Telecom complaints up among consumers

BOISE – The number of people complaining about phone solicitations dropped this year for the third consecutive year, pushing it lower than telecommunications on the top 10 customer complaint list.

The Idaho Attorney General’s Office released its annual report on consumer protection Friday.

Telecommunication complaints, primarily gripes about unsolicited facsimiles, topped the list with 67 percent of the total 4,078 complaints filed to Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden in 2004.

Last year only 351 complaints were filed, compared with 2,726 this year.

“The top 10 list gives us an indication of what is on the minds of Idaho consumers,” Wasden said. “What seems to be on their minds this year is faxes, unsolicited faxes containing ads to be more specific.”

Wasden said that the settlement with Fax.com, the nation’s largest “fax spammer,” will likely help lower those numbers next year.

His office filed a lawsuit against California-based Fax.com in December 2003.

Wasden claimed the company had faxed hundreds of unsolicited advertisements to Idaho consumers, using automatic dialing machines.

The initial $8,000 recovery from that settlement padded the record $5,777,643 of consumer recoveries Wasden made during 2004.

Wasden said that money and the $528,318 recovered in civil penalties, fines and fees will be deposited into the consumer protection account and be used to fund consumer education.

He also stated that nearly $750,000 in surplus was transferred from the consumer protection account to the state’s general fund.