Consumer Council Reports Surge in Customer Service Complaints; Missing Laptop and AI Chatbot Issues Highlight Gaps
SingTao · 3 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
The Consumer Council published its monthly report on Thursday (October 15), revealing a sustained upward trend in customer service-related complaints. Between January and September 2026, the Council received 3,078 complaints about merchant customer service, already exceeding the 2,715 cases recorded for the entire year of 2025 . The data underscores a widening gap between consumer expectations and the customer service standards provided by businesses, particularly as more companies shift toward AI-powered support systems and reduce human customer service personnel .
The Council noted that common grievances include merchants being "uncontactable," "rude," and providing "slow follow-up" . In response to the growing volume of complaints, the Council launched its Online Complaint Handling Platform in November 2025 on a trial basis, incorporating a "3+3+1" advantage model. As of August 31, 2026, the platform had processed 30,967 complaints, with online submissions reducing average mediation time by approximately 9.3 percent and cases resolved through the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) service seeing a 30.4 percent reduction in processing time .
Key Points
- Complaint numbers have risen from 2,086 in 2023 to 2,173 in 2024, 2,715 in 2025, and 3,078 in the first nine months of 2026, totalling 10,052 cases since 2023
- A consumer purchased a laptop from Store A for approximately HK$5,500 with complimentary accessories, but received only the accessories when the package arrived; Store A then issued a new order requiring re-payment with no specified pickup date
- Store A had no customer service hotline, and the consumer received no response to their online inquiry or email for three days before escalating to the Consumer Council
- An AI chatbot for Platform B told a consumer that event tickets could be rescheduled if a No. 8 typhoon signal was hoisted, but when the consumer attempted to reschedule after weather-related disruption, the AI system failed to process the request
- The Consumer Council advised that consumers who feel AI customer service is insufficient should request transfer to a human agent, while merchants should proactively follow up and maintain good communication with customers