Dodgy washing machines, mobile phones and used cars are among the items costing NSW consumers almost $1 billion a year, the Department of Fair Trading says.
The department received more than 42,500 complaints about consumer goods in 2011, minister Anthony Roberts said in a statement on Sunday.
Defective or unsatisfactory goods, repairs, maintenance and refunds were the most common cause of grief.
Household electrical and gas products and whitegoods topped the list of complaints (2611 complaints), followed by gripes about house constructions and renovations (2476 complaints) and used cars and motorbikes (2258 complaints).
Mr Roberts said some retailers were ignoring their legal obligations, leaving consumers to sort out the problem on their own and out of their own pocket.
Estimates put these costs at just under $1 billion a year, he said.
Travel problems caused by natural disasters and industrial unrest pushed up the number of tourism-related complaints, and solar PV panels were the eighth most common cause of complaint.
Consumers also complained about furniture, clothes and shoes and the purchase and sale of properties last year.
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