Other LanguagesOLYMPIA — Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has stopped the deceptive business practices used by Lynnwood, Wash. company Emerald Capital Preservation, Inc. (ECP) and its owner Donald Smith, who failed to disclose a financial conflict of interest to veteran clients and charged unreasonable fees for basic services. The enforcement action announced today includes $26,564 in restitution to 35 victims.
SEATTLE — Chase Bank and Chase Bankcard Services will halt its unlawful credit card debt collection practices as a result of a joint state-federal investigation that found Chase stacked the deck against consumers by pursuing collections cases based on false information. Some instances include listing debt that was the wrong amount, tied to the wrong person, discharged, or time-barred — what’s often called “zombie debt.” Washington will receive $4 million as part of the agreement.
OLYMPIA — Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson released guidelines today for businesses considering adding surcharges in the wake of changes in minimum wage laws in several local jurisdictions in Washington, including Seattle and SeaTac. The guidelines make clear that, in general, businesses can legally add such surcharges as a way to cover their costs, but must do so in a way that is not unfair or deceptive.
SEATTLE — The calls are often along the same lines: A “technician” claiming to be from a well-known company, like Microsoft, tells you your computer is infected with a virus. He throws around some technical jargon, often walking you through some benign activities like opening a Web browser or some computer utility.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson has filed a lawsuit against a Snohomish couple who scammed elderly Washington residents applying for Medicaid and veterans benefits. The Attorney General’s Office alleges that the Cooks’ actions violated the state Consumer Protection Act.
OLYMPIA — Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson issued this statement today in response to the recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Education outlining a new debt relief process for Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (“Corinthian”) students.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson joined with attorneys general from 21 other states to announce that social networking site Classmates.com and floral delivery company FTD have agreed to pay $11 million to resolve allegations the companies engaged in misleading advertising and billing practices.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today joined with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and attorneys general of the other 49 states and the District of Columbia in a complaint charging four sham cancer charities and their operators with bilking consumers out of some $187 million. Of that, only $5 million, or 2.7 percent, was used for charitable purposes. From 2008-2012, the defendants told donors their money would help cancer patients — including children, and women suffering from breast cancer — but the overwhelming majority of donations benefitted only the perpetrators, their families and friends and fundraisers.
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today his office expects to recover a total of $63 million from nine LCD manufacturers, whose price-fixing conspiracy drove up prices consumers paid on items like TVs, laptops and cell phones.
OLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that more than 750,000 Washington Sprint and Verizon customers will be eligible for refunds for unauthorized charges on their cell phone bills as a result of legal action by his office. The restitution for Washington consumers is part of a nationwide $158 million agreement that resolves allegations that the companies placed unauthorized third-party service charges on subscribers’ telephone bills.