That's a weird claim. Phenylephrine has a number of well documented and researched effects with demonstrable efficiency greater than that of a placebo. Now there are certainly people who have and do take it as a decongestant despite that particular usage having been shown to be ineffective, but that doesn't make it crap and it certainly doesn't place it in the same category as homeopathic remedies.
anyone who complains about it who doesn't have at least as strong a crusade against crap like phenylephrine is a hypocrite