National Consumer Agency Consumer Empowerment and Complaints Market Research Findings January 2010 Research Conducted by

2 Making Complaints  Profile of Sample  KEY FINDINGS:  SECTION 1: Consumer Empowerment  SECTION 2: Making Complaints Table of Contents

3 Making Complaints Profile of Sample – I (Base: All aged – 1,000) Male Female % % % % Married Living as Married Single Wid/Div/ Sep ABC1 C2DE F50+/ F50- MAIN GROCERY SHOPPER YesNo

4 Making Complaints Profile of Sample – II – Main Grocery Shoppers (Base: All Mainly Responsible for Grocery Shopping in Home – 525) Male (47) Female (53) % % % (21) (23) (18) (19) 55+ (19) Married (44) Living as Married (10) Single (35) Wid/Div/ Sep (11) ABC1 (40) C2DE (52) ( ) = Total Sample F50+/ F50- (8)

5 Making Complaints Profile of Sample – III – Internet Use (Base: All Respondents – 1,000) USE INTERNET No Yes EVER PURCHASED ONLINE No Yes BANKING ONLINE No Yes (Base: All Internet Users - 702) () = figures from Wave (May /June 2009) (65%) (35%) (49%) (51%) (29%) (71%) Male Female % Yes Male Female % Yes Male Female % Yes

6 Making Complaints Section 1: Consumer Empowerment

7 Making Complaints Wave 4 '09 Wave 3 '09 Wave 2 '08 Wave 1 '08 Nov/Dec '07 Confidence About Rights as a Consumer (Base: All aged – 1,000) % Very confident Fairly confident Neither/Nor Not very confident Not at all confident 21% % 18% 70% 66% % 75% 12% % 14% 74% % 15% 74%

8 Making Complaints Wave 4 '09 Wave 3 '09 Wave 2 '08 Wave 1 '08 Nov/Dec '07 Knowledge About Consumer Rights (Base: All aged – 1,000) Very knowledgeable Fairly knowledgeable Neither/Nor Not very knowledgeable Not at all knowledgeable % 26% % 24% 62% 59% % 69% 15% % 20% 67% % 20% 68%

9 Making Complaints Protected Regarding Consumer Rights (Base: All aged – 1,000) Very protected Fairly protected Neither/Nor Not very protected Not at all protected Wave 4 '09 Wave 3 '09 Wave 2 '08 Wave 1 '08 Nov/Dec '07 % 16% % 18% 60% 61% % 70% 10% % 14% 65% % 16% 65%

10 Making Complaints Summary: Empowerment Levels (Base: All aged – 1,000) Confident 74% Not Confident 14% Knowledgeable 67% Not Knowledgeable 20% Protected 65% Not Protected 14% Male69%16%65%20%63%14% Female77%14%69%20%68%14% %19%57%26%60%14% %14%69%20%64%16% %11%75%11%74%8% %14%73%18%67%15% 55+73%15%63%23%63%16% ABC183%9%75%13%73%10% C2DE67%19%61%25%59%17% Responsible for main shop 79%13%71%19%67%14% Not responsible for main shop 67%17%63%21%64%13% = Significantly lower than total sample = Significantly higher than total sample

11 Making Complaints Section 2: Making Complaints

12 Making Complaints Propensity To Complain No Yes As a consumer would you be prepared to complain if a problem had occurred or you are dissatisfied with a good or service you have purchased? (Base: All aged – 1,000) (24%) (76 %) ( ) = Wave

13 Making Complaints (Base: All aged – 1,000) Supermarkets and newsagents Shops selling clothing or footwear Restaurants take-away’s or hotels Communications services including home phone % With Reason to Complain or Return Ever TV Service Providers e.g. Sky, NTL Building and related services e.g. plumbers Shops selling furniture or household appliances Banking products and services, including a current A/C Pubs Airlines Car dealers Insurance products and services Energy suppliers e.g. ESB, Bord Gais PRIMARYSECONDARY (-5%) Wave Wave Wave Wave Goods & Services Bought with Reason to Complain or Return an Item – Primary & Secondary

