Unsolicited advertising calls remain the main annoyance
Swiss consumers were once again most annoyed this past year by unwanted sales calls—despite having an asterisk next to their names in the phone book—and related business practices.
This accounted for 36 percent of consumer protection consultations. This is slightly more than in the previous year, when the proportion was 33%, as the Foundation for Consumer Protection (SKS) announced on Monday with its annual list of annoyances. After advertising calls, unauthorized debt collection claims ranked second in the list of annoyances with 14%. These include "damage caused by delay", for example, which a debt collection agency claims even though a payment has crossed paths with the agency's reminder. As the SKS writes, such practices could increase in the coming year due to the statute of limitations on loss certificates. Annoyance number three is rejected guarantee claims. However, at 10 percent of consultations, their share fell slightly. Warranty claims for cell phones and cameras are often rejected due to alleged self-inflicted damage. There has been a significant increase in anger about Switzerland being a high-price island. After only 2% of consultations in 2014, 7% of complaints in the current year concerned high prices in Switzerland - for example at Europe-wide fashion chains. The SKS still considers a surcharge of 15 percent to be justified due to rents, infrastructure costs and exchange rate fluctuations. However, if a clothing store charges 60 percent more for a coat than in Spain, this goes too far, according to consumer protection.
Trouble number five can be summarized under the transport chapter. Five percent of consultations fall under this category, which is slightly more than in 2014. Consumers were annoyed by the new Swisspass instead of the Half-Fare and GA travelcards, for example. These are automatically renewed without notice. The exhaust emissions scandal at car manufacturer Volkswagen also raised eyebrows. (SDA)
