E-commerce complaints in H1 rise 54% year on year: Case
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Zhao Yifan
THE Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) received 1,703 complaints involving online purchases for the first half ended Jun 30, 54 per cent up from 1,107 such cases in the corresponding year-ago period.
The spike in e-commerce complaints stood in contrast to the decrease in overall complaints observed by Case across the broader market. The total number of complaints for H1 2023 decreased 8.1 per cent, to 7,316 from 7,960 in the same period in 2022.
Case attributed the rising number of e-commerce complaints to the increasing popularity of online shopping.
“The increase in e-commerce complaints, although expected in view of the increasing popularity of online shopping, is cause for concern,” said Case president Melvin Yong in a press statement on Monday (Aug 7).
Out of the 1,703 complaints involving e-commerce, 7 per cent related to delivery issues and another 12 per cent pertained to goods that were defective or did not conform to contract.
To remedy the problem, Case is launching a new CaseTrust accreditation scheme for e-commerce businesses in the coming months.
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The scheme will cover the full range of e-commerce practices from pre-sales to post-sales and address the common problems consumers encounter when they shop online, in hopes of bringing about a safer online shopping environment.
Another issue highlighted by Case was the 4.3 per cent increase in prepayment losses to S$302,205, from S$289,842 in the corresponding period of 2022.
Most of the prepayment losses were results of sudden business closures. The greatest losses were recorded in the beauty, renovation contractor, education and gym industries. As a result, Case is calling on the government to mandate targeted prepayment protection in these industries to better safeguard consumers’ interests.
Specifically, Yong urged consumers of beauty and renovation-contractor services to patronise CaseTrust-accredited companies as they are required to protect consumers’ prepayments and deposits.
The airlines sector also experienced a 39 per cent increase in the number of complaints to 251 for H1 2023, from 181 in H1 2022.
The increase was in line with global sentiments as demand for air travel picked up post Covid-19, said Case.
Common complaints included issues with booking systems, double bookings and damaged or missing baggage. Yong assured that Case is “working closely with the industry stakeholders to ensure that disputes are addressed fairly and expediently”.
On the other hand, the number of complaints in the renovation-contractors industry fell by 22 per cent year on year to 631 from 807.
While this resulted from the easing of supply chain disruptions amid a global economic recovery, it was also attributed to Case’s targeted engagement with the sector in the past year.
“Case has been engaging the renovation-contractor industry to better understand the challenges they face and to encourage companies to adopt the CaseTrust Standard Renovation Contract which specifies clear work and payment schedules,” said Yong.
Going forward, Yong said the association will continue to engage the government and industry stakeholders with the aim of strengthening consumer safeguards, promoting greater CaseTrust accreditation, as well as “putting a stop to undesirable business practices”.
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