Unemployment fraud and auto and retail issues last year replaced concerns about airline refunds and robocalls as the top sources of complaints among consumers in the state, according to an annual u…
Notably absent from this year’s list were robocalls, which fell sharply after the federal government required carriers to provide ID authentication on calls. That said, Weiser noted that scammers are still calling people pretending to be government officials or debt collectors. His family received a call last week threatening to cut the power off if money for a supposedly overdue bill wasn’t forwarded in an hour.
Consumers who are concerned about potential scams, price gouging, or other deceptive practices can call Stop Fraud Colorado at 800-222-4444 or visit www.StopFraudColorado.gov and file a complaint. Weiser’s list differs from one also released on Monday by consumer advocacy group CoPIRG, which reported filing 4,729 complaints on behalf of Coloradans with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Public Consumer Complaint Database.
“To paraphrase the Academy Award-winning film ‘Network,’ Colorado consumers are mad as heck and they’re not going to take it anymore. People are letting the CFPB know their grievances in unprecedented numbers, the agency is responding, and that should make all of our lives better,” said Danny Katz, executive director of CoPIRG, in a release.
Financial strains because of the pandemic are resulting in more complaints about credit reports and debt collection. Incorrect information on credit or personal consumer reports generated 995 complaints, while issues with a credit reporting company’s investigation into an existing problem generated 669 complaints in Colorado. Attempts to collect a debt the consumer reported not owing generated 298 complaints, according to the CoPIRG list.