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Do Not Call: Florida’s Top 10 Consumer Complaints Of 2017
December 31, 2017
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services released today the top 10 consumer complaints filed with the department in 2017. Complaints about violations of the state’s Do Not Call list were the most common, followed by complaints related to landlord/ tenant issues, fuel and gasoline, and motor vehicle repair.
In 2017, the department received 40,855 complaints and responded to 215,870 calls, 16,247 emails and 11,464 online chats from consumers. The top 10 complaints were:
1. Do Not Call –19,112
2. Landlord/Tenant – 2,164
3. Fuel/Petroleum – 1,555
4. Motor Vehicle Repair – 1,386
5 .Medical Billing – 1,253
6. Communications – 1,160
7. ther/Miscellaneous – 1,105
8. Travel/Vacation Plans – 1,028
9. Motor Vehicle/Sales Accessories – 1,021
10. Construction – 973
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is the state’s clearinghouse for consumer complaints, protection and information. The call center is staffed with trained analysts who can respond to questions about programs and regulations under the department’s purview and provide information on a wide variety of topics or direct callers to the appropriate government agency.
Comments
16 Responses to “Do Not Call: Florida’s Top 10 Consumer Complaints Of 2017”
Around a year ago, I gave my cell# to some entity… I usually never do that. I began getting calls from people selling home security systems. After several calls, I ignored every call not known. The calls stopped after a few months.
Hi! Just recently I answered a call not paying attention to the number and it was a gentleman who was with PCH indicating I won a new pickup and some cash to boot. In order to claim my prize I was to jump in my car with him on the phone and drive to nearest Wal-Mart. When I asked him how much money I would need to send him he became very hostile. Going as far as to call me filthy names. I informed him he should get a real job and stop trying to scam people out of their money. Then I was called a few more choice words. I told him to go home and take care of his mommy and he hung up on me. Do they really think people are that stupid? Accidentally deleted his number trying to block it otherwise I would have posted it. Prefix was Africa. I too have my number on the do not call list. Guess it doesn’t include scammers,Ha!
It’s all fine and dandy when you can “ignore” calls from unknown numbers. When you pay hundreds of dollars for a cell phone for work purposes, you have to answer calls from numbers you don’t recognize. When you have 5-10 robo calls per day and another 5-10 from some foreign speaking sales person, it costs you time and money! If I were interested in what ever you’re trying to sell, I’d call you!
Numbers I don’t recognize do not get answered. It’s simple. Just ignore them. If it’s important, they’ll leave a message. If I want to call the them back, I will. I pay the phone bill for my use, not theirs. Call registry or not, this is not a big deal and I bet most people under 40 would agree with me. Just because the phone rings, doesn’t mean you drop what you’re doing to answer it.
Simply screen calls through an answering machine,if you recognize the caller pick up.if not let them leave a message
Telephones are becoming obsolete because of the incessant marketing machine that uses it as a means to annoy us into submission. That strategy will backfire and as soon as it does I’m onboard for whatever replaces it. We all pay good money for a telephone to use for our own benefit, not theirs. That’s why I disable the ringer on all my phones.
“you are being tracked by spyware on your phone, tablet or computer. Check out rates on car insurance and see how many calls you get the next few days from insurance companies. Browse through a resort web site and you’ll get hundreds of calls trying to sell you a cruise to Columbia.”
Maybe you have something on your devices. This literally does not happen to me. I search for stuff constantly on my phone and get maybe one or two calls a week. Hundreds? No.
Remember this when Adam Putnam who is the head of Consumer Affairs, now trying to be elected Governor.
The do not call list is published and sent to businesses that call, reminding them of your phone number and not to call.
Talk about The Fox in the Henhouse!
I’m thinking a lot of folks still believe in the mythical “Do Not Call” register. I used to. It used to work. Then I started getting calls again, multiple times a day. That’s when I found out the “Do Not Call” register had been eliminated by a slimeball politician who was put in office by telemarketers. He accomplished this by slipping in some fine print on another bill that was passed, as so often happens.
Today, anyone anywhere in the world can call and try to sell you anything. Not only that, you are being tracked by spyware on your phone, tablet or computer. Check out rates on car insurance and see how many calls you get the next few days from insurance companies. Browse through a resort web site and you’ll get hundreds of calls trying to sell you a cruise to Columbia. Stay away from those Canadian pharmacy websites because if you compare the price on your diabetes meds to what you’re paying here, they go nuts. You will get a dozen calls a day from India, with unbelievable prices on prescription drugs. (Exactly what is in those prescription drugs is anybody’s guess). Big brother is watching you.
Telemarketers are back in business and blocking their numbers won’t work because their computers generate different ID numbers for each call.
Nothing can be done to stop them, but I do believe the calls have decreased since I began laying the phone down to go call myself to the phone, going back periodically to assure the telemarketer they need to keep holding… tying up that line in order to save my fellow Americans.
Voice mail is a great thing. If I don’t recognize the number, I don’t answer it. If it’s important enough, they’ll leave a message. No message, I block the number. Pretty simple
I get phone callspice daily on my cell & land line. They ask everything from assisting me w/hearing aids to alarm systems, plus the donations constantly. It has to stop!!! I’m on both registries & am disabled. By the time I answer the phone it’s someone trying to sell mE a product I didn’t ask for. How do we stop this?
Does that upside-down phone bother anyone else?
Any number I do not know can leave a message. No phone call is that important..
My phones are on the State and National “Do Not Call” lists. We still get calls on our cell phones and our land line, often multiple times a day. Once a week or so, I go online and enter the phone numbers and times of day of the nuisance calls.
This is a pointless exercise, and I don’t believe it will ever change.
They could fix the Do Not Call.Fine them out of existence
i’m guessing i am one of the few who still likes my landline. the voice quality and reliability cannot be matched by my cell. rob calls are terrible. i get 5 or 6 everyday. they are always from the same people. i am on the do not call list. it doesn’t matter. i don’t answer because i have caller i d that comes up on my tv. it is annoying.