Grumble, grumble, grumble: a record number of complaints were filed in Finland last year

E-mail has increased people's readiness to stand up for their rights and seek redress

print this

By Lasse Kerkelä
     
      "It's so wrong! But they're not going to get away with it! Not this time! I have to do something about it!"
      The number of consumer complaints and official complaints submitted by Finns has increased significantly. Experts believe that the situation is largely attributable to the possibility to file a complaint by e-mail as well as to increased consumer awareness.
     
According to a study conducted by Helsingin Sanomat, a record number of official complaints, notifications, and consumer complaints were filed with the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the National Authority for Medicolegal Affairs, the Consumer Disputes Board, the Finnish Consumer Agency, the Council for Mass Media in Finland, and with the Council of Ethics in Advertising in 2008.
      Moreover, the number of complaints filed with the Chancellor of Justice against the actions of an authority or public official was also the highest since 1983.
      The number of complaints recorded by the regional Administrative Courts and the Supreme Administrative Court also went up compared with the previous year.
     
Probably the sharpest rise was seen at the Finnish Consumer Agency, which recorded a total of 8,100 complaints linked with disputes between consumers and businesses.
      In comparison, only a total of between 2,000 and 4,600 complaints had been submitted in previous years.
      ”No administrative reasons can be found to justify such an increase. As far as we know, one explanation for the avalanche of complaints could at least partly be the fact that today’s products and services are increasingly complicated”, notes Laura Salmi from the Finnish Consumer Agency’s Press Service.
     
”On the other hand, consumers these days are increasingly conscious of their rights and demand for example good customer service, something on which businesses do not always focus sufficiently”, Salmi adds.
      The Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman has estimated that the possibility to file a complaint by e-mail is the most important reason for the growth in the numbers being received.
      ”Today, as many as 40 to 50 per cent of complaints arriving at the Office of the Ombudsman have been filed by e-mail. They are often less formal than traditional complaints, but the style is not significant when it comes to dealing with the matter”, reports Deputy-Ombudsman Petri Jääskeläinen.
     
It is the duty of the the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman to supervise the actions of authorities. Jääskeläinen does not believe that the growing number of complaints is per se a result of increasing numbers of erroneous actions taken by officials.
      Jääskeläinen also agrees that today's citizens are much more aware of their rights than they were previously.
      Deputy-Ombudsman Jääskeläinen points out that the standard of complaints has not declined, even though their number has increased.
      On the contrary, people are hitting the spot with commendable accuracy: an increasingly large proportion of all complaints result in a reprimand or some other action.
     
The same kind of trend has also been noticed at the Council for Mass Media in Finland, reports Chairman Pekka Hyvärinen.
      ”The official complaints filed with the Council are usually well-written and relevant to the issue. Only very few of them are absolute rubbish”, Hyvärinen notes.
     
To avoid unreasonably prolonging the process, the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman wishes that it could have more discretionary power over the handling of complaints.
      ”We would like to investigate less extensively certain minor erroneous actions that can no longer be rectified, especially when it is evident that nobody’s fundamental rights have been violated”, Jääskeläinen adds.
     
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 16.3.2009


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Media watchdog reprimands public broadcaster for racist remarks of TV guest (4.2.2008)
  Chancellor of Justice concerned about shortcomings in legislative work (13.2.2009)
  Chancellor of Justice criticises drafting reference price law for prescription medicines (19.6.2008)
  Use of Sonera mobile broadband in Sweden brings customer surprise bill (21.4.2008)

Links:
  The Parliamentary Ombudsman
  The National Authority for Medicolegal Affairs (TEO)
  The Council of Ethics in Advertising
  The Consumer Disputes Board
  The Finnish Consumer Agency
  The Council for Mass Media in Finland

LASSE KERKELÄ / Helsingin Sanomat
lasse.kerkela@hs.fi