The majority of Maltese consumers do not know where to go if they have a complaint, a survey revealed.

The survey, carried out among 155 participants, showed that 52 per cent did not know which public authority was responsible for consumer protection and redress, Consumers' Association Malta president Renald Blundell said.

He was speaking during a seminar entitled 'Customer care culture within authorities: how effective is it?' organised by the Consumer Affairs' Council.

The survey, that gave a snapshot of the situation, showed that 27 per cent had filed a complaint with a public authority. A total 74 per cent of them said their complaint was resolved to their satisfaction. The majority, 76 per cent, found it easy or very easy to open the case.

During the survey, participants were asked to name the authority responsible for consumer protection and redress and 67 per cent did not know.

Only 14 per cent gave the correct reply - the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority - the MCCAA - while 19 per cent mentioned the authority's name before rebranding - the Consumer Department.

Dr Blundell noted that this raised questions over the success of the rebranding of the authority into the MCCAA - "a complicated name".

He said it was important to simplify the system to bring the various consumer departments together under a "one stop shop".

Melanie Vella, from the MCCAA, said that until May this year 602 complaints were registered with the authority, 299 of which reached an amicable agreement through mediation.

Last year, 1,804 complaints were registered with the authority. An amicable settlement was reached in 636 of the cases and 442 complaints were withdrawn.

Consumer Affairs' Council chairman Martin Seychell explained that the council's roles included offering advice to government and acting as a forum to create dialogue between authorities, the public and stakeholders.

Consumer Affairs Minister Helena Dalli said everyone was a consumer and government was committed to improve services offered and ensure that consumer rights were respected.