Today, shopping is not just a spending activity, for many consumers it is a pleasant financial experience. But not all companies or products generate that satisfaction. A new report found that American buyers complained a lot about buying and repairing cars and hiring credit cards.
The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) released Wednesday its annual list of top complaints filed with consumer agencies cities, counties and states in the United States. In all, they handled nearly 600,000 complaints in 2022 and recovered more than $740 million for consumers through mediations, court actions and other means, the CFA said.
This compilation report on the products that received the most complaints from state and local agencies may be useful for consumers who have not yet purchased this or that product or service, think twice before doing it.
These are The three products that consumers in the United States complained about the most during 2022.
1. Car purchase and repairs
New and used car sales and repairs were the biggest complaints dealers received in the United States from consumers. That category has held the top spot for seven consecutive years.said the CFA.
When trying to buy, lease, or repair their cars, SUVs, and trucks, “consumers filed complaints about additional products and services, bait-and-switch pricing, and mechanical condition issues,” the report noted.
The report cites the example of a person who leased a Kia from a local dealership in Florida at a dealer fee of $995. The local consumer affairs agency disputed this fee and the dealer refunded the amount to the customer.
2. Home repairs and renovations
If buying a home isn’t easy, home repairs and renovations don’t make it any easier. This item ranked second in consumer complaints.
“Many consumers complained of shoddy and incomplete home repair work done by people without the proper license or experience,” the CFA report says. “Consumers often pay for services in advance and have trouble getting a refund or correcting shoddy work when the relationship deteriorates.
The CFA included as an example the case of an elderly person who hired a contractor to do a small repair on his house. The contractor convinced the owner that he needed a major remodel and proceeded to bill him $170,000 for work that the owner claimed was poorly done and “overcharged.” He got into the local department of consumer and business affairs, which got the contractor to return $125,000 to the owner.
3. Credit cards
Among the complaints about credit cards include treacherous and fraudulent actions to charge unfair interest.
Among the stories in the report, a Hispanic cardholder signed up for a new credit card with a promotional rate of 0% for a period of time. To avoid the high interest charge, the consumer should pay their balance in full before the due date. That was what the client tried a couple of days before the promotional plan ended. However, the credit card company’s computer system was down for a few days, after which the company charged the customer interest that would have been avoided if the company’s system had been up and running. Interest amounted to nearly $2,000, according to the CFA report.
The local consumer affairs office reminded the credit card company that, in fact, “they themselves recognized the error of their system and were allowing consumers an extension if they had a payment due during the outage,” the report noted. As it should be, the customer got his money back with an apology.
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2023-05-26 18:14:02
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