Home and garden firm Rathwood was most complained about in first half of 2026

Ryanair, Sky, Currys, and Harvey Norman were also in top five, says CCPC

Home and garden firm Rathwood was the most complained company in Ireland in the first half of 2026, according to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). Rathwood exited an examinership process earlier this month.

Home and garden firm Rathwood was the most complained company in Ireland in the first half of 2026, according to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).

Some 2,724 consumers contacted the CCPC helpline in the first half of 2026, according to the report published on Monday. The top five traders complained to the helpline were Rathwood (737 contacts), Ryanair (238 contacts), Sky (228 contacts), Currys (223 contacts), and Harvey Norman (196 contacts).

In April, an examiner was appointed at Rathood to oversee restructuring of the business. Rathwood exited examinership earlier this month following a €750,000 investment.

Overall, more than 1m consumers visited the CCPC website so far in 2026. The CCPC reported an of 34% in contacts related to an online purchases. It had 4,577 contacts relating to faulty goods and services in the first half of the year.

The report said the top issues raised by consumers were faulty goods, pricing, and contract performance, The top sectors were vehicles and transport, utilities and fuel, and homebuilding and improvements

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

“The CCPC advises consumers on their rights when they contact the helpline, and from the numbers contacting us we can see there is ongoing demand out there, especially on faulty goods," said Aoibhín de Búrca, CCPC director of communications and consumer information.

“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.

“Our new research shows that when consumers are armed with the information we give them, they can get the replacements, repairs and refunds due to them. 91% of consumers took action following calls to the helpline and nearly 40% were resolved. But the research also shows that almost half of consumers had to contact the retailer more than five times and the issues still weren’t resolved. Now that we have this research, it will inform our work.” 

Ms de Búrca said that in July, the CCPC secured the return of €250,000 in unspent gift card credit to Irish consumers by JD Sports, with the help of intelligence received by the helpline.

Almost 6,000 consumers were referred to the Small Claims Court by the CCPC in the first six months of the year alone. The small claims procedure is only intended for claims of up to €2,000. The CCPC said that given that consumers reported spending an average of €6,473 on the product or service they contacted the CCPC about, many cannot use this option.

“Many consumers, especially those with issues with cars or home improvements, are automatically excluded from the option of the Small Claims Court due to the low claim threshold," said Ms de Búrca. "The CCPC welcomes the commitment from the Government in its Programme for Government and its 2025 Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity to ‘substantially increase’ the limit of the small claims procedure. We strongly recommend it be increased to €8,000."