8 Years of Exposing Scams, Schemes and Scoundrels

Be persistent. The old saying still applies: "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." Call regularly, and keep climbing the ladder until you get a response. Many companies will soon realize you're costing them more in time and effort than your situation is worth.

Leverage publicity. Make the company a proposition it can't refuse: Either it takes care of you or it risks becoming your new "consumer hobby" and having to deal with countless more customers who've learned they've also signed their rights away. Remember, it's the promise of publicity that has the power. Once you've publicly shamed them, they have little reason to negotiate.

Poor service or installation: 25%

This category includes unsatisfactory or unprofessional after-the-sale customer service encounters. (We have filtered out situations where we considered the complaint to be unjustified or extreme.)

My Best Advice: Offer to send what I call a "Letter to the Competition." Rather than broadcasting the problem, just signal that you'll share your unhappy story with the company's top two competitors. Let the company do the math on how much business that might cost it when compared with your paltry problem.

Failure to rebate or refund: 17%

Even when consumers are able to successfully negotiate a refund, many companies fail to comply. We also see many situations where companies don't compensate customers for point-of-purchase or in-package rebates.

My Best Advice: Mention that your next phone call will be to the Federal Trade Commission, which has done great work in this area, slapping many companies with hefty fines in recent years.

Broken sales promises: 13%

This category includes misleading but undocumented statements made by a salesperson or other company representative. It excludes false or misleading advertising. One of our biggest successes falls into this category: Our 2013 negotiation with a national time-share company returned an estimated $180,000 to more than a dozen of our readers and also resulted in a corporate change of policy to prevent future occurrences.

My Best Advice: Before the sale, ask for consent to use your smartphone to record the pitch, and document anything important, including a reasonable return policy, in writing. After the sale, look on the Internet for similar stories that will show a pattern and to use as leverage when negotiating. Talk to the sales department rather than customer service; it's more affected by bad publicity.

Scams: 8%

My Best Advice: Take advantage of federal fraud protections by paying with a credit card, if possible (not a debit card, cash or a check). Before buying, look into a company's reputation online at ripoffreport.com and consumeraffairs.com. After the fact, file a complaint with your local district attorney and state attorney general. That way, you can get your share of a recovery if the scammers are ever brought to justice.

If you've got a consumer problem, reach out to us online. I look forward to hearing from you (or maybe not!).

Consumer advocate Ron Burley writes the On Your Side column for AARP and is the author of  Unscrewed: The Consumer's Guide to Getting What You Paid For. Got a complaint? Tell your consumer woes to Ron at aarp.org/ronburley.