by Staff
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reported that violations of Florida’s “Do not call” law once again led the list of written complaints filed with the department in 2007.
However, the number of complaints dropped by more than 500 from the previous year.
In Duval County, that same complaint was the most reported, and other top complaints generally aligned with others reported across the state.
The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is the clearinghouse for consumer complaints in Florida, regulating 11 industries from travel to telemarketing and mediating complaints against unregulated businesses.
“We have been able to assist a lot of people who were victims of unfair and deceptive business practices,” said Commissioner Charles Bronson. “But it is always better to educate people about their rights and responsibilities as consumers so they won’t be targeted in the first place.”
More than 25,000 complaints were filed with the department in calendar year 2007, and the department was able to recover nearly $4.7 million in fines for consumers.
As in previous years, the majority of complaints involved violations of Florida’s “Do not call” program, which prohibits most telemarketing calls to people registered on the list. There were 4,223 complaints in 2007, compared to 4,782 in 2006.
Bronson said it may be that businesses are starting to recognize the department aggressively pursues violators with fines and are paying more attention to the list. The department collected $252,500 in fines against telemarketers who violated the law in 2007.
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 most types of 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.
Some categories, such as complaints involving travel and vacation arrangements, saw significant decreases in 2007, although all categories received fewer complaints than the previous year.
“I hope the reduction in the number of complaints means people are becoming savvier about consumer issues and not allowing themselves to fall prey to shoddy business practices,” Bronson said.
Bronson urges consumers to contact the department’s Consumer Helpline at 1-800-HELPFLA (1-800-435-7352) or 1-800-FLAYUDA (1-800-352-9832) to register complaints or to find out the complaint history against a company before conducting any business. Consumers can also file complaints at the Division of Consumer Services Web site, www.800helpfla.com.
Top 10 complaints Statewide:
• “Do not call” violations: 4,223
• Being misled about travel/vacation plans: 2,494, down more than 1,300 from 2006
• Communications (i.e. cable or phone service): 1,960
• Motor vehicle repair: 1,664
• Credit/banking: 1,623
• Construction: 1,259
• Motor vehicle sales/accessories: 1,214
• Other telemarketing calls: 1,104
• Electronic equipment: 754
• Landlord/tenant issues: 746
Top 10 complaints in Duval County:
• “Do not call” violations: 104
• Motor vehicle repair: 77
• Communications: 62
• Motor vehicle sales/accessories: 41
• Credit/banking: 41
• Construction: 36
• Travel/vacation plans: 23
• Landlord/tenant issues:17
• Fuel (prices or quality): 15
• Home furnishings (from carpet cleaning to broken furniture): 15