Ticketmaster, Eir and Ryanair the most complained-about companies in 2024
Ticketmaster, which came under fire for its pricing of gigs, such as the Oasis reunion tour, was the company most cited when consumers contacted the watchdog last year, at 614 contacts. Picture: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
Ticketmaster, Eir and Ryanair were the top three companies that drove disgruntled customers to the consumer watchdog last year, new figures have shown.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has published its breakdown of the consumers who reached out to them and why in 2024, with an increase of 5,000 contacts made to its helpline compared to the previous year.
In all, just under 45,000 consumers contacted the CCPC last year with almost 10,000 of the queries relating to faulty goods and services.
It said consumers had spent an average of €6,000 on each product and service that they had an issue with, with over 5,000 people lodging grievances about problems with cars.
Consumers who contacted the helpline about car problems had spent an average of €18,705 on the vehicles.
The increase in helpline contacts follows the recent campaign launched by the CCPC urging the Government to create a portal for the public to access the history of second-hand cars to help prevent them from being duped into buying dangerous, clocked, or poorly repaired vehicles.
In the case of home improvements, the average spend before reaching out to the consumer watchdog was just under €10,600. The average money spent on holidays and travel was €1,445 while the average spent on utilities and fuel was €1,922.
Eir was next with 604 contacts from consumers, followed by Ryanair at 554. Sky (498), Harvey Norman (446), Vodafone (429), Currys (401), Aer Lingus (340), Virgin Media (319) and Lidl (278) completed the top 10.
Ticketmaster, which came under fire for its pricing of gigs, such as the Oasis reunion tour, was the company most cited when consumers contacted the watchdog last year, at 614 contacts.
Eir was next with 604 contacts from consumers, followed by Ryanair at 554. Sky (498), Harvey Norman (446), Vodafone (429), Currys (401), Aer Lingus (340), Virgin Media (319) and Lidl (278) completed the top 10.
The CCPC said that the top 10 accounted for around 15% of the contacts it received last year where the consumer supplied the name of the trader.
When referred onwards by the CCPC, the Small Claims Court was where almost 10,000 consumers were told to take their claim. The CCPC also referred just over 2,100 customers to the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (up 53% on last year) and 1,500 to communications regulator Comreg (up 20%).
CCPC spokesperson Gráinne Griffin said: “We’re very glad to see that a growing number of consumers are checking their rights with the CCPC when they run into difficulties.
"Our helpline reports shine a light on the challenges faced day to day by consumers; these aren’t trivial, and neither are the costs involved. The average cost quoted by a consumer calling our helpline was just over six thousand euros.
"Unfortunately for those consumers, they will not be able to use the small claims process to resolve their issue, because the small claims court only deals with cases up to €2,000. This limit urgently needs to be addressed.”
