Last July, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray launched a program to help small businesses and nonprofits recover dollars lost to deceptive business practices and scams. Since then, more than 1,250 small businesses and nonprofits have sought assistance, resulting in the recovery or savings of more than $115,000.
“Many Ohio businesses have 20 or fewer employees and lack the resources to pursue disputes,” Cordray said. “Our office provided the required effort and leverage to right the wrongs of unscrupulous business practices.”
The program opened the Attorney General’s consumer complaint process to include complaints from small businesses and nonprofits – the program has been available to individual consumers since the 1970s. Through the process, businesses reported complaints ranging from phony “yellow page” advertisements to unauthorized charges on their telephone bills.
In one case, a Mercer County physicians’ office paid a sign company $300 as a down-payment for a business sign but never received the product. The Attorney General’s office facilitated a full refund.
Top complaints for the year include:
- Phony “yellow page” advertisements
- Unauthorized charges on telephone bills
- Bogus Internet and website services
- Extra fees from credit card payment processors
- Unauthorized credit card charges
- 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/Complaint.
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