[This was originally the Question of the Day, but I changed it.]
Attorney General Lisa Madigan has released her annual list of top 10 consumer complaints. From a press release issued late yesterday afternoon:
Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced that for the first time in the history of the Illinois Attorney General’s Top 10 Consumer Complaint List, identity theft complaints topped the list, exceeding the other categories by far. Madigan attributes the dramatic increase in consumer complaints concerning ID theft to her office’s new Identity Theft Hotline, announced in February 2006.
Madigan also announced that her office’s Consumer Protection Division received a record number of consumer complaints in the last year. In 2006, the Consumer Protection Division received 32,724 consumer complaints, a more than 18 percent increase over the 26,652 consumer complaints received in 2005. This increase follows a nearly 11 percent increase in consumer complaints in 2005.
And here’s the list:
CATEGORY - # OF COMPLAINTS
1. Identity Theft - 5,237
2. Credit - 3,444
3. Construction/Home Improvement - 3,204
4. Telecommunications - 2,782
5. Promotions and Schemes - 2,261
6. Financial Services - 1,695
7. Motor Vehicles/Used Auto Sales - 1,486
8. Mail Order - 1,475
9. Business to Business Fraud - 815
10. Motor Vehicle/Non-Warranty Repair - 790
Question: Have you ever been tempted to call the AG’s consumer complaints tip line? What’s your story? Without names, of course.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Jan 30, 07 @ 11:44 am:
LOL. Apparently, nobody here has ever been ripped off.
- One_Mcmad - Tuesday, Jan 30, 07 @ 1:57 pm:
My story is about how the Illinois Offices of Executive Inspector General’s are engaging in Consumer Fraud by refusing to release copies of reports to informants and whistleblower who file complaints.
The state is using tax dollars to staff these offices and further frauding the people into believing that the state is using those dollars to create an ethical, open and honest government when the reality is that these offices don’t accomplish much. The offices are not transparent and donot create open and honest government.
We are all being ripped off by the State of Illinois.
But you know if I filed the complaint, it would be sent straight to the shredder.
- Oh Boy! - A List - Tuesday, Jan 30, 07 @ 2:57 pm:
Why doesn’t Ms. Madiagan stop wasting everyone time and go after the real threat to Illinioians - Blagojevich and Company.
How many complaints has she gotten regarding this administration?
Voted for her twice now, she starting to disappoint a lot of people.
- Objective Dem - Tuesday, Jan 30, 07 @ 5:24 pm:
I never thought about contacting the AG because I think of it as being more of a federal issue, but I wish the AG could do something about all the e-mail spam. Especially the one’s “phishing” for personal info and the ones that are clearly con jobs.