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Complaints about second hand cars bought from independent dealers have once again topped the list of complaints received by government-funded advice service Consumer Direct.
Find out the most complained about goods and services below and vote in our poll on the right to see what Tiscali users have got angry about over the last 12 months.
Consumer Direct advisors answered almost 1.6 million calls and emails in calendar year 2008 and logged 874,171 consumer complaint cases, up almost 7 per cent from the previous year.
In total, Consumer Direct received 47,019 complaints about second hand cars bought from independent dealers, up more than 12 per cent on the previous year. Complaints about mobile phone service agreements came second, down 10 per cent and complaints about TVs came third, up 3 per cent.
Among the top ten, complaints about women's clothing registered the highest rise, up almost 23 per cent on the previous year.
More than half of all complaints concerned goods and services bought at the traders' premises, 11 per cent resulted from internet purchases, and 10 per cent were about telephone transactions.
The data collected by Consumer Direct is used to help the OFT, local authority Trading Standards Services and other regulators build intelligence, determine priorities and focus resources.
OFT research published in April 2008 found that people in the UK experienced more than 26 million consumer problems a year causing an estimated £6.6 billion detriment.
Michele Shambrook, Operations Manager for Consumer Direct said: 'Many millions of people are losing out financially from substandard goods and services but very often consumers do have routes for redress. Finding out about your rights is the first step to claiming the refunds, repairs and replacements you may be entitled to.'
Complaints to Consumer Direct in 2008 and percent increase on 2007:
1. 2nd hand cars from independent dealers - 47,019 +12.27%
2. Mobile Phones (service agreements)- 31,267 -9.84%
3. TVs - 20.313 +2.88%
4. Mobile Phones (hardware) - 20,159 +13.51%
5. Car repairs/servicing at garages- 16,176 +6.05%
6. 2nd hand cars from franchise dealers - 15,230 +14.32%
7. Upholstered furniture - 14,530 +3.61%
8. Women's clothing - 14,390 +22.66%
9. Internet Service Providers - 14,246 +5.25%
10. Leather furniture - 12,979 +12.21%
Total complaints - 874,171 +6.63%
