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Charleston Business

Travel, Vacation Problems Top List of Covid-19-Related Complaints from S.C. Consumers

Jun 12, 2020 11:13AM ● By David Dykes

Staff Report

Reports about travel and vacation problems topped the list of Covid-19-related complaints from consumers in South Carolina, while nationally reports about online shopping top the list of consumer complaints, according to new data released by the Federal Trade Commission.

Most of the Covid-19-related travel and vacation complaints from consumers are about problems with cancellations and refunds, FTC officials said.

Covid-19-related consumer complaints about online shopping include reports about items not arriving or not arriving when promised and items that are different than advertised, the officials said.

The FTC began releasing Covid-19-related complaint data in late March 2020 and is now releasing more detail about the types of complaints it has received from consumers in each state.

From Jan. 1 through June 8, 2020, South Carolina consumers reported losing nearly $278,000 to fraud related to the pandemic, with a median loss of $287, FTC officials said.

In addition to vacation and travel-related complaints, other top Covid-19-related fraud complaints from South Carolina consumers included reports about online shopping problems and a variety of issues with services and activities booked online, especially the cancellation of events.

Learn more about consumer topics and file a complaint online (https://www.ftc.gov/faq/consumer-protection/submit-consumer-complaint-ftc) or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357).