The number of complaints to the Office of Consumer Protection (OPC) has increased over the past 12 months. First of all, they concern the sectors of used cars and home appliances. Surprise: this year, the construction and renovation sector has overtaken the furniture sector.
In terms of consumption, there are rituals that don’t detract: for several years, the OPC publishes its annual review of consumer complaints just before the holidays.
In the past 12 months, dissatisfied consumers filed 21,814 complaints, up 349 complaints from 2021 (up 1.6%). Thus, the downward trend that we have known since 2019 has come to an end.
Evolution of complaints in OPC
YearNumber of complaints ChangeData for the period 201925 227 From January 1 to November 24, 2019202021 533- 3,694From November 25, 2019 to November 24, 2020202121 465- 68From December 1, 2020 to November 30, 2021202221 From November 23 to 20210 +20 December 20, 2021
OPC 2022.
The OPC report does not take into account all complaints: it only includes those that consumers formally refer to it after they become obsessed with a product, good quality, or disappointing service.
Construction and renovation replace furniture
The used car and home appliances sectors topped the rankings again this year, mostly on issues related to product quality or compliance with legal guarantees. “Even if used cars remain the most problematic sector this year, none of the sellers in this sector receive enough complaints to make the list,” notes OPC.
The renovation and construction industry was also full of discontent. In 2021-2022, it even displaced the furniture sector, climbing to third position in the top 10. OPC attributes the rise in these complaints to labor shortages and rising material prices. in or near their homes during the pandemic, not going out or traveling.
>> Read also: How to write a legal notice
A few highlights
Amazon was one of the top ten companies that customers complained about the most. This is not surprising given the large volume of business this online sales giant does in Canada and around the world.
The tourism industry has benefited from a strong recovery from the pandemic, but has continued to file a large number of complaints. New rules came into effect this fall regarding reimbursement for flights canceled or long delays due to circumstances beyond the airline’s control, whether for flights within Canada or flights arriving or departing from the country. The effect of these new rules is not yet reflected in the OPC data.
The names of two small newcomers appeared in the list of companies that caused the most mutual accusations:
- Ontario-based Farestore has been the target of a flurry of complaints after mistakenly claiming unbeatable fares for flights to Europe, according to OPC.
- Star Laser, a laser hair removal company, had hundreds of customers.
List of consumer complaints
All of the following companies were already in the 2020-2021 OPC rankings except Farestore and Star Laser.
There are two “losers” namely Walmart and Best Buy at No. 5, and Videotron and Ameublement Tanguay at No. 8, which explains the presence of more than 10 companies in this top 10 list.
Since the number of complaints is often proportional to the number of customers, this list is mostly large banners.
1. Bro and Martino (365 complaints)
- The quality of a product or service
- Delivery, product or service nonconformity, or customer experience
2. Farestore (296 complaints)
- Delivery, product or service nonconformity, or customer experience
- Misleading or unfair practices
3. Excess RD (286 complaints)
- Delivery, product or service nonconformity, or customer experience
- The quality of a product or service
- Misleading or unfair practices
4. Brick (234 complaints)
- Delivery, product or service nonconformity, or customer experience
- The quality of a product or service
- Misleading or unfair practices
5. Walmart Canada (227 complaints)
- Delivery, product or service nonconformity, or customer experience
- Misleading or unfair practices
- The quality of a product or service
6. Best buy (227 complaints)
- The quality of a product or service
- Delivery, product or service nonconformity, or customer experience
- Misleading or unfair practices
7. Whirlpool Canada (203 complaints)
- The quality of a product or service
- Delivery, product or service nonconformity, or customer experience
8. Star Laser (192 complaints)
- Delivery, product or service nonconformity, or customer experience
- Contract (content, payment, cancellation, modification or interpretation)
9. Tanguay Furniture (176 complaints)
- The quality of a product or service
- Delivery, product or service nonconformity, or customer experience
10. Videotron (176 complaints)
- Delivery, product or service nonconformity, or customer experience
- Contract (content, payment, cancellation, modification or interpretation)
- Misleading or unfair practices
11. Amazon.com and amazon.ca (147 complaints)
- Delivery, product or service nonconformity, or customer experience
- Contract (content, payment, cancellation, modification or interpretation)
12. Bell Mobility (142 complaints)
- Delivery, product or service nonconformity, or customer experience
- Contract (content, payment, cancellation, modification or interpretation)
- Misleading or unfair practices
Get the information to make the right choice
Consumers, OPC notes, have several ways to help them choose a product or service, including reading comments left by former customers on the company’s website. Obviously, you need to make an adjustment, because there will always be dissatisfied customers, and evaluate the general trend of everything you read. In the case of Star Laser, for example, letters from clients, especially clients in this case, go in the same direction: agenda disorganization, delays, and unprofessional technicians. However, remember to look at the date of the reviews, as a bad review left five years ago may not be relevant today if the situation has been corrected.
At the same time, according to OPC, “the presence of complaints does not mean that the merchant is incompetent or dishonest. It is also necessary to take into account the size of the business, the volume of operations carried out by it and the date of its registration in the Register of Enterprises.
Complaints by business sector
OPC in a few figures