Customers find more to moan about this holiday

Shanghai's market watchdog received nearly 1,000 complaints during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday, with catering and accommodation, food and clothing topping the list.

The 976 complaints were 18 percent up from the same period last year, according to the Shanghai Market Supervision and Management Bureau.

There were 323 complaints regarding food, catering and accommodation, or 33 percent of all complaints, according to the bureau.

Smoke control at catering businesses, food quality, breaches of contract, unreasonable charges and unfair pricing topped the list, the bureau said.

A customer said he paid 856 yuan (US$127) for accommodation at a minsu, Chinese version of B&B, and found it did not meet the four-star standard as claimed by the operator on its website. 

Another consumer complained about a 1,000-yuan charge at a cafe, saying it was not reasonable.

In terms of clothing, poor quality, labeling and fake discounts were the most complained about, according to the bureau.

A customer said he encountered a fake 20 percent discount while buying a suit priced at 2,900 yuan.

Airline and railway service disputes, delayed deposit return and after-sales services of shared bikes also drew dozens of complaints, according to the bureau.

These complaints are being handled by district market watchdogs and consumer councils.