How Does The State Attorney General Aid In Consumer Protection Laws?
The Office of the State Attorney General has a Consumer Protection Section that investigates and occasionally prosecutes crimes committed by businesses against consumers. The Office is broken up into four divisions: Economic crimes, charities, antitrust crimes, and elder justice. Their mission is to enforce laws that prohibit unfair and deceptive business practices. These include false advertising, shoddy workmanship, and failure to perform services or deliver goods. The Consumer Protection Section generally begins its investigations based on consumer complaints. Often, they employ a voluntary dispute resolution process involving staffers who are not lawyers. When the business continues to violate the law, however, the Consumer Protection Section can file charges, levy fines, and force compliance. In this article, the Dayton, OH consumer fraud attorneys at Kohl & Cook Law Firm, LLC will discuss the Attorney General’s role in enforcing consumer fraud complaints.
How does the Consumer Protection Section operate?
Generally speaking, the Ohio AG’s office is seeking to force businesses to comply with the law. That means they investigate and discuss the matter first, and then, when all else fails, they file lawsuits against noncompliant businesses. Generally, the Office is willing to work with businesses before a consumer complaint becomes a lawsuit. They will conduct an investigation and discuss the matter with the business. If the business is proceeding in good faith, it will generally not result in litigation.
Ohio’s Unfair, Deceptive, and Abusive Practices law
Section 1345.02 of the Ohio statutes covers Ohio’s consumer protection law and regulates unfair or deceptive acts and practices. This law gives the Ohio Attorney General the power to conduct pre-suit investigations by issuing investigative subpoenas. Generally speaking, however, the AG’s office will just file a lawsuit against a business in court. By the time they have done so, they likely made numerous efforts to resolve the matter in good faith with the business. At some point, efforts at discussion broke down, and the AG’s office saw fit to file a lawsuit.
If a business is sued, it can face some of the largest civil penalties of any state in the country. However, the AG’s office won’t exercise this option until all other avenues of discussion have been exhausted. The Office tends to focus on changing the way a company does business as opposed to suing and fining. They seek to make the business aware of what they need to do better or differently.
In addition to holding Ohio businesses accountable for their practices, the Ohio AG’s Office also goes after companies that make endless robocalls with their Robocall Enforcement Unit. Additionally, there is a special section that caters to the needs of veterans once they re-enter civilian life.
Talk to a Columbus, OH Consumer Fraud Attorney Today
Kohl & Cook Law Firm, LLC represents the interests of those who have been scammed by an Ohio business. Call our Columbus consumer lawyers today to schedule a free consultation, and we can begin investigating your claims right away.
