PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Scams, unreasonable prices and situations that seem too good to be true are all things the Oregon Attorney General’s Office handles in its consumer protection program.
The office allows consumers to log any complaints they have about marketplace items in Oregon and helps enforce consumer protection laws.
Consumer Protection Week runs March 5-11 and to honor the occasion, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum released the Oregon Department of Justice’s list of 2022’s top 10 consumer complaints.
- Auto Sales and Repairs (1,050 complaints)
- Telecommunications (778 complaints)
- Imposter Scams/Fraudulent Entity (697 complaints)
- Financial, Credit and Lending (554 complaints)
- Health and Medical (475 complaints)
- Travel Services and Products (191 complaints)
- Towing (190 complaints)
- Construction Contractors (187 complaints)
- Grocery, Food and Beverage (184 complaints)
- Real Estate (178 complaints)
This is the third consecutive year that auto sales and repairs, telecommunications and imposter scams took the top three spots on the list.
One category made it on the list for the first time in 2022: Towing.
The attorney general’s office said in 2017, the state passed reforms that prohibit towing vehicles from parking facilities, with some exceptions for things like blocking an emergency vehicle. Unless the towing company received signed authorization to tow the specific vehicle from the owner of the parking facility or the owner’s agent, they now must leave it alone.
In January, the Oregon DOJ sued Retriever Towing over their alleged illegal towing activities. The lawsuit says the company illegally towed vehicles from parking facilities without signed authorization from the owner of the parking facility.
In 2022, the DOJ took part in a $1.85 billion national settlement with student loan servicer Navient and more than 5,000 Oregonians received restitution money. More than 800 borrowers in Oregon received more than $22 million in private loan debt cancellation.
The state also returned more than $800,000 to Oregon consumers who filed complaints with the DOJ Consumer Protection Section.
Additionally, $2.1 million went to Oregon consumers who were deceived into paying TurboTax for services that should have been free, the attorney general’s office said.
Report a fraud or scam in Oregon
Anyone who feels they may have fallen victim to a fraud or scam should contact the Oregon Department of Justice.