LAST UPDATE | 1 hr ago

HOME AND GARDEN store Rathwood, which entered examinership earlier this year, was the most-complained about retailer over the past six months, according to the Consumer and Competition Protection Commission (CCPC).

The Carlow-based faced action from the CCPC in March of this year for failing to reimburse applicable customers, and last year it was second only to Ryanair for consumer complaints. 

However, it has now beaten Ryanair into second place in the top five list of complained about traders to the CCPC so far in 2026. 

Overall the CCPC which received queries from 22,724 people in the first half of this year.

The top issues were faulty goods, pricing and contract performance, with faulty goods and services comprising 20% of the calls.

The sectors that were the most cause of concern were vehicles and transport, utilities and fuel, and home building improvements.

In the last 18 months, they have prosecuted six major retailers and two second-hand car dealers for misleading consumers.

So far this year, 737 calls were made about Rathwood, with around 200 calls made about Ryanair, Sky and Currys.

In update today, the CCPC also said that it had secured the return of €250,000 in unspent gift card credit to Irish consumers by JD Sports. 

Consumers also reported spending an average of €6,473 on the product or service they contacted the CCPC about.

There was also an increase of 34% of calls relating to online purchases.

The current law stipulates that the CCPC must prosecute a business in court, where it is the judge imposing the fine.

But the CCPC is welcoming a commitment by government to give the CCPC powers to issue fines themselves.

Previous fines have been around €1,000, but the CCPC wants the fines to be higher to “deter businesses from breaking the law”. 

Aoibhín de Búrca of the CCPC said: “It’s important that consumers know their rights if they buy something that turns out to be faulty. Regardless of whether you had a warranty or a guarantee, it’s up to the seller to resolve your issue, not the manufacturer.

 “91% of consumers took action following calls to the helpline and nearly 40% were resolved.

“But almost half of consumers had to contact the retailer more than five times and the issues still weren’t resolved.” 

For consumer queries and complaints, contact the CCPC helpline on 01 402 5555 or email ask@ccpc.ie.