In the Consumer Goods and Services Ombudsman's latest annual report, e-commerce was yet again the biggest source of consumer complaints.

Listen to this article 6 min Listen to this article 6 min Of the 11,282 complaints that the Consumer Goods and Services Ombudsman (CGSO) released over the past year, online transactions and retailers loom large. It's a pattern that the office has observed over the past four years and a cause for concern.

Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, e-commerce has been the biggest source of consumer complaints. The ombud's latest annual report, for the financial year ending 29 February 2024, shows the proportion of complaints related to online shopping decreased from 34% in 2023 to 26%.

advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove adsThis decline could be attributed to improved e-commerce services, a resurgence in brick-and-mortar shopping, or consumers seeking alternative dispute resolution channels, such as chargebacks.

Overall, goods, services and agreements comprised 89% of the 11,282 complaints received, a decrease from 94% in the prior year. Within this category, online transactions, appliance manufacturers and retailers, and satellite and communications companies were responsible for 74% of complaints, up from 63% in the previous financial year.

The office responded to 33,467 queries, which is an average of 127 per day, and captured 11,282 complaints (an increase from the...