In Recognition of National Consumer Protection Week, Attorney General Bonta Releases California’s Top 10 Consumer Complaints

OAKLAND — In recognition of National Consumer Protection Week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta today released 2024’s Top 10 Consumer Complaints and highlighted ongoing efforts to protect California consumers. The list released today includes the top consumer complaint categories the California Department of Justice (DOJ) has received in the last calendar year. Attorney General Bonta urges Californians to report misconduct or violations of state consumer protection laws to DOJ at oag.ca.gov/report. Complaints submitted by the public provide DOJ and sister agencies with important information about potential misconduct to help determine whether to investigate a business or individual.

“California is a pillar of strong state consumer protection laws and an outspoken advocate for robust federal protections,” said Attorney General Bonta. “This National Consumer Protection Week, I urge Californians to help us further this work. If you see misconduct or are the victim of a scam, my office wants to know about it: I encourage consumers to immediately file a complaint online at oag.ca.gov/report. Whether protecting our kids online, stopping egregious bank fees, or cracking down on illegal price gouging, as the People’s Attorney, I am committed to going to the mat for California consumers.” 

Top 10 Consumer Complaint Categories from 2024:

1.    Social Media Platforms 
2.    Online Retailers
3.    Banks
4.    Contractors
5.    Landlord/Tenant Issues
6.    Online Scams 
7.    Debt Collection 
8.    Credit Reporting 
9.    Telephonic Scams
10.  Brick and Mortar Retail Sales

Fighting to Keep More Money in the Pockets of Californians:

Attorney General Bonta took on bad actors and archaic policies that hurt Californians pocketbooks. Last year, DOJ announced a $700 million multistate settlement with Johnson & Johnson for failing to disclose if asbestos was present in its talc products; secured a settlement with ticket reseller StubHub, Inc. for failing to pay timely refunds to Californians for canceled events during the COVID-19 pandemic; and sponsored successful legislation to protect Californians’ financial future by banning the inclusion of medical debt on credit reports.

Last month, Attorney General Bonta supported lawsuits challenging the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Since its creation, the CFPB has actively worked to make the lives of everyday people better and has returned over $20 billion to Americans nationwide. The shuttering of the CFPB would cause catastrophic harm to consumer protections, leaving no federal oversight over large banks, and saddling state agencies with the sole responsibility to protect consumers from conduct regulated by the CFPB.

Putting Social Media Companies on Notice:

In response to a dramatic uptick of consumer complaints, last March, Attorney General Bonta sent a letter to Meta expressing deep concern regarding the increase in account takeovers and lockouts on Facebook and Instagram and the inadequacy of the company’s response to prevent and address consumer harm from these takeovers. The letter asked Meta to take immediate action to increase mitigation tactics and respond to users whose accounts have been taken over.

Sticking up for Students: 

In the last year, Attorney General Bonta continued to protect students by securing a decision that upheld a judgment against Ashford University for giving students false or misleading information about career outcomes, cost and financial aid, and transfer credits, as well as a $4.5 million settlement with University of Phoenix for aggressive and unlawful military student recruitment tactics. 

Protecting Children Online:

Attorney General Bonta continued to take action to create a safer internet for children and teens. In October 2024, DOJ filed a lawsuit against TikTok for harming young users and deceiving the public about the social media platform’s dangers; and secured a decision in his lawsuit against Meta that largely denies Meta’s attempt to evade responsibility for their role in the children’s mental health crisis. DOJ proudly supported legislation that would put consumers in control of their relationship with social media, like SB 976 (Skinner), recently enacted legislation which interrupts the ability of social media companies to use addictive design features, and AB 56 (Bauer-Kahan), newly proposed legislation that would require warning labels on social media platforms. 

Advancing Your Data Privacy Rights: 

In January, Attorney General Bonta reminded Californians of their right to stop or "opt-out" of the sale and sharing of their personal information under the California law, and encouraged consumers to consider familiarizing themselves with the Global Privacy Control (GPC), an easy-to-use browser setting or extension that allows consumers to take back control of their personal data. 

Last year, Attorney General Bonta announced a settlement with DoorDash for violating California privacy laws by selling its customers’ personal information; and worked with local partners to secure a settlement with a video game developer for illegally collecting and sharing children's data. 

Scram, Scams! 

Attorney General Bonta continued educating and warning consumers about financially harmful and widespread AI-generated scams, toll booth scams, romance scams, and package delivery text-based scams; and continued the fight against annoying and illegal robocalls, which are often a vehicle for scams.

Setting the Record Straight on AI:

In January, Attorney General Bonta issued two legal advisories, reminding consumers of their rights, and advising businesses and healthcare entities who develop, sell, or use artificial intelligence (AI) about their obligations under California law. Many consumers and patients are not aware of when and how AI systems are used in their lives or by institutions that they rely on.

Businesses use AI systems to evaluate consumers’ credit risk and guide loan decisions, screen tenants for rentals, and target consumers with ads and offers, as such, must comply with California consumer protection laws.

Tackling Price Gouging During a Natural Disaster: 

In the wake of Los Angeles Fires, Californians should be coming together to help our neighbors, not attempting to profit off their pain. DOJ takes its duty to protect the public from price gouging, rental bidding, and unsolicited property offers by predatory buyers extremely seriously. In addition to sending over 700 warning letters to hotels and landlords, DOJ has several active investigations into price gouging and has announced price gouging charges against three Los Angeles real estate agents and a landlord (January 22, January 28, and February 18). These investigations are often the result of review of complaints received by DOJ.

DOJ established the Disaster Relief Task Force to work closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement and regulatory partners; last month, DOJ collaborated with, Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto on misdemeanor price gouging charges against a homeowner and real estate agent who allegedly engaged in price gouging in violation of the law.

For more tips and information on consumer protection, please visit https://oag.ca.gov/consumers.