Consumer rights organisation Test Achats received 28,027 complaints in 2023, approximately 2,000 fewer than the previous year. Most complaints targeted energy supplier Engie and telecom company Proximus.
Consumers faced numerous problems in 2023, many of which were still the result of the 2022 energy crisis. There were the unclear or expensive energy contracts, supermarket price hikes, phishing, as well as strikes and airline bankruptcies, Test Achats noted in a press release.
The organisation received 28,027 complaints in 2023 and 30,498 in 2022, marking an 8.1% drop within a year. The majority of complaints were amicably resolved following discussions with the implicated businesses, supported by the organisation's lawyers. Legal intervention was, however, required in about 13% of cases.
"We try to limit legal procedures, because our mission is mainly to give consumers all the information so they can defend themselves against a company in case of a problem. But sometimes it is necessary to take legal action, as we did in the case of Dieselgate," explained Test Achats spokesperson Laura Clays.
Top 15 companies with the most complaints in 2023. Credit: Belga / Test Achats
The energy sector faced most complaints in 2023, with five of the top 15 most accused businesses belonging to this sector. Energy company Engie received the highest number at Test Achats, with a total of 1,147. Most of these complaints related to problems with advances and contracts, cancelling a contract and changing suppliers.
Telecommunication companies followed closely behind, with Proximus (1,108 complaints) at the forefront, ahead of Telenet (913) and Orange (391) for issues related to bills, activating services or terminating a contract. SFAM-Celside Insurance, a mobile and multimedia device insurance firm, also received a significant number of complaints (829).
Ryanair is also high in the rankings, due to staff strikes and all the uncertainties involved. Zalando ranks ninth with 342 complaints because of problems with deliveries and returns. Despite all Test Achat's attempts, the company still refuses to engage any consumer organisation.
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"There are also more temporary problems, such as the delivery problems at Elektro Lommelen and FNAC's fake promotions. In these cases, we contact the company in question directly and report them to the Economic Inspectorate so that action can be taken," Clays concluded.
In addition to complaints, Test Achats reported that it had handled 407,902 enquiries (an average of 1,855 questions per working day) from consumers through various communication channels. Consumers most often enquired about energy and water suppliers, consumer goods, as well as postal services, leisure, health, property and rental issues, insurance, taxes and legal matters.
