Listening to people complain all day — it's not a a job for the faint-hearted. The Royal Gazette sat down with the hardy folk of Consumer Affairs.

The better they do, the more people complain.

That's the odd reality for the hard-pressed staff of Consumer Affairs who have to traverse a potential minefield of angry customers and resentful retailers on a daily basis.

Executive Director Karen Marshall said: "Sometimes it can be overwhelming in the end. There are days I have to tell my staff to talk a walk — people are becoming violent.

"Sometimes you can take it really personally. But if we weren't doing a good job we wouldn't be growing and people would stop ringing."

And the work doesn't cease when staff are on a break.

"We get stopped in the street. You could be having dinner and they come up to your table and tell you their problems. I have even had people figure out where I live and come to my home."

Enforcement Officer Rhonda Daniels pointed out that Consumer Affairs wasn't there to beat up retailers but to ensure both buyers and sellers behaved properly.

"You can have unethical business practices but also unethical consumers as well."

People in the middle of a dispute have impersonated Consumer Affairs in a bid to hoodwink businesses into refunding money.

Switching is another scourge practiced by shameless shoppers.

"With ladies our tops don't always match our bottoms so they switch the pants from a size eight to go with the top of a size ten."

Some have taken price labels from cheaper goods and put them on more expensive items.

"Some deliberately tamper with a faulty product and say it is faulty or defective.

"But for everyone who lies there's 20 who really need our help."

Ms Marshall added: "Consumers are very lazy. They don't like to do their homework. They see something and buy it.

"They see it cheaper somewhere else and automatically think they are entitled to get their money back from the other store. People don't compare pricing or products."

In the US shoppers who habitually demand refunds end up on a blacklist said Ms Daniels. The 'serial returners' phenomenon has yet to hit Bermuda.

"But we do have the problem where consumers repeatedly make the same mistake."

Consumer Affairs said householders needed to find out if a tradesmen was going to charge for travelling time, or the extra person who comes with them, or to dispose of the old item they were replacing — before they got a nasty shock when the bill came.

Consumers are urged to get their terminology right as it could save them cash.

An estimate is a rough ball-park figure on what something might cost. A quote is where some serious consideration of costs and time scales has been done.

A law currently being worked on will stipulate how much a vendor can reasonably exceed their quote by.

Another consumer-generated problem is young people signing up for cell phones without reading their contracts.

When they defaulted on payment their name was sent to a collection agency who took an additional cut, pushing the debt up further.

"We have an increase of calls on that. Teenagers talk on the phone all the time and then have a phenomenal cell phone bill they have to pay," said Ms Daniels.

"People want us to assist and complain the fees are too high. If your bill is a $100 you get a bill from the collection agency saying you now owe $130."

She urged those in the red to contact their cell provider and work out a repayment plan. Once it reaches the debt collection agency there was little that can be done.

Consumer Affairs has also run campaigns for younger people warning them about the dangers of identity theft, falling behind on their rent and modifying their cars in a way which would compromise with the warranty.

Car complaints are legion. Flashy autos built for belting down European motorways are a nightmare to maintain after months of chugging along Bermuda's gridlocked roads.

Ms Marshall said: "The problem we have is Bermuda consumers are demanding so much more. High end cars which are really not suitable for Bermuda because of our stop and go. It is just a nightmare.

"There is going to have to come a point when Bermuda retailers are going to have to stop meeting the demand.

"You go in five o'clock traffic at a snail's pace. Those things are just not good for the car."

Replacement parts are exorbitant and services are needed more regularly. "People are just floored when they get their bills — even for just a service its $1,000. It's craziness."

Pedlars can be another problem. Consumer Affairs are concerned some are getting their goods from middlemen rather than manufacturers, meaning warrantees don't hold. It's an important point when you are buying expensive mopeds or washing machines from a container.

Consumers still have a right of refund if they buy poor quality goods from pedlars. But the consumer will have to take the pedlar to court under the Sales of Good Act — and the difficulty is finding them again.

Purchasers should buy items in their original packaging because it will often have important instructions, urged Consumer Affairs.

Street sellers have brought in electrical items without ground wires from countries without safety standards. "They can harm people — we saw electrical saws without safety guards or ground wires," said Ms Marshall.

Such dangerous kit was turning up on building sites where damp conditions could turn it lethal.

Ms Marshall said: "Everyone has a right to earn a living and we don't want to disenfranchise anybody but there is a due diligence that needs to be done. If we have a recall it's very hard to find who sold what."

And Ms Daniels added: "We are not being punitive. We are trying to ensure the products being sold to Bermuda residents are of a high standard."

Now there are moves afoot — via the Small Business Development Corporation — to have designated 'pedlars areas' which will allow easier enforcement but also give the street traders themselves protection by giving them safety in numbers against any criminals looking to take advantage.

People buying stuff at yard sales and on websites take their chances but it's not a case of 'anything goes' if the stakes are high.

"But if you bought a second-hand boat for $100,000 and (there is a problem) with it you have recourse in court," said Ms Marshall.

Consumers Affairs take a lot of complaints about Cablevision but have to refer them to the Telecommunications ministry. Ms Marshall points out: "Under their licensing all their channels have to be off for 24 hours, not just the one."

Consumer Affairs sits on boards of ministries to press the case of the consumer and has amended numerous acts to make them more consumer friendly. "A lot of laws were really one-sided toward the retailers," said Ms Marshall.

Landlord/tenant disputes are another large source of complaints. Consumers Affairs see it all — from tenants determined not to pay to landlords who enter their tenants apartments to watch TV and help themselves to the contents of the 'fridge.

Handling recalls is another important function.

Last year there were 122 such cases. Earlier this month there was a recall on Chinese toys and toothpaste.

Ms Marshall said: "We have been saying for almost two years now we have a big problem with China — there really isn't the quality control, it's not the same standard as the rest of the world.

"That's why you had Mattel with around 800 products which had to be recalled."

But retailers are keen to buy Chinese products because they are cheaper.

At the heart of the work of the Consumer Affairs is sorting out disputes. Everything from customers wanting to know if they can get a refund because they have changed their mind (the answer is no), to people who have had builders do a shoddy job and flee with their money.

Complainers are urged to be truthful and allow reasonable time to get the problem fixed. "Consumers need to understand that every complaint takes hours and hours of investigation," said Ms Marshall who reports her team gets up to 15 complaints a day.

And the caseload has also increased with customers wanting advice pre-purchase.

Consumer Affairs promise to return calls within two business days but the hope is to improve on that with more staff.

Dispute resolution requires the patience of a saint and the deduction skills of a detective said Ms Marshall.

"You are going to get three different versions of the same story from everybody. You have got to somehow be able to identify the key issue. You are going to get a lot of anger and emotion. People not sticking to the facts but giving you everything under the sun which is not necessary."

"You try to get a win-win. A compromise where both parties are happy with the outcome."–It takes a special type of person to keep going amid the daily flak but it has its own rewards said Ms Marshall. "My desk is piled high with cases. If you didn't make a difference it would be the most depressing job in the world. A lot of people couldn't handle a job like this.

"But when you get it right people are really grateful. That makes it all worthwhile."