| Consumer complaints jump last year in Colorado Consumer complaints by Coloradans jumped in 2011, up nearly 13 percent from the year before, according to numbers released Monday by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers to mark the start of National Consumer Protection Week. "We've engaged in a very aggressive outreach," Saccone said. Other notable names among the top 10 include DirecTV, Dish Network, Comcast and Verizon Wireless. Rounding out the top 10 were utility complaints (cable and satellite TV), mail fraud, health and medical services, tanning salons, Internet shopping services, telephone (cellphones and equipment), magazine subscription agents, rebate offers and roofing and guttering contractors. Complaints are off to a blistering pace this year. Heart Check America, a chain of medical imaging clinics touting "preventative imagery," was No. By business, the top complaint-getter in 2011 was Dalbey Education Institute; Suthers' office and the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit in May against Westminster-based Dalbey, accusing the company and its principals of deceptive trade practices. The growing number of complaints doesn't necessarily mean that Coloradans have more to complain about, but might be a sign that residents are better educated about fraud and how to report it, said Mike Saccone, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office. That includes visiting senior and community centers around the state to warn about fraud and working with AARP ElderWatch, which battles senior fraud. "If you look at the top complaints for 2011, nearly each one of those companies have been the subject of an enforcement action either by our office or our partners," Saccone said. 3 on the list; it closed its Denver office last year after state inspectors confirmed it was routinely conducting CT scans on patients without an order from a Colorado licensed doctor and was later fined $3. 2 million by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Complaints filed with the Attorney General's Office in January and Febrary total 1,434, more than twice the number at this point last year. |
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Consumer complaints jump last year in Colorado
