WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 1999 -- Big-ticket items like car sales and
service and home improvement remain the most frequent source of consumer
complaints to state and local consumer agencies, according to an annual
study.
Fifty consumer agencies nationwide are
polled each year to determine the top 10 consumer concerns -- and auto
sales, auto repair and home improvement have been the top three every
year since 1994, according to the National Association of Consumer
Agency Administrations (NACAA) and the Consumer Federation of America
(CFA).
In order, the top 10 are:
1. Auto sales
2. Auto repair
3. Home improvement
4. Household goods
5. Credit and lending
6. Mail order
7. Auto leasing
7. Landlord-tenant (tie)
9. Utilities
10. Travel/tourism
Auto leasing returned to the top 10 list in
1999, with consumers complaining of inflated prices, failure to provide
required disclosures and difficulty terminating leases.
Aggressive credit card marketing, payable
loans, car pawns and debt collection practices were growing problems, as
were complaints about Internet rip-offs.
The consumer agencies recommend that states
toughen restrictions on car dealers, requiring at least a 30-day
warranty on used cars. They also called for licensing auto repair
shops.
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