Ohio Small Businesses Turn to Cordray for Assistance

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 6, 2010

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Kim Kowalski: (614) 728-9692

cell: (614) 893-6018

Holly Hollingsworth: (614) 644-0508

cell: (614) 353-7576

Ohio Small Businesses Turn to Cordray for Assistance

Northwest Ohio businesses among those fighting shady practices through

new program

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — In the year since Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray launched a new

program to help small businesses and nonprofits recover dollars lost to deceptive business practices and

scammers, more than 1,250 small businesses have sought assistance, resulting in the recovery or savings

of more than $115,000.

"It's clear that we have tapped into a need in the small business community," said Cordray. "We have

received complaints from businesses all over the state that were deceived or scammed. Many of those

businesses have 20 or fewer employees and lack the resources to pursue disputes. Our office provided the

required effort and leverage to right the wrongs of unscrupulous business practices."

The program, which was launched by Cordray with a pilot project in July 2009, opened the Attorney

General's consumer complaint process to include complaints not only from individual consumers, but also

now from small businesses and nonprofits. Since the pilot launch, the office has received complaints

involving bad business practices that included deceptive advertising, billing disputes, unauthorized charges

and shoddy workmanship or services.

In the northwest region of Ohio, including Allen, Auglaize, Hancock, Hardin, Logan, Mercer, Paulding,

Putnam, Shelby and Van Wert counties, the Attorney General's office received 27 complaints and

recovered or saved hundreds of dollars for area small businesses and nonprofits.

Cordray highlighted the following success stories:

A Findlay bulk services company was continuously charged for cable television after it had

canceled these services. After making numerous failed attempts to clear up the situation with the

cable operation, the company began receiving collection notices. The Attorney General's office

intervened and the company's unpaid balance was cleared.

A Maria Stein-area physician paid a sign company a $300 down-payment for a business sign but

never received the product. The Attorney General's office facilitated a full refund.

The proprietor of an Ada tanning salon was charged $42.75 on her phone bill for services never

requested. After the Attorney General's office contacted the supplier, a full refund was provided.

"This program is not just about recovering dollars, it is about leveling the playing field for businesses that

follow the law," said Cordray. "Shady business practices do not happen in a vacuum. If a business is being

misled, an individual consumer might be deceived by the same company. Opening up this process has

enabled us to fully track trends ranging from poor customer service all the way up to fraud."

Top complaints for the year include:

1. Phony "yellow page" advertisements

2. Unauthorized charges on telephone bills

3. Bogus Internet and website services

4. Extra fees from credit card payment processors

5. Unauthorized credit card charges

6. Failure to receive a service or product

Cordray encourages small businesses that experience unfair practices such as scams, deceptive advertising,

shoddy workmanship, billing disputes, unauthorized charges, monopolies or boycotting by competitors or

any illegal conduct, to contact his office by calling (800) 282-0515 or by visiting

www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/Business

For factsheet information about the Attorney General's small business consumer complaint pilot program,

please visit

www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/BusinessComplaintsFactsheet.

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Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

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Ohio Small Businesses Turn to Cordray for Assistance

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