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Investor Complaints and QuestionsSlight Decrease in Investor ContactsDuring fiscal 2003 (October 1, 2002, to September 30, 2003), the SEC's investor assistance staff received 70,574 complaints and questions, a 14% decrease compared with fiscal year 2002. Nearly 40% of these contacts involved telephone calls, approximately 42% came in electronically through our online investor complaint form or email, and the remainder included letters, faxes, and personal visits.
Complaint TrendsAlthough complaints in most categories significantly declined during 2003, complaints concerning commissions and administrative fees rose by approximately 7% over 2002. In addition, complaints concerning corporate bankruptcy increased by 8%, entering our "top ten" list for the first time. The ten most common complaints we received during 2002 included:
* During 2003, we changed to a new data recording system that includes secondary as well as primary complaint codes in our totals. For that reason, our 2002 totals appear higher than previously reported in our 2002 Annual Report. As in years past, we received substantially more complaints about broker-dealers than any other type of entity (including issuers, mutual fund companies, and transfer agents). The top five complaints against broker-dealers involved:
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