Home purchase disputes top 2006 consumer complaint list

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on January 19, 2006. It reports that the Consumers' Foundation in Taiwan received a total of 8,635 consumer complaints in 2006, with home purchase disputes accounting for the largest number.

Of the complaints handled by the Consumers' Foundation in 2006, 1,142 involved the purchase of homes; 876 involved the purchase of telecommunications, communication and Internet-related products; 848 concerned banking services; 700 were related to the purchase of life insurance; and 497 concerned car purchases.

Rounding out the top 10 list were complaints related to beauty services, leisure services, book and stationery purchases, food purchases, and cram schools.

According to the foundation, most home purchase disputes arose because consumers were unsatisfied with the construction quality or because their requests for a refund of deposits were rejected.

As to the disputes concerning the purchase of telecommunications, communication and Internet-related products, most of the consumer complaints involved unreasonable charges, product defects or poor service.

Finally, most of the complaints related to banking services involved unreasonable charges, unreasonable interest calculation or arbitrary interest rate hikes.