Washington, D.C. –  The Consumer Federation of America released its annual report surveying consumer complaints made to 33 state and local government agencies across the country. The 2023 report includes the top ten complaint categories and finds that participating agencies provided over $330 million in relief to consumers and handled over 500,000 complaints.

“CFA is very pleased to present this annual report to shed light on what consumers are experiencing and how agencies are responding to help them,” said Erin Witte, Director of Consumer Protection. “Unsurprisingly, consumers continue to file the most complaints about issues related to their cars, home improvement contractors, retail purchases issues and debt/finance issues.”

The report is based on information from 33 agencies in 24 states. Agencies responded to a survey from CFA asking for their top ten complaint categories and their greatest achievements for the year, and agencies also provided real life examples of complaints from consumers.

The top ten complaint categories made to agencies in 2023 are:

1 – Auto Sales & Repair

2 – Home Improvement Repairs and Contractors

3 – Retail Purchase Issues

4 – Consumer Debt & Credit

5 – Frauds and Scams

6 – Landlord Tenant

7 – Professional Services

8 – Healthcare/Wellness

9 – Utilities

10 – Towing

The Report includes a description of each participating agency’s greatest success for 2023. The Arkansas Office of the Attorney General reported enhanced enforcement efforts to combat widespread solar fraud issues, including $4 million of debt relief, an enforcement advisory, and two enforcement actions.

The Oregon Department of Justice highlighted the passage of the Oregon Consumer Privacy Act, and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection reported a $17 million settlement and lifetime ban against three individuals who created a “wealth promotion” scheme that deceived Utahns.

The North Carolina Department of Justice reported enforcement and legislative achievements to combat oppressive 40-year real estate agreements through an enforcement action against MV Realty and legislation to ban these contracts in North Carolina.

The full 2023 Consumer Complaint Survey Report is available here.