BREAKDOWN OF COMPLAINTS
Customers lodged 14,236 complaints in 2024, a 2 per cent increase from the 13,991 complaints CASE received in 2023.
Motorcars, electrical and electronics, beauty, renovation contractors and entertainment accounted for the top five highest complaints.
The entertainment industry saw the largest spike in complaints from 209 cases in 2023 to 798 in 2024. The 281 per cent jump in complaints were mostly due to the “botched” Singapore Sky Lantern Festival in February last year and complaints arising from ticket scalping.
F&B as well as telecommunications were two other sectors that had a big rise in complaints.
F&B complaints increased by 24 per cent from 571 cases in 2023 to 708 in 2024, mainly due to the cancellation of Sakura Buffet’s licence over food safety concerns, which left customers’ orders unfulfilled.
Complaints pertaining to the telecommunications industry rose by 34 per cent from 529 cases in 2023 to 710 in 2024, as consumers typically complained of poor connectivity, delayed installation of broadband services and high bill charges.
Of the cases that CASE was authorised by consumers to negotiate with businesses in 2024, about 80 per cent were resolved. The body added that this is a 4 per cent improvement from 2023 and is its highest resolution rate in the past five years.
In a first, two nail salons under the Nail Palace chain and its managing director Kaiden Cheng were also fined and jailed respectively last year after being found guilty of contempt of court.
They had failed to comply with court orders in relation to unfair trade practices over the sale of anti-fungal treatment packages. CASE had referred Nail Palace to the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) for investigation, following multiple complaints about “pressure sales tactics and misleading sales”.
MOTORCARS, E-COMMERCE INDUSTRIES
The motorcar industry saw the most complaints in 2024 with 1,306 cases – the same as in 2023. Of the complaints, around 35 per cent were related to car sharing and leasing, an increase from 33 per cent in 2023.
On the sector, Mr Yong said: “CASE has formed a working committee to address the issues relating to car sharing and we are making good progress in our discussions with the relevant stakeholders.
“In the meantime, consumers are advised to read carefully the terms and conditions when engaging in car-sharing services. Consumers can also check online for reviews by other users.”
For e-commerce, CASE received 4,641 complaints in 2024, a 25 per cent rise from 3,711 cases in 2023. This is the highest number of e-commerce complaints tracking began in 2020.
Of those complaints, about 13 per cent were from the entertainment sector and 9 per cent were from F&B.
Mr Yong noted that not only did e-commerce complaints increase but they reached an all-time high in 2024.
However, he added that this was a reflection of the growing shift towards e-commerce as a preferred mode of shopping.
“CASE has worked with the two biggest e-commerce platforms in Singapore, Shopee and Lazada, to put in place an effective dispute resolution framework,” said Mr Yong.
Complaints involving these platforms have a “high resolution rate” of about 90 per cent, he added.
“CASE will continue working with other platforms to provide consumers with better protection when shopping online.”
