COLORADO, USA — Last year, Coloradans filed 17,941 complaints about products, services and scams.
On Monday, Attorney General Phil Weiser released a list showing which industries received the most of those complaints.
Anyone who thinks they have been the victim of a scam, fraud or price gouging can file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Section. The 17,941 complaints that were filed in 2022 was a 28% increase in total complaints from the year before.
These were the most common complaints in 2022, according to Weiser's office:
- Retail sales (1,676 complaints): These involve complaints relating to unauthorized memberships or subscriptions, service and delivery issues and cancellation and termination issues.
- Home services and repair (958 complaints): These include issues about general contracting and remodeling, heating, cooling and handyman services.
- Professional services (919 complaints): These include issues about product and service warranties, business support and legal-related services.
- Automobile sales and service (826 complaints): These include issues about auto purchases, service, repair and rentals.
- Government agencies (734 complaints): These are legitimate (non-scam) complaints against a government agency that administers, oversees and manages public programs.
- Lending companies (542 complaints): These include issues under the Uniform Consumer Credit Code, including interest rates, credit reporting, tribal lending and unlicensed activity.
- Real Estate sales and services (535 complaints): These include issues about rental and leasing, property management and real estate-related activities.
- Imposter scams - business impersonations (523 complaints): These involve known scams where a scammer is attempting to impersonate a business. In many cases, these scams relate directly to fraud telephone calls or emails from someone posing as a government official or reputable company, often seeking payment through gift cards, wire transfers, etc.
- Debt collection (516 complaints): These include issues under the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, including harassment or abuse by a debt collector, disputed debt or unlicensed collection.
- Health care and medical services (485 complaints): These include issues about hospitals and urgent care, health and medical insurance carriers and health practitioners relating to quality of care, billing and coverage issues.
The Attorney General's office also created an interactive map showing the most common complaint categories by each county in Colorado.
These complaints sometimes lead to legal action against companies, which can mean refunds to people who were victims of scams or other deceptive practices.
If you are the victim of or notice any scams, fraud, price gouging, or other attempts to take advantage of Coloradans, contact Stop Fraud Colorado at 800-222-4444 or www.StopFraudColorado.gov.
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