Watch your Wallet with Alan Akina - Top 10 Consumer Complaints for 2012

5 Dec 2013 · 2 min

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1:32

In this short segment from the Wake Up Today show, host Alan Akina presents the Consumer Federation of America's list of the top consumer complaints for 2012. He outlines five broad categories—auto sales and repairs, home‑improvement and construction, credit and debt issues, utilities, and retail sales—detailing the typical problems within each (e.g., false advertising, shoddy workmanship, illegal debt‑collection, billing errors, defective products). Akina then offers three practical steps for anyone who believes they are a victim: (1) contact the company to resolve the dispute, escalating to a local consumer‑protection agency if needed; (2) obtain clear answers before paying or making a deposit; and (3) resist intimidation, standing up for one’s money. The segment closes with a brief sign‑off.

Alright, well, if you have a consumer complaint, you're not alone.
Alan Akina is showing us what we're upset about.
Good morning, gang. According to the Consumer Federation of America, you can be a victim of one or more of the top 5 consumer complaints of 2012. Now here they are. Number 1, auto. False advertising and misstatements in both used and new car sales. Also, Shoddy repair work. Home improvement and construction. Here you'll find faulty work or failure to start or complete a task. Credit and debt. Illegal debt collection practices, mortgage-related fraud, predatory lending, and billing and fee disagreements. With your utilities. Service or billing problems. Retail sales. Defective products, false advertising, disputes about rebates, coupons, and gift cards, and failure to deliver. Now, if you've been a victim of one of these, here are 3 things you can do to protect yourself. Number 1, if you have a dispute, contact the company and get the problem fixed. If that does not work, get your local consumer protection agency involved. Number 2, get all of your questions answered before paying or making a deposit. And number 3, don't get bullied. Always stand up for yourself and fight for your money. For Wake Up Today, I'm Alan Akina. See you on Monday.