McDaniel identifies top ten consumer complaints

In conjunction with National Consumer Protection Week, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel announced today the ten most common complaints addressed by his office's Consumer Protection Division.

McDaniel's Consumer Protection Division received 7,362 consumer complaints in 2011, including complaints from all 75 counties. Resolving those complaints put $1.6 million back into the hands of consumers.

Since McDaniel became Attorney General, the office has recovered a total of $8.5 million for consumers.

The Top 10 Most Common Consumer Complaints by Category:

• Automobile sales and service

• Debt collection services

• Check-cashing and payday-lending services

• Cable TV and satellite services

• Home and business telephone services

• Home improvement, repair and construction

• Cellular phone services

• Mortgages

• Credit and credit repair services

• Internet services and Internet auction sales

This week marks the 14^th Annual National Consumer Protection Week. National Consumer Protection Week is observed each year in an effort to promote awareness of consumer rights and help consumers make better-informed decisions. For more information about the observance, visit www.ncpw.gov.

On Monday, McDaniel launched the “Got Your Back, Arkansas” consumer protection and education initiative.

"We want to better equip consumers to avoid pitfalls, and we want them to know we can help each of them as consumers in the marketplace today," McDaniel said. “We want to connect with people who can’t meet with us in person. We are going to consumers, rather than waiting for them to come to us.”

The “Got Your Back, Arkansas” initiate will educate and inform Arkansans about tips, tools and resources the Consumer Protection Division has available.

For more information about consumer-related issues, or to file a complaint, visit  GotYourBackArkansas.org or call the Consumer Protection Division’s hotline at (800) 482-8982.