One Massachusetts couple paid $68,000 for home renovations and all they got was a hole in the ground.
And that’s just the beginning of shoddy customer service in 2017: Benefactors donated a total of $284,000 crowdfunding to an athletic apparel startup company, and they still haven’t received any of the items they were promised — more than two years later.
One Louisiana woman had her car in a repair shop that, unbeknownst to her, was selling parts of her car (instead of fixing it). And one complaint involved a jewelry store getting consumers drunk to make a $16,400 sale.
Some companies falsely told consumers they were eligible for a ‘free’ alarm system because of increased crime related to the opioid crisis.Some consumers complained of hotels not honoring their reservations to watch the solar eclipse last summer. Alarm-system complaints have also seen an uptick, especially regarding scare tactics and solicitations. Some companies falsely told consumers they were eligible for a “free” alarm system because of increased crime related to the opioid crisis.
These are just a few of the complaints the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America found in its annual report on the most common (and egregious) consumer complaints of the year, released Monday.
Of the 40 local consumer watchdog agencies the CFA reached out to, 38 agencies responded with a total of 908,000 complaints from last year. An equal number of agencies said they recovered or saved people more than $2 billion in total through mediation, lawsuits and other actions.
There were dozens of complaints within numerous categories, mostly to do with misrepresentation, false advertising, “shoddy work,” issues with gift cards or certificates, failure to deliver and billing issues. Auto-related problems and home improvement and construction were the most commonly reported complaints.
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Signing contracts on tablets and smartphones is problematicThe newest problems for consumers included solar-panel systems, ticketing scams and landlords evicting the elderly for hoarding, said Susan Grant, director of consumer protection and privacy at the CFA.
Businesses asking customers to sign contracts on handheld tablets and smartphones also proved to be a problem for some consumers, who said they couldn’t scroll down to read the entire contract or had no way of retaining a copy. Others made it difficult for consumers to review their contracts or failed to provide them with copies of the contract or know their cancellation rights.
“We will be seeing more and more of these handheld devices to make contracts in the future, and all kinds of transactions,” Grant said. “People need to be able to see and thoroughly review the contract, and they need to be able to come away with a copy of it.”
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The Federal Trade Commission accepts complaints regarding telemarketing, credit scams, and identity theft, as well as “do not call” registry violations and issues with health and weight-loss products or debt collections.
Consumers should address the issue with the seller or vendor, or third-parties involved, before seeking legal help, the FTC says. One piece of advice Grant suggests: try to stay calm when communicating with vendors or third-parties. “Things can go wrong, even if everyone’s intentions were good,” she said.
Consumers can also reach out to their credit card companies to file against vendors. Along with filing a complaint with the FTC, consumers can contact the Better Business Bureau or their state’s attorney general, according to USA.gov, the online guide for government information and services.
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