Contractors land at top of the gripe list

Planning a home improvement? For the last five years, complaints against contractors have been listed in the top five categories in the annual survey of the National Assn. of Consumer Agency Administrators and the Consumer Federation of America.

In previous studies, home improvement contractors were named as the type of business most likely to close its doors and reopen under another name.

And in the latest survey, the 43 state and local consumer affairs agencies that participated fielded more gripes about contractors than about any category except for automobile salespeople.

The most frequent grievances include failure to use a written contract, abandonment or refusal to complete work, workmanship issues and noncompliance with building code requirements.