This year has not been kind to travel retailers, but it seems customers feel travel retailers haven’t been kind either, with complaints about the industry hitting record levels in New Zealand.

The Commerce Commission said on Thursday it had received almost 10,000 complaints during 2020, over 1200 of which related solely to the travel sector.

Issues were largely related to difficulty obtaining refunds, being pushed onto credit rather than a refund, and new contracts terms being “inserted” into contracts which allow cancellation fees to be charged.

“Not all the travel complaints we received related to Covid-19, but the travel sector was strongly affected by the pandemic and that has caused a large increase in travel-related complaints,” said Commerce Commission chair Anna Rawlings.

The Commission found that one-in-five complaints received during the year related directly to Covid-19, including claims related to products said to protect customers from the virus, or the shipping delays felt by many businesses at the peak of the pandemic.

“We welcome information from consumers and businesses about conduct that they consider might breach competition or consumer laws,” Rawlings said.

“We do not investigate every complaint we receive, but every complaint helps us to understand what conduct is of greatest concern to consumers and businesses, and to identify where to focus our activity and resources to have the greatest impact.”