The Consumer Council on Monday said the number of complaints it had received had dropped by six percent in 2025, though those related to online and cross-border shopping as well as healthcare and events had seen increases.

In releasing its annual report, the consumer watchdog said the number of complaints came in at 38,187, compared to the over 40,000 seen in 2024.

It marked the first time in four years that the total number of cases had seen an annual decline.

Complaints regarding online shopping services surged 12 percent to 18,913, accounting for almost half of the total cases and involved transactions worth some HK$93 million, up by 45 percent.

The majority of these complaints involved food and entertainment services, putting them in the top spot of the "10 most complained" categories.

Complaints against food-delivery platforms were the most in food and entertainment services, up 76 percent to 2,022 cases.

The number of complaints regarding medical services more than tripled to 1,845, and this surge was mainly attributable to the controversial and abrupt closure in May of Alliance Medical Group, which sparked 1,299 complaints.

The council also called for caution over mega events hosted in the SAR amid a more than 200 percent surge in complaints against "public performance" and "other" events, with the Hot Air Balloon Festival featuring right up there in the number of grouses.

These complaints, the council said, were partially caused by "insufficient experience" on the part of certain event organisers and ticketing platforms, with differences between touted and actual event arrangements, obstructed sightlines and ticket errors fuelling consumer dissatisfaction.

The council also said it was setting up new service stations while signing co-operation agreements with its mainland peers after recording an increase in complaints about cross-border shopping.

It noted that there had been a "considerable" number of complaints by mainland shoppers against mainland online shopping platforms registered in Hong Kong, which, it said, saw high resolution rates, and that the number of complaints by Hongkongers against mainland traders also spiked.

The council said it launched a one-stop platform "Smart Seniors" in January in the wake of a rise in telecom-related cases reported by the elderly.


Edited by Tony Sabine