Customer anger directed at telecom firms

March 03, 2015 11:00 pm • Last Updated: March 04, 2015 10:51 pm

By By LEE HOWARD Day Staff Writer

Can you hear me now?

Telecommunications company snafus topped last year's list of the Top 10 Consumer Complaints in Connecticut, the state Department of Consumer Protection said Tuesday.

The top 10 listing, released during Consumer Protection Week, also indicated that telemarketing, home improvement and gasoline-sales outlets were feeling the wrath of consumers in higher proportions than other businesses. The listing was based on more than 5,500 written complaints the department received last year.

"Among all the legitimate, fair companies doing business here, there are always a number of bad actors," Consumer Protection Commissioner Jonathan A. Harris said in a statement. "And there are honest businesses that go through a difficult stretch."

According to the department's records, more than 1,400 complaints came in about billing and service issues related to Frontier Communications' takeover late last year of AT&T's landline, U-verse and broadband divisions. The issue became so heated that the department eventually decided to provide a hotline number for Connecticut residents who needed to expedite complaints.

Frontier problems alone amounted to about a quarter of all complaints the department received in 2014.

Telemarketing complaints, which moved up from No. 3 to No. 2 on the list this year, often were over the state's Do Not Call law and the possibility that businesses and other organizations were violating the rule. Consumer Protection officials reminded residents in a press release that charitable organizations are not covered by the law, but businesses do sometimes illegally ignore the regulations.

"Where a number can be traced to a Connecticut business, the department enforces the Do Not Call law," the agency said.

Other numbers are passed on to the Federal Trade Commission, according to the department.

Complaints over home improvement contractors and new-home builders had occupied the top spot on the consumer list for a long time, but fell to No. 3 last year. Complaints often involved unfinished or shoddy work, contract issues, property damage and failure to return a deposit.

In the motor fuel category, top complaints involved incorrect pricing, bad gas and unclear signs.

"All were investigated and remedied as needed by the department," according to a release.

The department said it paid out more than $1.9 million in restitution last year to consumers looking for compensation from several guaranty funds related to consumer losses. The funds are for health clubs, home improvement, real estate and new home construction.

For more information, visit the department's websites at SmartConsumer.ct.gov and ct.gov/dcp. Written complaints can be sent by email to dcp.frauds@ct.gov. A helpline is also available at 1 (800) 842-2649.

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow