GREENSBORO, NC -- The News & Record continues its sad bad practice of publishing press releases as news with a byline of "staff reports." This one is copied nearly word-for-word from a press release from the North Carolina Attorney General's office, the copied portions are highlighted.
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Some 21,879 people filed complaints in 2010 with the Consumer Protection Division of the N.C. Attorney General's Office.
The overall number of complaints dropped slightly from the 22,665 complaints received in 2009. The Attorney General's Office said the top two areas — health care and lending — saw increase in complaint volume last year.
Here are the top 10 [...] complaints for 2010:
1. Health care
Health care led this list for the sixth straight year. Complaints were about health insurance, medical providers and health products and services. Common complaints include getting charged money for supposedly free trials of weight loss products, medical billing or collection practices and overcharging for medical services.
2. Lending
Complaints often include problems with high interest rates, charges for late or missed payments, adjustable rate mortgages, prepayment penalties and loan fees. Consumers with foreclosure issues or who have fallen for a foreclosure assistance or loan modification scam are included here.
3. Do Not Call/Unwanted telemarketing calls
Among the top sources of complaints are offers for credit cards with lower interest rates, free grants, or debt consolidation services. Many of these pitches are made using illegal robo calls that ask consumers to press a number to speak with a representative.
4. Telemarketing fraud
Scammers often located outside the U.S. try to lure consumers into giving up their money and their personal information. Some of the most popular telemarketing schemes pitch bogus lower credit card rates, international lottery tickets, advance fee loans, government grants, identity theft protection, and phony prizes or sweepstakes.
5. Credit and collections
Complaints about credit repair scams, debt collectors and identity theft were common issues. Complaints about scams that promise to fix your credit or settle your debts for an upfront fee are increasingly common. Consumers also complain about threatening calls from debt collectors as well as calls about debts that aren’t really theirs.
6. Motor vehicles
Common problems include mechanical problems with used cars, difficulties obtaining a car title when the dealership has gone out of business, and failure to honor warranties. People also complain about pricing, improper diagnosis, unauthorized repairs, and slow repair jobs.
7. Home furnishings
Consumers often contacted the Attorney General's Office us [sic] when an item they’ve paid for never arrives, or when their piece of furniture arrives damaged or defective. Many of these complaints come from out-of-state consumers who placed orders with North Carolina retailers by telephone or online.
8. Home repair
Most consumers who complain are dissatisfied with work done on their homes. Other common sources of complaints are contractors who abandon the job after getting paid, miss deadlines, or go over budget. There are also scam artists who target homeowners, especially seniors, attempting to talk them into a series of expensive and unnecessary repairs.
9. Television services
Many of those [sic] consumers complained about extended contracts and hidden fees with satellite provider DIRECTV, problems that were addressed by a settlement reached with the company in December.
10. Telecommunications
Many people complain that bundled packages for phone, television and Internet service don’t provide the savings they were expecting. People also have problems with cell phone bills, poor cell service, and the cramming of unauthorized charges onto their phone bills.
To file a complaint or get tips on avoiding problems, visit ncdoj.gov or call (877) 566-7226.
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