SHENZHEN, March 13 -- Counterfeit products, over-exaggerated advertisements and unaffordable housing prices ranked as people's top three complaints in China, according to a joint survey by China Consumers' Association and its provincial and city subsidiaries including Shenzhen.

The survey shows complaints about the three issues accounted for 21.7 percent, 15.2 percent and 14.7 percent respectively.

Other complaints fell into the categories of food safety (10.1 percent), mobile phone quality (9.0 percent), cheating businesses (8.1 percent), home decoration (6.1 percent) and one-sided clauses by monopolies (5.3 percent).

In addition, complaints about online shopping, bank card services and hospital fees were also prominent.

China Consumers' Association began the survey in January, asking each of its 45 subsidiaries to survey six communities in different cities or areas and question 40-50 residents in each community.

Of the 14,612 respondents, who included government and business workers, retired people, the unemployed, college students and farmers, 52 percent had received college education and the average family monthly income was 1,511.23 yuan (US$193.75).

Half of the respondents were dissatisfied with laws, regulations and enforcement related to consumers’ rights protection, saying some of the laws lag behind the new consumption patterns and could not solve disputes such as those over after-sales services on cars and high-tech products such as flat-screen TVs.

Fifty-one percent thought administrative departments' efficiency was "fair" in handling complaints but nearly a fifth, or 19.6 percent, thought efficiency was "unsatisfactory."