Consumer complaints in Colorado are on the rise.
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office reports that complaints have gone up roughly 20% during the past year.
The most common complaints, according to Phil Weiser’s office, involve retail sales, professional services and retail sales.
The list was announced to kick off National Consumer Protection Week, which seeks to help consumers avoid scams and fraud, while knowing their rights and encouraging them to file complaints when they feel they’ve been wronged. Denver7 Investigates got a first look at the list early Monday.
“The reality is it’s hard to be a consumer,” Weiser said to Denver7 Investigates. “There are so many ways you can find yourself getting taken advantage of.”
Coloradans filed 24,473 complaints in 2024, which is up from 20,390 in 2023. It’s the most Weiser’s office has received in one year.
The complaints regarding retail sales often involve unauthorized memberships or service issues. Professional service complaints mostly are regarding product and service warranties.
Real estate complaints are the biggest riser on the list and are often from renters dealing with management companies.
“They’re complaining about things like junk fees, about other forms of scams and being mistreated,” Weiser said. “We had over 1,200 complaints from consumers saying something was wrong in terms of how they were treated.”
To address the increase in complaints, Weiser said they are focused on educating consumers on what to look for, continue to bring cases against bad actors and work on behalf of consumers to settle disputes.
“We got to all fight for consumers. It's tough out there. We've got your back,” Weiser said.
Top 10 consumer complaints and the number of complaints received:
1. Retail sales - 1,673 - Includes unauthorized memberships or subscriptions, service and delivery issues, termination issues
2. Professional services - 1,376 - Includes product and service warranties, business support and legal-related services
3. Real estate sales and services – 1,272 - Includes rental and leasing issues, property manager and real estate related activities
4. Imposter scams - 1,205 - Includes fraudulent phone calls, emails or texts from scammers posing as government officials or company employees seeking money through gift cards or wire transfers
5. Debt collection - 1,005 - Includes harassment or abuse from a debt collector, disputed debt, phantom debt or unlicensed collection
6. Automobile sales and services - 958 - Includes issues with automotive purchases, service and repair, auto rentals and towing services
7. Home services and repair - 915 - Includes issues with general contracting and remodeling, healing and cooling and handyman services
8. Health care and medical services - 804 - Includes issues related to hospitals and urgent care, health and medical insurance carries, quality of care, billing and coverage issues
9. Consumer loans and credit sales - 762 - Includes interest rates, credit reporting and unlicensed activity, including tribal lending
10. Telecommunications - 579 - Includes cable/television, cellular/mobile, phones, internet and other communication services
Source: Colorado Attorney General’s Office
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