The Consumer Desk
The Consumer Desk looks into how Arizonans are treated by the businesses they pay: contractors, car dealers, landlords, repair shops, billing offices and the small shops down the street. We check what happened, ask the business for its side, and report what the record shows.
Deposits that vanish. Contractors who take the money and stop showing up.
Bills that don't match the estimate. Repairs, medical and dental billing, towing and storage fees.
Refunds and warranties that never come. Online sellers, subscriptions, rentals and HOAs.
Patterns. One complaint is a problem. Ten about the same business is a story.
A person reads every complaint. If it checks out, we contact you first, then the business. Sometimes a call from a reporter is all it takes to fix the problem, and that's a good outcome. When it's a pattern, it becomes a story.
Most Arizona businesses do right by their customers, and we say so. Every business gets a real chance to respond before we publish, and when they make it right, we report that too. We go by documents and patterns, not one person's word.
We're a newsroom, not a lawyer or a government agency. We can't recover your money or give legal advice. The Arizona Attorney General's consumer protection office and, for contractors, the Registrar of Contractors can act on complaints, and filing with them strengthens your case with us.
Email [email protected] with "Consumer Desk" in the subject line, or call or text 505-932-9060.
It takes about five minutes. If you have receipts, contracts, texts or photos, we'll ask you to email them after you submit. Your contact details stay private unless you say otherwise.