You may well have registered a complaint at some point with a business, thereby letting it know that you have been wronged.
It turns out that tens of thousands of Ohioans do so each year with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. This week, that office shared information about the types and volume of such communication it has received over the last twelve months.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine recently announced the top consumer complaints his office received in 2017, when more than 22,000 complaints were filed. “We’re committed to protecting Ohio consumers, and addressing their complaints is an important part of what we do,” Attorney General DeWine said. “In many cases, complaints are the result of a misunderstanding, and we try to bring both sides together to solve the problem. In other cases, complaints provide important information about the issues affecting people.”
In 2017, ten of the most common types of complaints reported to the Ohio Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Section were:
- Used car sales (about 3,750 complaints)
- Shopping online and in stores (about 1,170 complaints)
- Cable or cable bundling (about 1,120 complaints)
- Collection calls (about 840 complaints)
- Identity theft, requests for assistance (about 780 complaints)
- Wireless phone services (about 740 complaints)
- Vehicle repairs (about 550 complaints)
- Appliances (about 470 complaints)
- Renting and landlords (about 440 complaints)
- New car sales (about 430 complaints)
The Consumer Protection Section tracks complaints in several general categories for reporting purposes, and in 2017, the top overall categories were:
- Motor Vehicles
- Utilities, Phone, Internet, or TV
- Shopping, Food, or Beverages
- Professional Services
- Collections, Credit Reporting, or Financial Services
- Home or Property Improvement
Consumer complaints generally are handled through the office’s dispute resolution process, where specialists work with the consumer and the business to reach a resolution. Complaint resolution may involve, for example, a refund for the consumer or an adjustment of charges or services. In 2017, over $2.7 million was adjusted or recovered for consumers through this process, according to complaint information.
The office also takes complaints from small businesses and nonprofits. In 2017, the office logged more than 680 complaints from small businesses or nonprofits and provided dispute resolution similar to the services offered to consumers.
Consumers who want to file a complaint or learn more about consumer protection topics should visit www.OhioProtects.org or call 800-282-0515.
