Top 10 complaint types that greatly vexed consumers in 2022
In 2022, for the seventh consecutive year, auto sales, leases and repairs made up the top category of complaints consumers made to consumer protection organizations in the United States. Not far behind were complaints about home improvement contractors and repairs.
That’s according to the 2022 Consumer Complaint Survey Report, an annual Top 10 list prepared by the Consumer Federation of America, which said the compiled data included information on close to 600,000 complaints filed with 36 agencies in the 25 states that responded to the survey.
In a conference call last week, consumer protection experts noted those agencies were able to provide at least $743 million in relief to consumers through mediation, judgments and court enforcement actions. The agencies also saved consumers money up front by warning them about popular scams.
The Top 10 complaint categories are:
Auto sales and repair: The federation said that “consumers filed complaints about add-on products and services, bait-and-switch pricing and mechanical condition issues,” among others.
Home improvement repairs and contractors: The complaints included quality and completion of work, as well as licensure status.
Consumer debt and credit: Consumers were frustrated by issues related to banking, lending, debt collection, credit reporting and more.
Retail purchase issues: Both online and in-store purchases generated heat, from goods that didn’t arrive in a timely fashion to the wrong item, broken products and problems getting refunds or making an exchange.
Landlord-tenant complaints: Housing conditions, security deposit beefs and cost increases dominated this category.
Frauds and scams: The list is long and the group said it includes everything from imposter scams, gift card payments, fake sweepstakes, elder fraud, identity theft and bogus IRS calls to scams dressed up as a terrific business opportunity. The federation said consumers lost $8.2 billion to scammers in 2022.
Health care/wellness: This broad category includes complaints about quality of health care providers, fitness and other centers, medical billing and more.
Home furnishings and appliances: Delivery, quality and return policies all elicited complaints.
Utilities: Various complaints about utility providers, from gas and electric companies to cable and internet providers.
Travel and moving: The category includes issues with hotels, travel cancellations, refunds, timeshares and moving and storage companies, among others.
A number of categories didn’t make the Top 10. What the federation called “honorable mentions” include “complaints about predatory towing, telecommunications and robocalls, pet sales, government agencies, the food service industry and subscription services.
In a news release, the federation noted that “several agencies were able to shut down bad businesses for good, including a tech support scammer where the Montana Department of Justice obtained over $96,000 of relief for consumers and New Jersey Bergen-Passaic Division of Consumer Affairs removed a home improvement contractor’s license whose shoddy work had caused a home to collapse.”
Related
It also noted that in San Francisco, the district attorney’s office resolved a $300,000 cryptocurrency scam, while the Florida Department of Consumer and Agriculture Services “resolved nearly $1 million in travel-related complaints alone.”
Vexing hassles
The 43-page report is a what’s what of consumer frustration — and replete with examples of little getting done to resolve problems until a consumer protection organization or government agency tackled the challenge.
One frustrated consumer in Maryland took a new car back to a dealership because the navigation system wouldn’t work. The dealer tried but wasn’t able to fix the problem. According to the report, when the Maryland Attorney General’s Office stepped in, “the dealership agreed to treat the vehicle as a lemon and allowed the consumer to exchange it for a different vehicle.”
In Utah, the report said a consumer saw an ad for a used car by a dealership, but when he arrived to buy it, the price was more than $5,000 above the advertised price and the dealer wouldn’t remove the add-ons. The consumer bought the car and filed a complaint with the Utah Division of Consumer Protection, whose investigator worked with the dealership to get the additional $5,000 refunded.
The Attorney General’s Office in Idaho reached a settlement for nearly $4 million in student loan debt relief for more than 170 borrowers after Navient Solutions LLC steered debtors who were struggling to pay their loans to high-interest forbearance that “added significant additional long-term debt,” the report said. Besides the debt relief, the company agreed to change its business practices.
In Washington, D.C., a prospective tenant applied for an apartment and was charged a $75 application fee and an annual $500 amenity fee. When the applicant was rejected, the consumer was told the $500 fee was nonrefundable. He got all $575 back after the attorney general’s office got involved.
Preventing trouble
But the issues that plague families and individuals are often preventable with a little knowledge and care.
Besides real-life examples of what went wrong for consumers, the report offers tips to help them navigate tricky — and sometimes trickster — terrain. Among the advice in the top five categories:
Vehicles. “Be wary of add-ons and hidden price markups.” The report noted that dealers sometimes add what are called “market price adjustments” or inflated costs to products and services, so it’s vital to read carefully any contract before you sign it. Pay attention to interest rates and shop around. And don’t just threaten to walk away; be willing to do it.
Home repairs. Make sure contractors meet local licensing requirements and get references to check their reputation. Also, most states provide the right to cancel within three days if the seller came to your home to solicit the business.
Debt and credit. Take care with credit repair services. Consumers can dispute mistakes on their credit reports without paying someone to do it for them. Remember, too, that paying off debt is a form of saving, the federation said. Finally, don’t ignore debt collectors. If you don’t owe the debt, say so. If you do, cooperate to make payments.
Landlord-tenant. Some landlords charge junk fees. Challenge “cryptic or incorrect” ones. Know, too, that you have some rights as a tenant. “A landlord cannot change your lock without a court order, demand interest or fees you didn’t agree to, refuse to make necessary repairs or force you to live in unsafe or unhealthy conditions,” the report says.
Frauds and scams. If someone asks you to pay for something with gift cards, it’s likely a scam. And the federation says clicking on a link in a text message “almost always leads to a way for scammers to steal your data or your money.”
You can find more consumer tips and horror stories in the report, as well as consumer news on the Consumer Federation website.
