Used car dealers top gripes list

Former Eastender's character Frank Butcher

Second-hand car dealers have not always had the best image

We may be in an era of recession, global bank bailouts and big-name firms going into administration.

But complaints about independent second-hand car dealers have once again topped the list of gripes among UK consumers.

Service agreements for mobile phones were the second-biggest cause of complaint, the government-funded advice service Consumer Direct said, followed by whinges over problems with televisions.

The group's advisers answered almost 1.6 million calls and emails in 2008, logging 874,171 consumer complaint cases - up almost 7% from the previous year.

Of these, the independent used car market drew 47,019 complaints, up by 12.3% from 2007.

Among the other big grumbles were women's clothing (complaints up 23%) and leather furniture (up 12%).

'Find your rights'

Consumer Direct told the BBC that the number of retailers and travel firms going into administration in recent months had resulted in some complaints about those businesses.

"In the current economic climate, people are more likely to want value for money and are more likely to want to complain if they feel they have received sub-standard goods or services," a spokesman said.

TOP COMPLAINTS OF 2008 (% CHANGE ON 2007)

1. Second hand cars bought from independent dealers (+12.3%)

2. Mobile phone service agreements (-9.8%)

3. Televisions (+2.9%)

4. Mobile phones handsets (+13.5%)

5. Car repairs form independent garages (+6%)

6. Second-hand cars from franchises (+14.3%)

7. Upholstered furniture (3.6%)

8. Women's clothes (+22.7%)

9. Internet Service Providers (+5.3%)

10. Leather furniture (+12.2%)

Ranking by volume of complaints Source: Consumer Direct

More than half of the complaints were about goods and services bought in a shop or other premises, 11% followed online purchases and about one in 10 were about telephone transactions, Consumer Direct said.

The data is used to help the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), local authority trading standards services and other regulators identify where most dissatisfaction is occurring.

OFT research published last year suggested that there were more than 26 million consumer problems annually, causing an estimated �6.6bn of difficulties.

"Many millions of people are losing out financially from sub-standard goods and services, but very often consumers do have routes for redress," said Consumer Direct operations manager Michele Shambrook said.

"Finding out about your rights is the first step to claiming the refunds, repairs and replacements you may be entitled to."