By Adam Samson
Before moving into a retirement home, 80-year-old Ruth Kintigh wanted to sell some furniture and other antiques worth several thousand dollars. Kintigh contacted a local consignment shop in Baldwin City and a man, who appeared very professional, took the items she was looking to sell.
Three weeks later and Ruth hadn't heard back from the man. He didn't return her phone calls either. At this point, Kintigh decided to call the district attorney's office to file a complaint against the man from the consignment shop through the Consumer Protection Unit. The man did respond to the call from the district attorney's office. He apologized to Kintigh and returned the items he had not sold and reimbursed her for most of what he had already sold.
Kintigh, now lives in the retirement home with her husband, where she can feel more at ease and doesn't have to worry about more potential consumer protection issues.
"I'm in a pretty protected situation now, but I can see a lot of elderly people and others being taken advantage of with the economic slump," Kintigh said.
Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson created the Consumer Protection Unit (CPU) to address consumer needs and handle issues that a private practice attorney may not take. Since the inception in October 2006, the CPU expanded its outreach and has affected the community like Branson hoped. The CPU is also looking to make significant strides with consumer protection in the near future because of difficult economic conditions.
Branson initiated the CPU at the time he was running for office because Douglas County is large enough to have its own agency to help with consumer needs. Before becoming the district attorney, Branson worked in private practice for nine years in Douglas County.
Working in private practice, he realized there was a need for consumers to report impropriety. For instance, if there is a dispute because it may cost $500 to go to a private practice attorney in a situation over something as little as $100. Before Branson started the CPU, the closest agency for consumer help was located in Topeka.
"Knowing that the district attorney office's prior policy was to refer people to Topeka, I thought that was pretty unsatisfying," Branson said. "To me it became a matter of the right thing to do for Douglas County."
Nationally, according to the Federal Trade Commission, the number of consumer protection complaints have gradually increased since the year 2000. In 2000, the number of miscellaneous fraud complaints rested at 75,000. Seven years later in 2007, the number rose to about 325,000. With the national number increasing, it helps to focus in on the local needs as well.
A specific group that the CPU has had a particular success in helping out is the elderly.
In Douglas County, which has a population of about 110,000, nearly 10 percent of the population are 65 years old and over. Essentially, the CPU keeps businesses honest and protects consumers and people who might be susceptible to consumer fraud.
For the elderly that aren't as aware of new technology and products, it becomes an issue as to whether businesses are honest about products and services. In Kintigh's case, she didn't have the resources to research if the local consignment shop was dependable.
"Consumers rely generally on the suppliers to tell them the truth about products and there's usually not a lot of ways to verify that," Branson said. "The CPU is designed to be a buffer in there to say if you take advantage of folks, then there's going to be some repercussions."
Lawrence resident Katherine Keene, 85, took a small, hand-made, 5x6 rug into Pride Cleaners on Iowa Street to get cleaned. The beige and black rug made from wool yarn with a gold rose woven into it, was given to Keene by her grandmother so the rug had sentimental value. It was the first time she had taken the rug to the cleaners in years, and as the young woman working pulled the rug out after the cycle, the rug was broken up into pieces.
The employee told the manager, but the manager said Pride Cleaners didn't do anything wrong.
"I couldn't write a nasty letter in a lady-like manner so that's when I went to the district attorney's office," Keene said.
Within a month, Keene got a letter from the CPU that said they resolved the complaint with Pride Cleaners and she received a reimbursement check soon after.
"The Consumer Protection Unit is such a great tool because we do need some place like that when we've been taken advantage of," Keene said.
Sometimes all it takes is a notification letter to the supplier asking to resolve the issue immediately or further action will be taken. Sometimes there ends up being factual disputes and the CPU decides how they want to proceed. Typically, the CPU makes the decision that is appropriate to remedy the situation whether it's a refund of money to the consumer, a penalty to the supplier, or a referral to another agency. Unresolved cases can wind up in court.
There was immediate response from the public when Douglas County launched its CPU.
On average, the CPU takes about 10 complaints per month. In 2006, in just three months, there were 45 complaints. Then in 2007, the number of complaints reached 115 and so far for this year, there are 88 complaints.
Since the beginning, the CPU has assisted consumers in recognizing and recovering over $38,000 to date.
"If someone is taking you for $100, that's two or three tanks of gas and I don't know anybody that will say I just won't fill up," Branson said.
With the way the economic times are right now, Branson thinks we will see more consumer protection cases.
"We're going to see more people willing to make a buck off of somebody else," Branson said. "People will try to take advantage of people because the cost of doing business is pretty high and if somebody can make a buck without having to put in the full cost of business, they'll do it."
Branson said that the CPU is going to have to identify how to cope with increased demand. To some extent, the CPU levies some fines and collects some investigative fees that help the office fund the CPU activities. There are no full-time staff members that work solely with the CPU.
One of the ways that the CPU puts out information to consumers is with its Community Alert Network. Branson targeted social service agencies where preventative information on scams and other consumer issues can be distributed. Some of these social service agencies in Douglas County include schools, churches, civic organizations, and neighborhood organizations.
Right now if the CPU sends an alert to everybody in the Community Alert Network, it goes to about 300 different organizations.
"Those 300 organizations reach thousands of people, so it's kind of the old tell five friends principle," Branson said. "If we can do that, we can reach a lot of people."
Right now, the Community Alert Network is a paper network, but Branson did say he wanted to turn it into an electronic network to speed up the process.
In addition to the information that the CPU provides for the networks, its Web site also provides detailed information on scams and how to fill out a complaint form.
Leave a comment