The Municipal Consumer Information Office (OMIC) of the La Orotava City Council resolved 93% of citizen complaints. This data is one of the conclusions of the annual report of the entity for 2023, a year in which almost 6,000 people (5,952) sought their services. Specifically, 3,987 did so in person, 1,326 by phone, and 639 via email, as indicated by the local government.
The report shows that 443 complaints were filed, of which 416 were resolved (93%), with 27 still pending. “This demonstrates the high level of effectiveness of the office in attending to this type of demand from citizens,” said the councilor in charge of the area, Darío Afonso.
One of the goals of the OMIC is the friendly resolution of complaints, without the need for litigation or referral to other bodies. In this sense, 71% of them were resolved through mediation, and in the remaining 7%, no negotiated agreement was reached, so they are pending review by the competent authorities in each case.
Regarding the sectors with the highest number of complaints, once again telecommunications tops the list with 21.96%, followed by travel (15.12%), energy (14.45%), appliances (8.13%), automobiles (8.13%), textiles and footwear (6.55%), financial institutions (6.32%), transportation (4.74%), insurance (4.29%), food (3.61%), leisure (3.16%), furniture (1.81%), health (1.13%), services (0.45%), while renovations received the fewest (0.23%).
As stated in the OMIC report, although telecommunications remain the most complained about area, there was a slight decrease in 2023 compared to the previous year, while complaints about travel and those related to the transportation of goods have increased, due to a significant rise in online purchases. Energy levels remain the same due to numerous billing errors by electrical companies.
As for businesses, in 2023 the municipal entity dealt with 357 requests from retail establishments and issued 1,785 complaint forms.
The OMIC has made progress so far this year. According to the results for the first quarter of 2024, there are 86 open cases. While telecommunications still lead the list of complaints, there has been a notable increase in inquiries about scams through instant messaging systems such as SMS or email in these three months.
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In these cases, the OMIC clarifies that it can only refer affected individuals to the Civil Guard or the appropriate court to file the corresponding complaint, as these are companies that do not identify themselves. The entity reminds that, in addition to informing, helping and guiding consumers, it is entrusted with resolving cases through mediation, but since it is unaware of the party causing the harm, it cannot mediate.
