A year after accounting for the largest increase in complaints to state and local consumer affairs agencies, gripes concerning home improvements now occupy the top spot in the annual tabulation conducted by the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators and the Consumer Federation of America.

Many of the worst scams involved predatory home improvement deals, the two organizations said at a press conference last week. And the target is often elderly home owners, a segment of society which is perhaps the most susceptible to rip-offs.

"Elderly consumers are targeted by scams and crooks," said Jean Ann Fix, CFA's director of consumer protection. "Frauds cheat these vulnerable consumers out of their home equity and life savings through home improvements, sweepstakes and telemarketing schemes."

Predatory lenders, sometimes working in cahoots with contractors, strip senior owners of their equity through a series of high-cost loans that they often are unable to repay. And contractors sometimes disappear with their funds without making the repairs they agreed to make.

Home improvement swindles weren't the only housing-related complaint to make the nefarious Top Ten list, however. Complaints involving household goods were third, the highest that category has ever been. Auto repair issues dropped to fourth.

Household goods include major appliances, electronic equipment, furniture and other big- ticket items. Disputes involved defective products, failure to honor warranties, refund issues and deceptive advertising.

Credit and lending was fifth on the list, mail order was seventh and landlord-tenant issues tied with collections for eighth.

A total of 49 state and local agencies participated in the annual survey, which also found that complaints involving the Internet are growing faster than any other subject.

Another problem area seems to be beefs with utility companies. Gripes against telephone companies and gas and electric providers vaulted into sixth place, the highest ranking ever and three spots higher than a year ago.

Overall, the agencies said their caseloads increased 2 percent last year while their budgets rose only 1 percent. Over the last four years, though, the cumulative growth in their workloads has risen 52 percent but the resources given them by state legislatures and county councils has gone up only 3 percent.

For more articles by Lew Sichelman, please press here.

Published: November 21, 2001

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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.