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50 Examples of Consumer Issues

John Spacey, updated on April 06, 2024

Consumer issues are problems, injustices and grievances related to the purchase of goods and services by individuals and households. These can arise due to deceptive or unfair practices and failures of producers such as low quality and poor customer service. The following are common consumer issues.

Aggressive sales tactics	Bait and switch
Breach of privacy	Complex billing
Complex contracts	Counterfeit products
Data breaches	Deceptive financing practices
Deceptive pricing strategies	Defective products
Delayed delivery	Delays & cancellations
Difficulty in canceling	Difficulty in obtaining refunds
Difficulty in scheduling appointments	Difficulty redeeming gift cards
Discriminatory practices	Failure to complete work
Failure to honor bookings or reservations	Failure to meet service deadlines
Fake reviews	False product claims
Hidden fees	Inadequate customer service
Inconsistent information	Insufficient product labeling
Lack of choice	Long waiting times
Misleading advertising	Non-delivery
Non-disclosure of product risks	Overbilling
Planned obsolescence	Poor after-sales service
Poor quality products	Poor transparency
Poor usability	Price gouging
Product defects	Service failures and downtime
Shoddy repair work	Unauthorized changes to contracts
Unauthorized charges	Unethical business practices
Unfair contracts	Unfriendly and unhelpful service
Unreliable warranties	Unsafe products
Unsolicited calls and messages	Vendor lock-in

Bait and switch is promising one thing and delivering another. For example, promising a free service that is then automatically converted to a paid service.

Lack of choice relates to monopolies that control a market that have purchased or suppressed most other competition.

Planned obsolescence is a product or service designed to stop working such that it will require expensive upgrades.

Price gouging is the practice of taking advantage of an emergency by raising prices.

Vendor lock-in relates to products and services that make it difficult to switch to a competitor. For example, software that doesn't allow you to export your data.

Summary

Consumer issues are problems, issues and grievances that occur in the purchase of goods and services by consumers. Governments may actively work to solve these issues with consumer protection regulations and enforcement.