SA consumer complaints system misses the mark
South Australians are “being left in the dark” about which businesses attract consumer complaints, sparking calls for an early warning system to be implemented.
New research found that South Australians are missing out on an early warning system to identify businesses that are attracting consumer complaints, with the state government’s public database scoring low marks in a new report.
The Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) ‘Am I The Only One?’ report found consumer regulators nationally are not publishing regular complaints data in an accessible way.
Locally, the CPRC said Consumer and Business Services (CBS) South Australia should improve the accessibility of its system so consumers can understand which businesses attract complaints from customers.
CBS received earned only five points in the CPRC report, which noted that published data was “not usable” and was “largely inaccessible”.
By comparison, the national body – the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission – received 10 points but still attracted criticism from the CPRC for its ‘ad hoc’ approach to publishing data.
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“CBS publishes limited information about consumer complaints in its annual report,” the report said.
“As a next step, CBS could create greater value from the data it holds by publishing information about trends in the complaints it receives, such as the sectors that receive the most complaints and issues raised.
“CBS should work towards publishing richer data in time, releasing information about the traders that receive the most complaints.”
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CPRC CEO Erin Turner said South Australians were missing out.
“South Australians are being left in the dark about which businesses are driving up complaints and causing consumer harm,” Turner said.
“In New South Wales, there is a clear register where everyone can see any business that is behind ten or more complaints to the fair trading regulator each month. They also show the reasons behind complaints to help everyone understand what challenges they may face from certain businesses.
“Consumer and Business Services South Australia has an opportunity to follow New South Wales’ lead and implement an effective early warning system for dodgy businesses.”
CPRC recommended that all consumer regulators should publish complaints monthly, publish high-quality data in accessible and consistent formats, and make data easy to use for lawmakers, researchers and industry to act on emerging issues.
Consumer and Business Affairs Minister Andrea Michaels said she would consider improvements to how CBS publishes data.
“Consumer and Business Services does an extremely important job protecting South Australians’ consumer rights including issuing regular warnings via its website and online newsletter and providing advice directly to consumers,” Michaels said.
“I have had a look at the report and will consider whether improvements can be made in terms of CBS publishing more detailed complaints data more frequently.”
