Why this garden centre is the most-complained-about business in Ireland

The company received 737 complaints in the first half of this year.

Rathwood received 737 complaints between January and June 2026, significantly more than next place Ryanair (238), as well as Sky (228), Currys (223), and Harvey Norman (196), which completed the top five.

Image: Consumer Helpline Report H1 2026

Rathwood has faced well-publicised delays in fulfilling orders and issuing refunds and after entering examinership in April, the CCPC urged affected customers to “take action immediately” and "request a chargeback from their bank or card provider if they have not already done so".

22,724 total complaints were made to the CCPC in the first half of 2026 with the main areas of concerns being faulty goods, second-hand cars, and home improvements.

Image: Consumer Helpline Report H1 2026

An average of €6,473 was spent by consumers on the product or service they contacted the CCPC about.

The biggest jump was related to 'utilities and fuel', which was the subject behind 2,130 complaints, a 248% rise compared with the same period in 2025.

Director of Communications at the CCPC, Aoibhín de Búrca, said that "91% of consumers took action following calls to the helpline and nearly 40% were resolved".

"Now that we have this research, it will inform our work. Where we see breaches of the law, we will act. Based on calls to our helpline, we can and do take action," she explained.

"Currently, the CCPC must prosecute a business in court where a judge can then impose a fine. Recent consumer protection law cases have incurred fines of €1,000. This is why we welcome the commitment made by the Government to give the CCPC new powers to impose fines for breaches of consumer protection laws. And we want the fines to be higher to deter businesses from breaking the law."

The newly released figures also show how almost 6,000 consumers were referred by the CCPC to the Small Claims Court in the first six months of the year.

Most of these cases had to do with faulty goods and services (1,949) within the home building and improvements sector (718).

Image: Consumer Helpline Report H1 2026

Main image: Rolling News