left at a supplier for repairs and were subsequently stolen during the looting, or where transport services were cancelled because of the violence and goods were not delivered or not delivered on time.
Online transactions accounted for the most complaints per sector, despite a slight decrease in the number of e-commerce-related complaints relative to other sectors from 27% to 25%. This is a trend that is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
Just under half of the complaints were received from Gauteng, followed by Western Cape at 18% and KwaZulu-Natal at 13%, with the remainder spread across the other six provinces.
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