The Galician Institute of Consumer Affairs and Competition (IGCC) is an autonomous body attached to the First Vice-presidency and Regional Ministry of Economy, Industry and Innovation, with the basic objectives of defending, protecting, promoting and informing consumers and end users of their rights, as well as preserving, guaranteeing and promoting the existence of effective competition and the proper functioning of the purchasing sector.

To meet these objectives, the IGCC performs a series of functions, including informing, advising and accompanying consumers and users in the defence of their rights on an individual basis. Thus, citizens can go in person to the IGCC offices located in the seven cities in Galicia or make use of this service through the free telephone number 900 23 11 11 23 or the website https://consumo.xunta.gal/gl.

In the first half of 2022, the IGCC dealt with 11% more queries than in the same period of the previous year, a total of 22,756 queries. The topics of most interest to users were related to energy (33%), followed by telecommunications (21%) and the automotive sector (6.25%).

The IGCC is also in charge of handling consumer complaints, inspecting and, if necessary, sanctioning. If a consumer feels that their rights have been violated, they must first complain to the company that supplied the service or product they consumed. After the response period for the company has elapsed (as a general rule, one month), the consumer may file a complaint with the IGCC, either online or in person.

In the first half of 2022, 11,544 complaints were filed in Galicia, 22% more than in the same period of 2021. As in the case of queries, the majority of complaints were related to energy (46.39%), followed by telecommunications (24.60%) and the automotive sector (4.84%).

If the IGCC detects non-compliance, these complaints may result in disciplinary proceedings. In the first half of 2022, 807 sanctioning proceedings were opened totalling €8.9 million. The number of proceedings opened is 59% more than in the same period of 2021, when 506 proceedings were opened for €2.2 million.

The sectors with the highest number of consumer sanctioning proceedings in the first half of 2022 were electricity and energy, with 321 proceedings opened for more than 2.4 million euros; miscellaneous manufacturing, with 107; and health and aesthetics, with 70 proceedings opened.

Galician School of Consumer Affairs

The IGCC also carries an important role in educating society through its Galician School of Consumer Affairs. To this end, it implements different programmes, which this year have already trained more than 15,000 people, such as the Training Plan for Vulnerable Groups, competitions and educational projects for children, as well as courses and training activities on the electricity bill or financial services, which are tailored to the needs of different groups.

The IGCC is also responsible for market control, a function in which the Galician Consumer Laboratory plays a fundamental role, the official centre in which analyses and tests are carried out on the industrial products present in the market in order to assess their conformity with the technical regulations concerning both the quality and safety of industrial products.

The reports issued by the laboratory form the basis of the procedures for alerting and recalling products that constitute a risk for consumers, and for the corresponding sanctioning procedures. In the last year, the IGCC launched 50 sanctioning proceedings derived from safety breaches detected in the analyses of this laboratory, imposing sanctions amounting to 350,000 euros.

Galician Board of Arbitration

The IGCC has the Galician Board of Arbitration, whose purpose is to hear and resolve complaints or claims from consumers and users in Galicia, in a binding and enforceable manner for both parties.

Consumer arbitration is an extrajudicial and voluntary channel for the two parties in conflict that allows for the rapid, efficient and free resolution of disagreements that may arise between companies and consumers. In 2021, 5,563 complaints were resolved in this way.