The Trade Commission says most Air NZ have complained about the company
David White / Staff
Air New Zealand has canceled thousands of flights and destroyed planes as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Market Watch said the Trade Commission had received more complaints about Air New Zealand than any other company in the year ending June 2020.
But the Trade Commission said that a complaint against a company does not necessarily mean that the company has made any mistake, and that larger companies generate more complaints due to their size and size. She added that some complaints had not been investigated because they were unfounded.
Information released under the Official Information Act (OIA) shows that Air New Zealand was the subject of 329 customer complaints to the Trade Commission in a year when the coronavirus pandemic caused havoc in the aviation sector.
Air New Zealand has canceled more than four million seats due to Covid-19 travel restrictions and reduced passenger demand, which has flooded customers with the airline’s call centers and social media channels in search of answers.
Read more:
* The Trade Commission is investigating Jetstar’s processing of domestic flight cancellations
* Coronavirus: Air New Zealand CEO questions NZ Covid-19 strategy; Is he right
In most cases, Air New Zealand was offering customers a credit, not a refund, for their canceled flights, prompting widespread criticism. Including from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
CEO Greg Foran told a select panel that its call centers were receiving up to 75,000 calls per day from customers, and he apologized to those who had a bad experience with the airline.
He said he was simply stunned by the sheer scale of the epidemic.
Telcos Spark and Vodafone ranked second in terms of complaints regarding companies with 284 and 266 complaints respectively.
In the Office of Internal Audit’s response, the Trade Commission said that the complaints data by themselves do not paint a complete picture of compliance with the law.
“The fact that a complaint has been received does not necessarily mean that the merchant has made any mistake or that any damage has been done to any consumer or competitor.”
Some complaints were not investigated by the committee because they were unfounded or outside its jurisdiction, and some complaints that were investigated would not require further procedures.
She added that the data only reflected what people chose to present to the commission or other organizations that had transferred it to the committee.
“The big dealers are likely to generate more complaints as a function of their size.”
The volume of complaints for a trader can be about one issue or multiple issues.
She said some of the things that attracted such a high level of publicity could generate a large number of complaints.
The most complaint about companies
- Air New Zealand – 329 complaints
- Spark – 284 complaints (including complaints about Skinny Mobile, Big Pipe, and Spark Sport products)
- Vodafone – 266 complaints
- Food – 157 complaints (including complaints received about New World, Pak ‘n Save and Four Square)
- Noelle Liming – 156 complaints
- Woolworths – 119 complaints (including complaints received about Countdown, SuperValue, and Fresh Choice)
- Aviation Center – 118 complaints
- The Warehouse – 103 complaints (this is limited to complaints about the warehouse)
- Mobile 2 degrees – 84 complaints
- Jetstar – 65 complaints