Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act Lawyer
Consumers in Columbus, Ohio have various protections from unlawful business practices. The Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act is a set of state laws that prohibits certain types of business practices in the state and provides legal remedies for consumers who have been affected. If you believe you have been harmed by an unfair or illegal business practice, you should discuss your situation with a lawyer who can assess the details of your case. Contact our Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act lawyer to begin working on your claim.
What is the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act?
The Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act prohibits unfair, deceptive, and unconscionable business practices by a supplier that occur in a consumer transaction. Who counts as a supplier, and what counts as a consumer transaction? The law defines those terms like this:
- “Consumer transaction means a sale, lease, assignment, awad by chance, or other transfer of an item of goods, a service, a franchise, or an intangible, to an individual for purposes that are primarily personal, family, or household, or solicitation to supply any of these things.”
- “Supplier means a seller, lessor, assignor, franchisor, or other person engaged in the business of affecting or soliciting consumer transactions, whether or not the person deals directly with the consumer.”
When a business violates the Act, the attorney general can seek a remedy, and a consumer also may have a private cause of action. Depending upon the specific violation, a consumer can be eligible to receive actual economic damages for any economic losses they have suffered, as well as up to $5,000 in noneconomic damages.
Understanding Unfair, Deceptive, and Unconscionable Business Practices
What constitutes an unfair, deceptive, or unconscionable business practice? The following are just some examples of practices that could violate the Act:
- Advertising or informing a consumer that a product has benefits it does not have;
- Describing a product as being a specific brand or of a particular quality when it is not;
- Informing consumers that a used product is actually new;
- Telling a consumer that a product needs to be repaired or replaced when it does not;
- Failing to inform a consumer of their right to cancel a sale;
- Supplier holding itself out as a licensed business when it is not;
- Offering a “free” product to a consumer when the consumer is actually paying for the product as a result of a price increase in another product required to be purchased in order to get the “free” product; and
- Failing to give a consumer a written estimate for certain services.
There are a wide range of specific practices that are considered to be unfair, deceptive, or unconscionable under the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, and it is important to discuss any questions you have with a lawyer. If you are trying to determine whether a specific business practice would be classified as an unfair, deceptive, or unconscionable practice, an attorney can help.
Contact Kohl & Cook Law Firm
If you believe you may have been subject to an unfair, deceptive, or unconscionable business practice in violation of state law, you could be eligible to file a lawsuit in order to seek compensation. Contact our experienced Columbus Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act lawyer today.
