Electronic household items and appliances received the most complaints from consumers in 2013, according to the hot complaints list released by the Inner Mongolia Association of Consumers, Xinhua reported on March 6.

New shopping outlets such as online shopping and TV shopping received complaints from consumers for their lack of effective control measures, and emerged as one of the most complained about sectors.

The hottest issues to receive complaints in 2013 included household electrical and electronic goods, food, housing and construction materials, as well as life and social services.

In 2013, the association handled 772 complaints related to electric appliances, accounting for 21.1 percent of the total. Top consumer complaints included untimely delivery or installment, poor quality and after-sales services, being cheated in online shopping and unreasonable maintenance charges.

A total of 232 complaints about foods were received in 2013, which were mainly about fake brands, substandard quality and fake commercials. Consumers also complained that when they receive the goods, they are not as good as their samples.

As vehicles assume a more important role in family life, complaints surrounding cars are growing as well. The number of complaints about housing and construction materials also saw an increase, according to Yuan Weiwei, vice secretary-general of the Inner Mongolia Association of Consumers.

“Online shopping and TV shopping are more and more popular for being convenient and efficient, but they were often complained about for the absence of effective supervision,” Yuan said. “The logistics and express service industries developed vigorously along with the development of new shopping styles, however, unprofessional enterprise management and unsatisfactory service quality have brought them a lot of complaints.”

In the past year, the Inner Mongolia Association of Consumers received 3,654 complaints from the region’s consumers, and 97 percent of them were addressed.