Bogus offers to help save people from foreclosures was the fastest-growing consumer complaint nationwide in 2009, but auto complaints topped the annual top 10 list again.
The Consumer Federation of America -- and two agencies that conducted the 2009 Consumer Complaint Survey Report of 33 consumer agencies in 18 states, including Virginia -- said they received more than 300,000 consumer complaints and helped victims recover or save around $110 million. That's up from more than 265,000 complaints reported by 34 agencies in 2008.
The study said 58 percent of the agencies reported that they received more complaints in 2009 than they did in the previous year.
As consumer complaints rose, agency resources shrank, necessitating cost-cutting, layoffs or furloughs at some, said Susan Grant, Consumer Federation's director of consumer protection.
"Consumers and consumer agencies were hit hard last year," Grant said.
Many of the complaints related to credit and debit issues because of the economy, she said. Credit/debt as a category rose to No. 2, up from ranking third in 2008.
The 33 agencies included the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Fairfax County Department of Cable and Consumer Services.
A Richmond area case was included in the study.
Virginia's Office of Consumer Affairs got a complaint from a man who took his truck to a repair shop because it was losing power. The shop misdiagnosed the problem, replaced several expensive parts and handed the customer a bill for $3,000.
When he picked up the vehicle, it ran no better than before.
He went back to the shop and was told that it might be other faulty parts, which would cost another $1,500 to replace. Instead, he took it to a dealer, where it was properly repaired for $600. He filed a complaint with the state's Office of Consumer Affairs, which got him a refund from the original repair shop.
The 48-page study of the top complaints came out a week after President Barack Obama signed legislation creating a new consumer protection bureau.
The new bureau won't oversee the automobile industry.
Grant said it would have been beneficial to have the auto industry covered by the new agency. But "auto complaints traditionally have been dealt with by state and local consumer agencies and they will continue to deal with them."
Many complaints in the study dealt with foreclosure cons, including bogus offers to save people's homes.
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