What nets the most consumer complaints in MB?
Top categories of complaint revealed
Complaints to the Consumer Protection Office 2013-14 | ||
#1 | Payday lenders | 336 |
#2 | Automotive | 147 |
#3 | Credit/Finance/Credit Card | 136 |
| #4 | Home Renovations | 80 |
#5 | Electronics Sales/Service/Manufacturing | 78 |
| #6 | Collections | 73 |
#7 | Direct Sales | 48 |
#8 | Home Furnishing/Accessories | 48 |
#9 | Personal Services/Goods | 36 |
#10 | Other: retail, Internet transactions, professional services, hearing aids, travel, prepaid purchase cards, credit reporting agencies. | 211 |
TOTAL | 1,193 | |
What do Manitoba consumers complain about most when it comes to parting with their money?
If you ask the Consumer Protection Office, the answer would be payday lenders.
That doesn’t come as a surprise to Winnipegger Mike Johnston, who told CBC News he has to rely on those companies to cash cheques.
“They’re gonna bend the rules to their favour, not to yours. All the time,” said Johnston, who said he’s on social assistance and using a wheelchair following a car accident.
He said he was charged three per cent for cashing a cheque.
“I have to because I don’t have a bank account. Makes it kind of difficult,” he said, explaining he lost his wallet and all of his identification.
When consumers feel duped or mistreated about any type of purchase they can turn to the CPO – a Manitoba government agency that can mediate disputes between customers and businesses.
Top 5 automotive complaints
The CBC News I-Team asked the agency for the top five categories of complaints.
After payday lenders, the most common category is automobiles, followed by complaints about credit cards and other forms of financing in third place. Home renovation troubles and electronics are in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
It turns out payday lenders and other financial institutions are at the centre of 472 out of 1,193 complaints for the 2013/14 year.
The agency’s annual report divides those complaints into ten categories.
- Payday lender no longer offering brokered lines of credit in Manitoba
- Payday lenders' lines of credit questioned in Manitoba
In October 2013 The Cash Store Inc. and Instaloans Inc. were caught breaking the rules and overcharging customers on loans. The CPO ordered the companies to reimburse money to 61 people.
A spokesperson for the province said after the CPO clamped down on the companies, more people turned to the agency with complaints.
| |
Sales | 52 |
| Lease | 21 |
Advertising | 4 |
Warranty | 4 |
| Repairs | 27 |
| Other | 20 |
| Total | 128 |
| OUTCOMES:
*Source: Manitoba Consumer Protection Office | |
Then, in December of 2013, the province proposed new rules for payday lenders to make the full cost of borrowing clear to customers.
Johnston said without more enforcement, the companies will continue to be the number one source of complaints.
“Hold them accountable,” Johnston said. “Find a way to hold them accountable, because right now there is no accountability.”
In addition to laws around payday loans, the Consumer Protection Office enforces several other laws, including: The Consumer Protection Act, The Business Practices Act, The Personal Investigations Act, The Hearing Aid Act and The Bedding, Upholstered and Stuffed Articles Regulation under The Public Health Act.
While the CPO tracks what people complain about, it usually doesn’t reveal who they complain about.
In the past when CBC News has requested the names of businesses found to have breached laws under the CPO’s purview, the request has been denied.
In a 2013 letter from the Consumer Affairs department to CBC News, assistant deputy minister Alexandra Morton wrote: “Disclosing [the business names] would cause irreparable damage … and would negatively impact future investigations and mediation efforts by the Office.”
She said the Consumer Protection Act “requires the office to rely heavily on the co-operation of and free flow of information from investigated and other businesses. This co-operation and willingness to provide information is essential to ensuring effective enforcement and compliance.”
Releasing the business names could “result in similar information no longer being supplied” to the CPO, Morton wrote.
When a business is found to be in the wrong, the CPO can name the company, issue a compliance order, impose financial penalties, or take the business to court.
In cases that go to prosecution, the business names become public, but CPO data show those represent just a small number of cases overall – a dozen files against three businesses and their proprietors in 2013/14.
In the same year CPO investigations also led to 11 criminal charges for fraud and netted $423,453 in settlements for consumers.
CBC News obtained a detailed breakdown of CPO statistics for the year 2012 which shows that for the automotive category, there were 128 complaints.
Of those, the CPO obtained compliance in 32 cases, found 67 lacked sufficient information or were unfounded, and 28 ended in an impasse. One case was sent to prosecution.
The I-Team is interested in hearing about your consumer complaints. You can contact the confidential tip line at 204-788-3744, email iteam@cbc.ca, or private message us at @cbciteam