Consumer watchdog DECO was overwhelmed by more than 500,000 calls for help last year, a 15% increase on demands in 2012.
The majority of calls related to complaints about the telecommunications sector and financial services, as well as other essential day-to-day utilities such as water, electricity, and gas.
The association also received a considerable amount of complaints concerning online purchases.
But telecommunications were the cause of most (54,440). DECO says that a number were due to the changeover to Digital Terrestrial Television (TDT), as well as several cases of false advertising.
The association also stressed that 158,000 people have so far signed a petition to reduce the duration of loyalty contracts for telecommunication services.
“Operators insist on applying the maximum period allowed by law, preventing customers from accessing new offers,” the association told the Resident in December.
“Those who want to terminate the contract before its expiry date are faced with an onerous and disproportionate financial penalty when compared to the benefits that customers received for their loyalty.”
This may explain why the telecommunications sector had approximately 15,000 more complaints than financial services (39,147) in 2013.
