Do Not Call and Telemarketers Top List of Consumer Complaints for December 2012
~ Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Releases December 2012 Status Report ~
For Information, Contact:
Erin Gillespie
Press Secretary
(850) 617-7737
Erin.Gillespie@FreshFromFlorida.com
January 4, 2013
Tallahassee, FL – Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam announced today the top three calls received in December 2012 through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ 1-800-HELP-FLA consumer assistance hotline: Solicitation of Contributions, Do Not Call and Landlord/Tenant. In total, more than 2,980 complaints were filed by consumers in December and the department received 13,581calls and 467 emails for consumer assistance and information.
In the last month, the department has responded to many consumer concerns and taken action against several individuals or businesses operating outside of Florida law. During the month of December 2012, the department:
- Registered 4,594 businesses (both initial or renewal business registrations)
- Received 2,985 complaints. The top three areas of consumers complaints include:
- Do Not Call
- Telemarketing
- Communications
- Initiated 169 investigations (157 administrative and 12 criminal)
- Arrested 2 individuals in violation of state law
- Recovered $288,764 on behalf of Florida consumers
- Added 12,832 numbers (6,594 individuals) to Florida’s Do Not Call List as of December 2012. These numbers will be effective April 1, 2013. Currently, there are 439,916 numbers and 242,048 subscribers on the list
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, provide information on a wide variety of topics or direct callers to the appropriate government agency. In addition, the department has responsibility for regulating various business industries operating in Florida.
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 www.FreshFromFlorida.com.
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