Top ten consumer complaints

Posted: Mar 7, 2011 3:28 PM by Greg Boyce

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers has unveiled his top ten list of consumer complaints to mark the beginning of National Consumer Protection Week.

During the 2010 calendar year, Colorado consumers filed 6,462 complaints with the Office of the Attorney General - a nearly 37 percent increase over 2009's total of 4,723 complaints and a 117 percent increase over 2008's total of 2,969 complaints.

The top 10 types of complaints received last year were:

Rebate offers 704
Utility complaints (cable and satellite television) 535
Consumer finance and loan companies 359
Personal care products 215
Online shopping services 191
Roofing and guttering contractors 174
Telephone (Cell phones and equipment) 151
Magazine subscription agents 143
Tanning salons 138
Automobile dealers 120

By business, the top 10 complaint-getters for 2010 were:

National Energy Rebate Fund 621
Real Talk Network 337
DirecTV 271
At Last Fulfillment 217
Dish Network 197
At The Beach 137
Vacation Ventures 100
American Shingle 85
Qwest 85
Video Professor, Inc. 81

"Investigating companies that defraud Colorado consumers is one of the most important jobs of Colorado's attorney general," Suthers said. "Thanks to our aggressive outreach, warning consumers about prevalent scams and informing Coloradans on how to protect themselves, we have made great progress over the past five years. The growing number of complaints Coloradans submit to us highlights the strides we have made in informing consumers about types of fraud and how to report scams to us as well as our federal counterparts."

If a consumer believes they have been defrauded or victimized by a Colorado business or nonprofit, they can file a report by visiting clicking here or by calling 1-800-222-4444.

To learn more about the Office of the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Section and its recent cases, click here.