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Highlands Today

Bronson Announces Top 10 Complaints For 2008

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Special to Highlands Today

Published: December 28, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson is announcing the top ten list of complaints for calendar year 2008.

It's no surprise that the no sales solicitation category continues to rank number one, however complaints are up substantially this year. After dropping by nearly 500 complaints in 2007 to 4223, the Do Not Call law generated 5,006 written complaints in 2008. Bronson also says the department was able to provide more than 7.6 million dollars in refunds in the form of cash, goods and services, 3 million dollars more than last year.

The department's Division of Consumer Services is the clearinghouse for consumer complaints in Florida, regulating 11 industries and attempting to mediate problems with unregulated businesses. Complaints against industries that fall in another agency's jurisdiction are forwarded to those agencies. Bronson releases the top ten list every year to ensure consumers know where the biggest problem areas lie and can take steps to protect themselves.

"While I am proud that we have been able to provide more than seven and a half million dollars in redress to consumers, the fact is it is better to avoid having problems in the first place," Bronson said. "It is stressful and time consuming for the public to take action against a business, so knowing the pitfalls can help people make educated decisions in all aspects of their daily lives."

There were 37,227 total complaints filed with the department in 2008. Do not call violations usually lead the way and that trend continues this year. Consumers can pay a fee of $10 with a $5 annual renewal fee to have their home telephone numbers placed on the list and avoid unwanted sales calls. The fee is used only to administer the program. The types of calls that are exempt from the list can be found at www.800helpfla.com/nosales.html.

Travel/vacation plans continue to rank second with 3,582 written complaints, an increase of more than one thousand over 2007. There were 2,542 complaints about telemarketers that did not relate to the Do Not Call list. Fourth on the list was credit/banking with 2,471 complaints and rounding out the top five is the communications category with 2,370 complaints.

"Clearly people know where to call for help and they are taking full advantage of this service," Bronson said. "We do everything possible to make the consumer whole and when necessary, take action against businesses that violate the rules that are in place to protect consumers."

Price gouging once again made the top 10 list at number six this year with 2,291 written complaints. The department continues to investigate complaints about gasoline price gouging that may have occurred when Hurricane Ike was in the Gulf of Mexico. Number seven on the list was motor vehicle sales with 1,754 complaints, motor vehicle repairs generated 1,672 complaints, landlord/tenant issues prompted 1,562 complaints and tenth on the list were construction issues with 1,216 complaints.

Bronson urges consumers to contact the department's Consumer Hotline at 1-800-HELP FLA (1-800-435-7352) or 1-800 FL AYUDA (1-800-352-9832) to register any complaints and to find out the complaint history against a company before conducting any business. Consumers can also file complaints online by visiting the Division of Consumer Services Web site at www.800helpfla.com.

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