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Thursday, February 09, 2006

AG Lists Top 10 Consumer Complaints


Associated Press
      SANTA FE — When New Mexicans turn to the attorney general's Consumer Protection Division, they're most likely to be upset about car sales.
    The division received 4,464 written complaints last year about problems with products and services.
    Some 491 complaints involved auto sales — a top issue in the past.
    Residents complained about items being added to sales agreements, including extended warranties and miscellaneous items they said they weren't told about before buying the vehicle.
    Another common complaint: Dealerships didn't give customers the interest rate they originally promised.
    Consumers also complained about odometers being rolled back so vehicles appeared to have less mileage than they did, and about previously wrecked vehicles repaired and sold without the wreck being disclosed.
    "From year to year, the top 10 categories that receive the most complaints remain fairly consistent,'' Attorney General Patricia Madrid said. "The precise number of complaints may change, but the same categories almost always appear every year in the same order.''
    The second-highest category, 402, concerned collection agencies.
    New Mexicans reported calls from collection agencies threatening to garnishee wages or jail the customer. They also complained about harassing calls about debts they did not owe or had paid off.
    Some 350 complaints concerned door-to-door salesmen violating an implied three-day right to cancel. Customers who change their mind about a door-to-door sale have the right to a full refund within three days, without exception.
    Homeowners complained about contractors demanding payment in advance, then never completing the job — or not starting it. New Mexicans also complained about plumbers, heating repairmen and landscapers. The total number of complaints: 313.
    The last five categories:
    _297 complaints about small loans and mortgage lending, including outrageous interest rates and fees. The division does not handle mortgage issues, referring them to the state Financial Institutions Division.
    _281 about retail sales, particularly furniture that cannot be returned or interest accrued on in-store "90 days same-as-cash'' promotions.
    _242 about repeated or unnecessary auto repairs.
    _54 about Internet goods and services.
    _17 on telemarketing scams.
    _10 about mobile home sales, especially title problems.
   

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