Consumer Contacts Report 2021
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has published its Consumer Contacts Report 2021 which details key statistics and insights from consumers who contacted its consumer helpline last year.
The report gives some insights into the 37,094 contacts to the CCPC’s dedicated helpline which provides free, independent advice to consumers about their rights.
Consumer issues with faulty goods and services returned to the top of the list of consumer issues for 2021, with 6,039 contacts up from 5,841 in 2020. Queries about cancelling contracts, which was the most pressing issue for consumers in 2020 (6,027), dropped to 2,353 in 2021.
8,557 consumers called or emailed in relation to issues with in-store purchases, while a further 8,093 contacts concerned online shopping. The number of contacts related to online purchases continued to remain at a similar level to contacts related to in-store purchases.
The continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is visible with almost 34,000 visits to our dedicated online hub recorded. And, although travel, transport and holidays were the most popular categories for helpline queries in 2020, these types of contacts decreased by 68% in 2021.
In 66% of contacts made to the helpline, consumers were referred or signposted to another organisation as an additional source of specialist information or support for consumers seeking redress. The Small Claims procedure remained the most common referral point with over 10,000 consumers referred in 2021.
The CCPC’s Money Tools, which allow consumers to compare various financial products from a range of different providers, saw 477,397 visits to this section of the website in 2021. The most popular pages were the Mortgage Calculator Money Tool (214,410 visits) and the Mortgage Comparison Money Tool (188,199 visits).
Return to Market Research