14 Making Complaints Goods & Services Bought with Reason to Complain or Return an Item – Tertiary ( Base: All aged – 1,000) Public transport – buses and trains Pharmacies, doctors, hospitals and other medicals Travel agents Education providers e.g. schools and colleges Personal care e.g. hairdressers, cosmetics Local authority bin services Entertainment at home e.g. DVDs, CDs, games Petrol stations Entertainment outside home e.g. cinema % With Reason to Complain or Return Ever Wave Wave Wave Wave Tertiary

15 Making Complaints Whether Complaint Made When had Reason to Do So NoYes Whether Made Complaint Benchmark % Yes Wave % Yes Wave % Yes NoYes Reason to Complain (60%)(40%) (31%) (69%) (Base: All aged – 1,000 ) (Base: All those who had cause or reason to complain in past 12 months - 356) ( ) = Wave

16 Making Complaints Reasons for Complaint (Base: All those who made a complaint in past 12 months - 267) Faulty product/service Product/service didn’t do what it said it would do Wrong size/colour/specification Product/service did not confer benefits described to me by salesperson Changed mind/wanted to return the item Unwanted gift Other Wave Wave Benchmark 2007Wave Wave

17 Making Complaints Assessment of the Complaints Process (Base: All who made a complaint – 267) % Very easy Somewhat easy Neither/Nor Somewhat difficult Very difficult 69% 23% Unhelpful staff Refusal of retailer to refund my money The retailer/provider never got back to me Difficulty contacting trader Had to put complaint in writing I was unsure of my consumer rights Offered a repair when wanted a replacement Refusal of retailer to accept returned item Other # All others 6% or less % Level of Difficulty Experienced Difficulty Experienced (Base: All who experienced difficulty – 62) Wave Wave (28) (33) (10) (17) (12)

18 Making Complaints Helping to Offer Better Customer Service (Base: All aged – 1,000) Staff trained in customer service and complaints handling A publicly displayed complaint handling procedure A named point of contact for complaints Informed of the returns policy at point of purchase by sales assistant A publicly displayed returns policy % New question, multiple answers allowed

19 Making Complaints Reasons for Not Complaining (Base: All those who had reason to make a complaint but didn’t in past 12 months - 88) I did not want the hassle of having to make a complaint I didn’t see the point of complaining I didn’t have time to make a complaint I did not want to get anyone in trouble by making a complaint I was afraid to make a complaint I was unsure of my consumer rights Difficulty contacting trader Other Had to put the complaint in writing Benchmark 2007Wave Wave Wave ** (+8%) (-27%) Wave (+5%) (+22%) ––––

20 Making Complaints Resolution Status of Problem (Base: All those who made a complaint in past 12 months - 267) % Benchmark 2007 Question not asked in Benchmark survey Wave % completely resolved Wave % completely resolved Completely resolved Partly resolved Not resolved at all Refused/ Not Stated (2%) (73%) (9%) (16%) ( ) = Wave

21 Making Complaints Satisfaction with the Way Complaint was Handled (Base: All who’s complaint was completely resolved – 198) % Completely satisfied 73% Do nothing, just accept what has happened Tell people you know of your positive experience with them Do more business with them yourself % Level of Satisfaction Very satisfied Fairly satisfied Neither/nor/ Don’t know Likely to do as a result 145 People (39) (30) (18) (5) (3) (2) Wave Wave

22 Making Complaints Likelihood of Buying Again from Business that had Reason to Complain About No Yes I don’t have a choice (Base: All those who had reason to make a complaint but didn't in the past 12 months - 88) Benchmark % Yes 27% No 16% I don’t have a choice Wave % Yes 29% No 12% I don’t have a choice Wave % Yes 29% No 7% I don’t have a choice (28%) (22%) (5%) (45%) Don’t know ( ) = Wave