(LEBANON, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today announced a lawsuit against a landscaping contractor accused of failing to deliver lawn care services despite accepting hundreds of dollars in advance payment from Ohio consumers.
The lawsuit charges Israel Alex Barrett, of Cape Coral, Florida, with consumer law violations. In the lawsuit, the Attorney General seeks consumer restitution and civil penalties.
“We won’t tolerate businesses that take advantage of Ohio consumers,” Attorney General DeWine said. “This contractor went door to door signing up customers but left town before providing the promised services.”
According to the lawsuit, Barrett had a principal place of business in Goshen, Ohio. He used various business names, including Pleasant Plain Lawn & Landscape, Alex’s Elite Lawn Care, and Eli’s Lawn Care, which are not registered with the Ohio Secretary of State.
He contacted homeowners through door-to-door visits and accepted about $300 each from consumers. He offered a complimentary aeration and one free treatment as part of the offer. His six-step lawn treatment program was supposed to last from early spring to early winter.
In March 2014, Barrett closed his operation in Ohio. Although he notified customers that he was closing, he did not find another landscaping contractor to apply the lawn treatments, nor did he provide refunds.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office is aware of 12 complaints from consumers who said that Barrett provided no service or only a fraction of the services for which he was paid.
The Attorney General’s lawsuit, filed in the Warren County Court of Common Pleas, charges Barrett with violating Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act and Home Solicitation Sales Act by failing to deliver services, performing shoddy work, and failing to provide proper notice of consumers’ right to cancel a home solicitation sale.
Consumers who believe they have been treated unfairly should contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov or 800-282-0515.
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Documents
Lawsuit (PDF)
Media Contacts
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840
Kate Hanson: 614-466-3840