According to data from the most recent survey conducted by Consumer Federation of America (“CFA”) and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators (“NACPI”), auto fraud is the most common complaint among american consumers. CFA and NACPI surveyed 40 general practice consumer protection agencies across 20 states to determine the top ten consumer complaints.ctwatchdog.com has summarized the results of the survey.
Top Ten Complaints in 2012
1. Auto: Misrepresentations in advertising or sales of new and used cars, lemons, faulty repairs, leasing and towing disputes2. Home Improvement/Construction: Shoddy work, failure to start or complete the job3. Credit/Debt: Billing and fee disputes, mortgage modifications and mortgage-related fraud, credit repair, debt relief services, predatory lending, illegal or abusive debt collection tactics4. Utilities: Service problems or billing disputes with phone, cable, satellite, Internet, electric and gas service5. Retail Sales: False advertising and other deceptive practices, defective merchandise, problems with rebates, coupons, gift cards and gift certificates, failure to deliver6. Services: Misrepresentations, shoddy work, failure to have required licenses, failure to perform7. Home Solicitations: Misrepresentations or failure to deliver in door-to-door, telemarketing or mail solicitations, do-not-call violations 8. Landlord/Tenant: Unhealthy or unsafe conditions, failure to make repairs or provide promised amenities, deposit and rent disputes, illegal eviction tactics 9. Internet Sales: Misrepresentations or other deceptive practice, failure to deliver online purchases 10. Household Goods: Misrepresentations, failure to deliver, faulty repairs in connection with furniture or appliances Ctwatchdog.com also reports that the survey determined the following to be the top 5 fastest-growing areas of consumer complaints: 1. Towing disputes2. Landlord/Tenant problems3. Abusive debt collection practices4. Telephone service billing issues5. Unlicensed contractors Notably, there appears to be a substantial overlap between the top consumer complaints and the fastest growing areas. Such data suggests that many businesses are not improving their practices.