Jan. 7, 2006 - DON'T CALL ME AT HOME

When consumers want to complain about a Florida
business, they turn to the Florida Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services; and in 2005,
the No. 1 complaint focused on businesses'
violations of the state's do-not-call law. During the
year, the Department took legal action against 33
companies and levied more than $102,000 in fines
against violators. The top 10 list of 2005 consumer
complaints is:

1. Do Not Call List -- 4,120 complaints
2. Travel/vacation plans -- 3,909 complaints
3. Price-gouging -- 3,464 complaints
4. Motor vehicle repair -- 2,117 complaints
5. Communications -- 1,982 complaints
6. Construction -- 1,760 complaints
7. Credit/banking -- 1,561 complaints
8. Motor vehicle sales/accessories -- 1,120 complaints
9. Telemarketing -- 839 complaints
10.Business opportunity/franchises -- 727 complaints

FAR offers a free tool to help members comply with
the state and federal do-not-call laws. For more
information, go to the home page of Planet Realtor
(http://planetrealtor.com) and click on "FAR's free
Do-Not-Call compliance service" under "Also on
Planet Realtor."