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 addition, the department recovered $2,659,000 for Florida consumers in 2017.
“We are dedicated to protecting Florida’s consumers, and I’m proud that we recovered more than $2.6 million for Floridians this year,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam. “Anyone can call our 1-800-HELP-FLA consumer hotline or visit FreshfromFlorida.com to file a complaint, find information about businesses and professionals and learn how to protect themselves from fraud and scams.”
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:
- Do Not Call –19,112
- Landlord/Tenant – 2,164
- Fuel/Petroleum – 1,555
- Motor Vehicle Repair – 1,386
- Medical Billing – 1,253
- Communications – 1,160
- Other/Miscellaneous – 1,105
- Travel/Vacation Plans – 1,028
- Motor Vehicle/Sales Accessories – 1,021
- 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.
Consumers who believe fraud has taken place can contact the department’s consumer protection and information hotline at 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) or, for Spanish speakers, 1-800-FL-AYUDA (352-9832). For more information about the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, visit FreshFromFlorida.com.
