Consumer Affairs Makes Complaint Filing Easier With QR Coding
Wednesday, August 31, 2011 | 08:34am
NASHVILLE- Tennessee consumers can now file complaints against a business or get consumer information with a click of their smartphones, as the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance’s (TDCI) Consumer Affairs division adopts Quick Response (QR) Codes.
Smartphone owners can download a free barcode scanner application to use with QR codes. Just taking a photo of the QR codes– which now can be found on everything from magazines to business cards– will link a user to the Consumer Affairs website or consumer complaint form.
“Our Consumer Affairs division offers a broad range of services in its work to improve business and consumer interaction,” says TDCI Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak. “Gov. Bill Haslam is eager for State agencies to find ways to improve customer service and efficiency. The work being done by Consumer Affairs is but a piece of what the department is doing to be more responsive to Tennesseans with consumer concerns.”
Consumers will now see QR codes on the back of Consumer Affairs business cards and other educational materials it distributes.
“We have been told our division is among the first consumer agencies in the country to use this technology,” said Consumer Affairs Director Gary Cordell, “but our focus is to grow our ability to help consumers find information or file a complaint even quicker than before. Everywhere you go now, you see people walking around looking at their smartphones. This is just one more way to reach a new generation of consumers.”
“If a consumer has a problem in Tennessee,” Cordell said, “we want to hear about it. Last year, we had almost 800,000 hits on our website. That’s a lot of people looking for information, and we think the QR codes will help accelerate the process. We expect to make further improvements through technological adoption later this year.”
The Division of Consumer Affairs educates the public on consumer safety; enforces the Tennessee Consumer Protections Act; sponsors free, annual document-shredding events; and mediates disputes between consumers and businesses. It also acts as a clearinghouse for complaints before consumer problems are referred to the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office.
Consumers may still contact the Division of Consumer Affairs at 615-741-4737, toll-free in Tennessee at 1-800-342-8385 or by visiting its website.
Consumer Affairs (www.tn.gov/consumer/) is a division of the Department of Commerce and Insurance (www.tn.gov/commerce/), which works to protect consumers while ensuring fair competition for industries and professionals who do business in Tennessee.
To view the QR codes, visit www.tn.gov/consumer.