The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) released its National Top 10 List of Consumer Complaints to state attorneys general offices in 2008. The top three: debt collection, auto sales, and home repair/construction remained the same from 2007.
Every state has a consumer protection statute prohibiting deceptive acts and practices, including online scams. Along with the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general actively enforce anti fraud laws against businesses that commit fraud in such areas as debt collection, auto sales and repair, telemarketing, and misleading advertising.
The National Top 10 Consumer Complaints List for 2008 is:
1 Debt Collection
2 Auto Sales
3&4 Home Repair/Construction
Credit Cards (tie)
5&6 Internet Goods and Services
Predatory Lending/Mortgages (tie)
7 Telemarketing/Do-Not-Call
8&9 Auto Repair
Auto Warranties (tie)
10 Telecom/Slamming/Cramming (tie)
Consumer complaints ranged from unauthorized charges and inaccurate late fees on credit or debit cards to phony debt reduction services and foreclosure scams, when companies claim to be able to save a home if the consumer pays money up front.
“With the recession and increased foreclosure rates, consumers need to be on high alert. Too many people are being swindled out of their hard-earned money by scam artists,” said Hawaii Attorney General Mark Bennett, who co-chairs the NAAG Consumer Protection Committee with Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock.
Attorney General Bullock said, “Attorneys general throughout our nation vigorously enforce the laws designed to protect consumers. When consumers have been deceived or treated unfairly by a business, they should contact the attorney general’s office in their state. By filing a complaint with our offices, our staff can work with both consumers and businesses to try to rectify the problem.”
The 2008 National Consumer Complaints List is generated from survey responses completed by the offices of the Attorney General and tallied by the NAAG Consumer Protection Project.
Why it matters: In a sign of the recessionary times, scams involving credit cards and predatory lending cracked the top 10 list of consumer fraud complaints in 2008. Businesses that collect and keep data on credit cards need to be especially vigilant these days about securing that data because major security breaches can be very costly, since they almost invariably result in government investigations and private class action lawsuits.