The impact of COVID-19 has seen a record level of travel-related complaints to the Commerce Commission in the 2019/20 year.

The Commission has released its Complaints Snapshot for 2019/20 which shows that total complaints received by the Commission in the year ending June 30 were 9892.

This is an increase of more than 10 per cent on the 2018/19 figure of 8964.

Of the nearly 10,000 complaints received in 2019/20, 20 per cent were somehow related to COVID-19, including many of the 1225 complaints in a new category of travel.

"Travel-related complaints include those about airlines, booking agents, motor vehicle rentals and accommodation,” says Commerce Commission chair Anna Rawlings.

'Not all of the travel complaints we received related to COVID-19 but the travel sector was strongly affected by the pandemic and that has caused a large increase in travel-related complaints.”

Travel complaints covered themes such as:

• Difficulty obtaining refunds
• Offers of credits rather than refunds for COVID-19-related cancellations,
• New contract terms inserted in contracts, such terms providing for cancellation fees to be charged.

Overall, 20 per cent of complaints received during 2019/20 related to COVID-19 in some way, including those related to claims that products could protect consumers from the virus, and delays in delivery of goods purchased online during lockdown.

"We note that but for COVID-19, telecommunications retail service providers would have again been the most complained-about industry. There were 761 complaints about that industry during 2019/20, an increase of more than four per cent on the 2018/19 tally of telecommunications complaints," says Rawlings.

"We welcome information from consumers and businesses about conduct that they consider might breach competition or consumer laws.”

She says they do not investigate every complaint we receive, but every complaint helps to understand what conduct is of greatest concern to consumers and businesses.