New York Attorney General Letitia James kicked off National Consumer Protection Week by releasing a list of the most common consumer complaints that her office received in 2019. Internet-related complaints were at the top of the list.

Here's the full top ten list:

  1. Internet-related, which includes internet services and service providers, data privacy and security, digital media, data breaches, and frauds through internet manipulation;
  2. Consumer-related, which includes security systems, tech repairs, immigration services, and consignment shops;
  3. Automobiles, which includes buying, leasing, repair, service contracts, and rentals;
  4. Landlord/tenant disputes;
  5. Utilities, which includes wireless and residential phones, energy servicers and suppliers, cable, and satellite;
  6. Credit, which includes debt collection, credit card billing,  debt settlement and debt relief, payday loans, credit  repair, credit reporting agencies, and identity theft;
  7. Retail sales, which includes any sale of goods, including online orders;
  8. Home repair/construction;
  9. Mail order and online catalogs, which includes purchases made by mail order or online catalog; and
  10. Mortgages.

It's important for marketers to be aware of what the most common consumer complaints are. If you know what are the types of things that aggravate consumers, that can help you better plan your marketing. And, if the Attorney General is getting lots of complaints about something, that's a good sign that enforcement action may be coming. As Attorney General James said, "Consumers who have helped identify and report issues to our office have been invaluable partners in our efforts to stop deceptive scams and will be vital in our efforts to stop fraudsters dead in their tracks going forward. My office will continue to use every tool at its disposable to protect New York consumers and enforce our laws."

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