WASHINGTON — Gripes over cars that turn out to be clunkers, shoddy home improvement projects and billing disputes with utility companies topped the annual list of the most common consumer complaints filed with state and local consumer protection agencies.
Meanwhile, scams involving fraudsters posing as Internal Revenue Service agents or your utility company were among the fastest-growing complaints last year, according to the new survey, released Wednesday by the Consumer Federation of America and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators organization.
The survey included statistics from 33 consumer agencies from 21 states. Those agencies received more than 200,000 complaints last year.
Also, the report includes new types of complaints flagged by state and local consumer agencies, including the use of iTunes gift cards by fraudsters as a method of payment and crowdfunding investments that failed to pan out.
Jack Moore joined WTOP.com as a digital writer/editor in July 2016. Previous to his current role, he covered federal government management and technology as the news editor at Nextgov.com, part of Government Executive Media Group.