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Staff report: advertising, referral-status confusion and wholesaling top complaint trends
Summary
Staff told the Consumer Protection Department committee that advertising violations, confusion about 'referral status' and deceptive wholesaling activity are recurring complaint themes; members requested a short list of the most common complaint types to inform continuing education.
Staff for the Consumer Protection Department summarized complaint-handling and case-processing and urged that closed-case findings be used to shape continuing education for licensees.
"This is Jay. I can talk about cases," Jay said when asked to discuss case processing. Jay clarified that "35" referenced the number of cases opened in October and noted that the far column in staff materials shows total open cases (the exact total was not specified in the discussion). He said advertising violations—agents "not using the correct licensed names" for individuals or entities—are the most common problem. Jay also reported ongoing confusion among licensees about "referral status," noting that some licensees wrongly treat referral status as a licensing category.
Members and staff discussed wholesaling: staff described deception around wholesaling that is difficult to prove and complicated by multi-state actors. Staff noted a credential requirement beginning next July that may help track who is operating as a wholesaler but said the credential may not substantially help consumers.
Committee members asked complaint-handling staff to provide a short "top 10" list of the most frequent complaint types so educators can incorporate those themes into continuing-education classes.
The department also reported outreach to community association managers (CAM) and attendance at CAM training events to reduce recurring complaints.
