The Top 5 Consumer Complaints

Dealing with car issues, whether it’s a leasing dispute, faulty repair job or false sales ad, really irks consumers.

In fact, dealing with vehicle issues has been the top consumer complaint for two years in a row, according to a new report from the Consumer Federation of America and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators. The report, covering 2013, is based on a survey of 40 local and state consumer protection agencies across the U.S.

The top three complaints for 2013 were vehicle-related issues, home improvement and construction problems, and credit and debt issues – the same top complaints consumers voiced in 2012.

“This is not surprising since these situations often involve large consumer expenditures and some of the most egregious practices,” the report said.

Here are the top five consumer complaints:

1. Auto. Consumers are frustrated by lemons, misleading sales ads, faulty repairs, and leasing and towing disputes.
2. Home improvement/construction. Consumers get peeved by subpar work and not starting or completing the job on time.
3. Credit/debt. Complaints include predatory lending, deceptive practices, billing and fee disputes, mortgage-related fraud, and illegal debt collection practices.
4. Retail sales. Consumers get irked by false advertising, defective products, failure to deliver, and coupon problems.
5. Services. A failure to perform, careless work and not having the correct licenses are the top complaints.

Click here for a full list of the top 10 consumer complaints for 2013.

These complaints grew the fastest in 2013, according to the report:

• Telemarketing abuses, including violating the do-not-call list.
• Home improvement and construction.
• Used car sales.
• Utility billing issues.
• Internet sales.

And the “worst” complaints for 2013 were:

• Scams against the elderly.
• Home improvement and construction.
• Business closings that left customers high and dry.
• Phony sweepstakes and lotteries.
• Landlord/tenant disputes.

What’s your biggest consumer complaint? Share your thoughts below or on our Facebook page.