BBB Releases Top Complaints, Coloradans Prove To Be Proactive

DENVER (CBS4) - It is National Consumer Protection Week, and the Colorado Attorney General's Office took the chance to unveil its annual list of the top ten consumer complaints.

The Better Business Bureau released its list of industries that get the most complaints from customers.

Compared to the rest of the country, consumers in Colorado appear to be well informed. Colorado Attorney General Coffman said Coloradans are more proactive in their approach to bad business deals.

The same can't be said for other parts of the country.

Ashley Grimes, a 23 year old student, walks or takes public transportation. She spent $1500 on her used car, but then had to cough up $5000 on repairs.

"I had a leak in my steering wheel fluid and I had to replace my whole line. I also had to replace my circuits, my wiring basically, I had to replace all of it," said Grimes.

The BBB is out with its annual list of consumer complaints and among the top offenders are auto dealers.

"Think high pressure sales tactics, think misleading advertising or consumers just not understanding what they're reading," explained Claire Rosenzweig, President and CEO of the BBB for metro New York.

Anthony Ali at the BBB handles around 80 complaints a day, ranging from cell phones and cable companies to banks.

When asked how angry the callers can be, Anthony explained, "They're pretty angry, of course, they're very angry. Consider that there's situations where they've spent their hard earned money and trying to get a service or product."

The BBB logs nearly a million consumer complaints a year. In 2014, complaints were actually down 5% but 'inquiries' about businesses jumped 20%. That means more people investigated companies before doing business with them.

"It's great news because it means consumers are asking questions, they're doing their homework," said Rosenzweig.

In Colorado, consumers filed just over 9500 complaints and inquiries in 2014, which is a 10% increase from the previous year.

The BBB recommends a visit to their website before making a purchase or choosing a service, where they have more than 4.5 million companies listed.