Consumer Alert: The top 10 New York consumer complaints of 2022

ROCHESTER, N.Y. Happy National Consumer Protection Week! This is a big week in my world. And to mark the occasion, New York Attorney General Letitia James compiled a list of the top ten things consumers complained about last year.

During this consumer alert, I’ll focus on the top two. The number one complaint concerns retail sales, including lots of dissatisfaction with online sales. Almost 70 percent of Americans say they do at least some of their shopping online. And many of the complaints the attorney general receives involve consumers unwittingly buying counterfeit products.

The attorney general says to watch out for websites designed to look like the real retailer, but the web address will be off by just a letter or two. Another red flag is the website will have misspellings or awkward sentence structure. 

 It took me just seconds to find a website selling what are likely counterfeit purses. A Neverfull Louis Vuitton bag usually retails for more than $2,100. The suspicious website I found is selling it for $175.

So I checked the “about” page, which is filled with grammar mistakes and odd sentence structure. One sentence reads, “With keen sense of mode, we provide you with pop and classic luxury designer products, and we are sure you will have fascinating personality…” There’s little doubt the purses are fakes coming from overseas. 

Number two on the AGs complaint list is landlord-tenant disputes. I’m not surprised. I’ve been investigating these issues for more than a year. One of the most frequent complaints was concerning the release of security deposits.

Here are your rights regarding your security deposit:

• Your landlord must return your security deposit within 14 days of you moving out.
• If your landlord takes money out for damages, he must provide an itemized list.
• If he fails to do so within 14 days of moving out, then he must return your entire security deposit. 

And if your landlord fails to comply, you may be entitled to up to twice the amount of the security deposit. If you have a complaint, you can click here to file it with the Attorney General’s office.