Attorney General Chris Carr today announced Georgia’s top consumer complaints for 2017. This announcement falls on the heels of the latest report from the annual survey of state and local consumer agencies conducted by Consumer Federation of America (CFA). Georgia was one of forty agencies from twenty-three states that participated in the survey. Participating entities were asked about the most common complaints, the fastest-growing complaints and the worst complaints received in 2017. In addition, the report identified new kinds of consumer problems, agencies’ greatest achievements and new laws enacted in the agencies’ jurisdictions last year to protect consumers.

“Part of our mission to protect consumers includes keeping them up-to-date on new trends in deceptive tactics,” said Attorney General Chris Carr. “We hope Georgians will continue to heed the advice that our office distributes and contact us if they are confronted with malicious behavior in the marketplace.” According to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, the top complaints reported to his Consumer Protection Unit in 2017 were: used car sales, debt issues, automotive repairs, home improvement/repairs, landlord/tenant, new car sales, health-related services/billing, insurance companies and utilities. Georgia was one of a few states asked to participate in a national call yesterday to unveil the list as well as discuss the state’s successful efforts to combat home solicitations. Top Ten Complaints Nationwide in 2017 Auto: Misrepresentations in advertising or sales of new and used cars, lemons, faulty repairs, auto leasing, and towing disputes. Home Improvement/Construction: Shoddy work, failure to start or complete the job. Retail Sales: False advertising and other deceptive practices, defective merchandise, problems with rebates, coupons, gift cards and gift certificates, failure to deliver. Credit/Debt: Billing and fee disputes, mortgage modifications and mortgage-related fraud, credit repair, debt relief services, predatory lending, illegal or abusive debt collection tactics. Landlord/Tenant: Unhealthy or unsafe conditions, failure to make repairs or provide promised amenities, deposit and rent disputes, illegal eviction tactics. Services: Misrepresentations, shoddy work, failure to have required licenses, failure to perform. Communications: Misleading offers, installation issues, service problems, billing disputes with phone and internet services. Health Products/Services: Misleading claims, unlicensed practitioners, failure to deliver, medical billing issues. Household Goods: Misrepresentations, failure to deliver, defective merchandise, faulty repairs, in connection with furniture or appliances. (Tie) Home Solicitations: Misrepresentations, abusive sales practices, and failure to deliver in door-to-door, telemarketing or mail solicitations, do-not-call violations; Internet Sales: Misrepresentations or other deceptive practices, failure to deliver online purchases; Travel: Misrepresentations, failure to deliver, cancelation and billing disputes. To see the full 2017 Consumer Complaint Survey Report click here. In connection with the report, CFA, the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Unit and several other organizations that participated in the complaint survey have created blogs with practical advice for consumers. FromJuly 31 through October 1, 2018 these blogs and accompanying infographics will be released twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. They can be found here. Georgia consumers who have a complaint against a business can contact the Georgia Department of Law’s Consumer Protection Unit at 404-651-8600 or consumer.ga.gov.