Consumer Protection Agency

Consumer protection is a mixture of laws and organizations that ensure the rights of consumers while allowing for the fair trade competition between businesses. The laws are in place to prevent businesses that practice in fraudulent business tactics to gain advantages over competitors. Below are a few of the more commonly asked questions regarding the consumer protection agency.

I have a company that don't want to honor a warranty on a part they installed. What can I do?

There are a few things you could do. The first option is filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Most companies try to keep a healthy reputation and will try to make amends with unhappy customers in order to maintain a good rating. If nothing else, you will alert other consumers of the company's failure to follow through with their agreements.

You could also file a complaint with the state Consumer Protection Agency. They can investigate this type of complaint as well. However, without several complaints about the same company, the CPA will not usually perform an investigation.

Another option would be to sue the company in small claims court for the expense of the part that should have been under warranty by the company. Many people send a letter of demand before filing suit to notify the company that if your situation isn't taken care of in a set time, you will file suit in small claims court. This is usually all that is required to get the company motivated to settle the issue.

I have been contacted by two individuals from the Consumer Protection Agency in Arlington, VA., stating I have won a large amount of money in a sweepstakes, and requiring that I send $2,500.00 as a bond for the delivery of the money tomorrow to my home. Is this legitimate?

The Consumer Affairs Office in Virginia (also known as the Consumer Protection Agency) is an agency that is operated by the government and they do not take part in sweepstakes. This is obviously a scam attempting to secure money from you. The first sign of a scam is the fact that they want you to send a bond upfront.

You can learn more about this type of scam by following this link and reading under “Telemarketing"

I have letters from KP informing me my group medical plan would cancel on a certain day. I believed them and stopped payments. Now they say the only way a policy can cancel is if I request it in writing. I took KP at their word and thought it was canceled months later they hit me up for the money. What can I do? They have turned my account over to an attorney.

You need to send a letter to the provider disputing the charges and attach a copy of the letter that notified you of the cancelation. You need to send the letter by certified mail. This way you will know the letter has been received

If the provider is still unwilling to resolve this situation, your next step would be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the state Consumer Protection Agency. You may want to consider hiring a local attorney to represent you. Usually, if a person was to show evidence of the cancelation from the provider with a definite cancellation date, the provider would be willing to settle the issue.

we purchased tickets for our parents to go to Mexico through a travel agency. The travel bus left them about 30 miles out in another town. Our parents to were forced to get a taxi to the nearest airport to travel and had to pay another $400 extra in airline tickets to get to their destination. Who do we talk to for a refund of this trip?

You can file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the state Consumer Protection Agency. These agencies will encourage the company to do right by you and refund a portion of the costs to your satisfaction. If you are still not satisfied with the outcome, you may want to consider filing a claim in small claims court. The court clerk can assist you in which forms to fill out.

If you have issues with a business, you should ask an Expert who is familiar with the Consumer Protection laws to evaluate your case details and provide legal insights.