Acting Fair Trading Minister, Graham West, has today announced the top ten complaints made by consumers in 2009.

Mr West said household whitegoods topped the list for the tenth year running with 2,814 complaints, followed closely by residential building work with 2,533 complaints.

“Fair Trading received a total of 39,970 complaints in 2009, compared to 36,814 in 2008; an increase of 8.5 per cent,” Mr West said.

“The good news is that the majority of these complaints are resolved quickly, after Fair Trading intervention.

“Over 4,000 complaints were referred to the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT) and more than 3,000 were referred to Fair Trading investigators for further examination.

“A small number of complaints (599) were withdrawn and in 269 cases, the trader was in liquidation.”

Mr West said the top ten consumer complaints of 2009 were:

• household electrical and whitegoods
• residential building work, including major renovations
• used cars and motorcycles 
• goods, including furniture, furnishings and manchester
• automotive repairs and servicing
• computer technology and hardware
• building trades, including household repairs
• goods, including clothing, footwear and accessories 
• travel and tourism
• residential tenancy 

Mr West said the key to consumer success was homework.

“It is important that consumers know what they are entitled to when it comes to refunds, returns and warranties,” he said.

“Every consumer in New South Wales should feel confident they are getting what they pay for.”

Mr West encouraged consumers to use the following top ten tips to prevent any problems in the marketplace:

• know your rights and responsibilities
• keep your receipts as proof of purchase
• keep any warranty information
• first always try and negotiate with the seller, in person or in writing
• contact the seller as soon as possible
• be polite
• be reasonable
• if you encounter difficulties with a salesperson, ask to speak to someone more senior such as the store manager
• remind them of your statutory rights (you’d be surprised how many salespeople and traders are unaware of statutory warranties) and
• if you encounter any difficulties in negotiating with the seller contact Fair Trading on 13 32 20 for help and advice.

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