Consumer complaints in Singapore reached record levels last year with a total of 29,254 complaints received by the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), an increase of 13.7 percent from 2012.
The only property-related industry to feature in the top ten in both years was the timeshare industry. In 2012 it was ranked as the fourth most complained subject with 1,870 complaints. Last year it had dropped to seventh place with 1,512 complains – a decline of 19.1 percent.
CASE noted: “There was an improvement in the number of complaints for the timeshare industry. This could be because consumers are more aware of timeshare scams in recent years, and current timeshare owners know that they should be on guard against firms who claim to be able to dispose of their timeshare memberships.”
CASE said it has successfully helped to resolve 77.5 percent of the cases handled last year, an increase of 2 percent from the 75.5 percent resolution rate in 2012, as well as helped consumers to recover a total of more than S$2.35 million.
The rise in overall complaints, said CASE, does not necessarily mean that business standards have fallen. A number of factors could have contributed to the figures, including greater willingness and empowerment by consumers to complain, higher expectations of quality services and lower tolerance for poor business practices within the industry.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
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