Top 10 Consumer Complaints for 2012

The first business that struggles with a bad image is car sales companies. The rub off of this is the image of dealers that represent the manufacturers of cars for the U.S. market. All these companies have dealer relationships, as well as hard rules about how dealers should operate. However, the adherence to those rules must be somewhat short of what companies like General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) and their rivals expect. The complaint about this sector concerns:

Misrepresentations in advertising or sales of new and used cars, lemons, faulty repairs, leasing and towing disputes

Another industry that faces skepticism about proper practices is retail. This could range from giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) to small retail shops. Whatever the size of the establishment, consumers complain of:

False advertising and other deceptive practices, defective merchandise, problems with rebates, coupons, gift cards and gift certificates, failure to deliver

The retail industry is supposed to be moving online, led by Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). That movement has not been entirely satisfactory, as far as many customers are concerned:

Misrepresentations or other deceptive practice, failure to deliver online purchases

The delivery part of that mess frequently should belong to overnight and land shippers, like FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), that do not fulfill the expectations of either the customer or the retailer.

The entire list does not change much, if at all, year to year. It seems establishments in these businesses cannot improve their image with the public, or they may believe it is too expensive or too much of a nuisance to do so. They may expect that customers will buy from them, even if those customers are unhappy.

The entire list:

1. Auto: Misrepresentations in advertising or sales of new and used cars, lemons, faulty repairs, leasing and towing disputes
2. Home Improvement/Construction: Shoddy work, failure to start or complete the job
3. 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
4. Utilities: Service problems or billing disputes with phone, cable, satellite, Internet, electric and gas service
5. Retail Sales: False advertising and other deceptive practices, defective merchandise, problems with rebates, coupons, gift cards and gift certificates, failure to deliver
6. Services: Misrepresentations, shoddy work, failure to have required licenses, failure to perform
7. Home Solicitations: Misrepresentations or failure to deliver in door-to-door, telemarketing or mail solicitations, do-not-call violations
8. Landlord/Tenant: Unhealthy or unsafe conditions, failure to make repairs or provide promised amenities, deposit and rent disputes, illegal eviction tactics
9. Internet Sales: Misrepresentations or other deceptive practice, failure to deliver online purchases
10. Household Goods: Misrepresentations, failure to deliver, faulty repairs in connection with furniture or appliances