{"id":786141,"date":"2024-08-12T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=786141"},"modified":"2024-08-11T22:24:33","modified_gmt":"2024-08-11T20:24:33","slug":"the-biggest-consumer-complaint-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/786141\/the-biggest-consumer-complaint-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"The biggest consumer complaint in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During the 2023\/24 financial year, there were 11,282 complaints about South African businesses and services filed to the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) \u2013 majority of which stem from online purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From these complaints between 1 March 2023 and 29 February 2024, the CGSO recovered over R12.13 million for consumers in cash or cash equivalents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is outlined in the CGSO’s annual report, which is published in compliance with the provisions of the Consumer Goods and Services Industry Code of Conduct (CGSI Code).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The code was established to guide the goods and services industry as to what is considered the minimum standards of conduct expected when engaging with a consumer, as well as to assist in resolving disputes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It creates confidence in the system by allowing consumers to push back on unfair and deceptive practices without having to resort to formal legal action,” said CGSO CEO Queen Munyai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of note is that for the fourth year in a row, the majority of consumer complaints reported to this office were about online transactions, even though e-commerce represents just about five percent of the total retail sales in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The complaints primarily concern late or failed deliveries, defective products, or items that do not meet the expectations of the customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liaquat Soobrathi, CGSO’s Ombudsman, said that “this is partly because of the nature of online shopping.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In brick-and-mortar stores, customers have the opportunity to inspect goods and \u2013 except for furniture or large appliances \u2013 generally do not rely on the supplier to deliver [a]nd, when goods are defective, the return and refund process is often handled in-store,” said Soobrathi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ombudsman placed the blame largely on a lacuna of legislation in South Africa targeted towards protecting online consumers \u2013 particularly when it came to third-party sellers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The fact remains that there are clear gaps in the legislation when it comes to protecting online consumers, especially concerning online marketplaces that host high-volume third-party sellers who could be based anywhere in the world.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Most consumers are unaware that they have contracted with a third-party seller until things go wrong,” said Soobrathi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If the third-party seller subsequently ghosts the customer, very little redress is available,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at sector specific complaints for the 2023\/24 financial year, online transactions, appliance manufacturers and retailers, and satellite and communications generated 74% of consumer complaints received, up from 63% in 2022\/23.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Complaints by Sector. Source: CGSO<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

According to the 2023\/24 annual report, like in the previous three years, the most common consumer complaints for both products and services were related to delivery issues, defective goods, and the cancellation of agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically, most South African consumer complaints related to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n