Consumer complaints in Dubai soared by 30 percent in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the year-earlier period, according to official figures.

The Commercial Compliance & Consumer Protection (CCCP) sector in the Department of Economic Development said VAT-related issues made up nearly 15 percent of the total complaints during Q1.

CCCP said it received 270 complaints a day on average in a total of 8,166 complaints during the first quarter of 2018, compared to 6,275 complaints during Q1 2017.

The Consumer Protection section in CCCP dealt with 1,007 issues during Q1 out of which consumer complaints accounted for 81 percent. The rest included 1,062 notes and 779 enquiries received from consumers.

The services sector had a 33.9 percent share in the total complaints received while 16.7 percent were from the electronics sector, while 10.7 percent related to e-commerce.

Mohammed Ali Rashid Lootah, CEO of the CCCP sector, said: "The retail sector is a key driver of local economic growth in Dubai and the UAE. Our effort is to bring greater transparency into business transactions, and create a culture of awareness and neutrality in the buying and selling processes in the retail sector, in accordance with the highest quality standards and practices.”

Lootah added that non-compliance with the purchase agreement was one of the most important complaints received during the first quarter of 2018, accounting for 30.2 percent of the total.

Cash refunds (17.1 percent), VAT (14.6 percent), product failure (8.6 percent), non-compliance with warranty terms (4.3 percent), additional charges on products/services (2.7 percent) were the other main issues raised.