September 5
February 7, 2007
LANSING - To highlight National Consumer Protection Week, Attorney
General Mike Cox today announced the top ten consumer complaints for 2006.
Identity theft and privacy issues continue to be a problem and relate to almost
all of the top ten complaint categories.
"Consumer protection is the backbone of this office, because every citizen is a
consumer at some point," Cox said. "The marketplace only works when customers
are treated fairly. When consumers don't get a fair shake, then our office gets
involved."
The complaint categories are compiled from more than 19,465 written complaints
and inquiries received by the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division.
In addition to written complaints and inquiries, Cox's Consumer Protection
Division fielded about 85,600 consumer calls in 2006.
The top ten complaint categories from 2006 are as follows:
1. Credit and Financial Concerns: Includes identity theft complaints,
predatory lending, disputes about credit reports, collections, billing and
finance charges, and misrepresenting the terms of credit.
2. Internet: Rising from its number five spot in 2005, this category
includes Internet purchases and auctions, failure to deliver or refund,
fraudulent e-mail solicitations, Internet service provider complaints, and
identity theft complaints. 2006 can be called the "Year of Computing
Dangerously." Computer security experts say 2006 saw an unprecedented spike in
junk e-mail and sophisticated online attacks from increasingly organized cyber
crooks. These attacks were made possible, in part, by a huge increase in the
number of security holes identified in widely used software products.
3. Telecommunications and Cable or Satellite TV: Includes
telemarketing, do-not-call violations, cell phone issues, cell phone billing
issues, cramming (unauthorized charges), slamming (unauthorized switch of a
service provider), and identity theft complaints.
4. Retail: Includes problems with the quality of merchandise, rebates,
scanner or pricing errors, and identity theft complaints.
5. Mail Order: Rising from its number eight spot in 2005, this category
includes failure to deliver merchandise, unsolicited merchandise, contest
deceptions, and failure to refund complaints.
6. Small Business Providers: Includes complaints by small businesses
receiving unauthorized services or goods, including advertising and directory
publications, unsolicited faxes, and leases for business equipment that cannot
be cancelled.
7. Motor Vehicle or Automobile: Includes lemon law, advertising,
warranty, quality, and misrepresentation complaints.
8. Gasoline/Fuel/Energy: Falling from its number four position in 2005,
this category includes allegations of businesses charging a price grossly in
excess of competitors, complaints of high utility rates, billing errors, and
contract misrepresentations.
9. Contractors/Home Improvement: Includes problems with the quality of
work, failure to deliver services or a refund, and warranty issues.
10. Personal Service Providers: This category includes complaints about
failure to refund, failure to cancel a contract, and failure to deliver
services.
In 2006, the Consumer Protection Division obtained more than $6.3 million in
consumer refunds and forgiven debts. Additionally, the Consumer Protection
Division recovered more than $2.3 million for the State.
"These numbers speak volumes once again about my continued commitment to
protecting Michigan consumers," continued Cox. "Every year during National
Consumer Protection Week in February, advocates across the country emphasize
education. In 2006, my staff gave more than 100 consumer education seminars.
My office has also used the Senior Protection Brigade, where seniors trained
and educated their peers to conduct more than 120 identity theft seminars."
Other consumer education efforts include publishing consumer alerts. Cox's
consumer protection staff publish consumer alerts in an effort to help consumers
recognize rip-offs, avoid scams, find frauds, and protect their personal
financial information. The alerts are also used to encourage consumers to take
proactive steps to protect themselves, such as periodically ordering a free copy
of their credit report and using the report to look for any fraudulent accounts
or transactions.
National Consumer Protection Week runs from February 5 thru February 11.
Consumers interested in receiving electronic mail notification of Attorney
General Consumer Alerts can sign up on the Attorney General's home page (www.michigan.gov/ag)
by accessing the "Join the AG Mailing List" icon. Consumers may also elect to
receive electronic notices of press releases and formal opinions.
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