❗Help close the gap: We still need to raise $40,000 by the end of March. Donate now
The Punchline

The top 10 consumer complaints of 2011

Jeremy Hobson Aug 1, 2012
HTML EMBED:
COPY
The Punchline

The top 10 consumer complaints of 2011

Jeremy Hobson Aug 1, 2012
HTML EMBED:
COPY

What, as a consumer, annoys you most?

Well — if you’re like the rest of us — it’s getting duped into buying a new or used car that turns out to be a lemon.

That’s according to a survey of the top ten consumer complaints from the Consumer Federation of America.

Also on the list: Credit card billing disputes; Phone, cable, and Internet billing disputes; and electric and gas billing disputes.

I sense a theme.


Top Ten Complaints in 2011

1. Auto: Misrepresentations in advertising or sales of new and used cars, lemons, faulty repairs, leasing and towing disputes

2. Credit/Debt: Billing and fee disputes, mortgage modifications and mortgage-related fraud, credit repair, debt relief services, predatory lending, illegal or abusive debt collection tactics

3. Home Improvement/Construction: Shoddy work, failure to start or complete the job

4. Retail Sales: False advertising and other deceptive practices, defective merchandise, problems with rebates, coupons, gift cards and gift certificates, failure to deliver

5. Utilities: Service problems or billing disputes with phone, cable, satellite, Internet, electric and gas service

6. Services: Misrepresentations, shoddy work, failure to have required licenses, failure to perform

7. Internet Sales: Misrepresentations or other deceptive practice, failure to deliver online purchases

7. Landlord/Tenant: Unhealthy or unsafe conditions, failure to make repairs or provide promised amenities, deposit and rent disputes, illegal eviction tactics

8. Fraud: Bogus sweepstakes and lotteries, work-at-home schemes, grant offers, fake check scams, the grandparent scam and other common frauds

9. Real Estate: Timeshare sales and resales, retirement communities and assisted living facilities, real estate fraud

10. Household Goods: Misrepresentations, failure to deliver, faulty repairs in connection with furniture or appliances

10. Home Solicitations: Misrepresentations or failure to deliver in door-todoor, telemarketing or mail solicitations, do-not-call violations

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.