Disputes over automobile towing and landlord/tenant problems were the top two fastest-growing complaints received by consumer protection agencies last year, according to the a survey of consumer organizations.

Abusive debt collection practices, telephone service billing issues and work done by unlicensed contractors rounded out the top five fastest growing issues brought to the agencies by consumers.

Those concerns were among the data reported Wednesday by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators (Nacpi) in the annual report about consumer complaints. The survey included 40 state and local consumer agencies.

“Many of the complaints are concerned with economic hardships people are now facing,” said Susan Grant, director of consumer protection at CFA. “In addition to those problems, new types of scams and new payment methods that are being exploited by fraudsters pose challenges for consumers and consumer agencies.”

Many consumer agencies are facing budget cuts and reductions in staff. The staff also has to deal with changes in technology and with fraud schemes that are created in the aftermath of disasters, noted Amber Capoun, Nacpi president.

The largest number of complaints received by the consumer agencies last year centered around automobiles, including misrepresentations in advertising or in the sales of new and used cars, lemons, faulty repairs, leasing problems, and towing disputes, the report said.

Shoddy work and the failure to start or finish home improvement and construction projects logged the second highest number of complaints at the consumer agencies.

Disputes over credit and debt came in third. These complaints included everything from billing and fee disputes, to mortgage-related fraud, predatory lending, and illegal or abusive debt collection tactics.

Service problems or billing disputes involving utilities, which included telephone, cable, satellite, Internet, electric and gas were next.

Rounding out the top five in number of complaints were disputes over retail sales, including false advertising, defective merchandise and problems with rebates, coupons and gift cards.

The next five in the list of most numerous complaints included provision of services, home solicitations, landlord/tenant disputes, Internet sales and disputes over the sale of household goods.

The agencies also were asked what their worst complaints were, which was a subjective judgment that could be based on the number of complaints, the dollar amounts involved, the vulnerability of the victim, or simply the outrageousness of the situation, the consumer advocates said.

Topping the list were issues involving foreclosures followed by problems with home repairs following a disaster. Sweepstakes scams and other frauds that target the elderly, business opportunities and work-at-home offers, and violations of do-not-call and other telemarketing laws were also deemed particularly outrageous.

In one of the newer scams, a company was offering payday loans that, in reality, were lines of credit for an online shopping mall. Another innovative fraudster posted erroneous information about traffic violations and offered to remove the information for a fee. Individuals who are part of a sovereign citizenship movement where members claim not to be subject to the laws and courts of the United States marketed some mortgage assistance scams.

The two consumer agencies producing the report developed a laundry list of state and federal laws that should be enacted in order to better protect consumers. They advocate such things as requiring contracts to be shorter and more understandable, requiring Internet businesses to provide a telephone number and personnel staffing the phones to answer consumer complaints, and requiring a cancellation time for large purchases.

Consumers can also help protect themselves, the agencies said. Such things as getting a second opinion on a used car purchase, standing up for your right to question a bill, or reporting problems to the local or state consumer protection agency can help.