COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is suing seven businesses across the state, including businesses in Dayton and Springfield.
“Misleading and unlawful business practices – especially those that take direct aim at customers’ wallets – will not be overlooked,” Yost said. “Ohioans work hard for their money, and we work year-round to protect it.”
The first of Yost’s lawsuits were filed on Dec. 22. Lawsuits included a Dayton home-landscaping contractor and a Springfield construction company.
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On Dec. 27, Yost filed a lawsuit against B&R Fence & More, LLC and its owner, Robert Wood, accusing them of both a failure to deliver and shoddy or incomplete work. The business allegedly took $12,500 form homeowners.
The lawsuit accuses the company of, in some cases, “failed to perform any work and failed to refund any of the consumers’ payments” after receiving payments. In other instances, B&R Fence & More, LLC would allegedly perform some work, but then abandon the worksite “without returning or refunding any of the consumers’ payments.”
Two days later, on Dec. 29, Yost filed a lawsuit against MH&D Construction of Springfield and its owner, Michael Collett. The business and its owner have been accused of “swindling $31,600 from consumers who made payments for various home-improvement projects that weren’t completed and for which refunds were never provided.”
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The lawsuit accused the business of violations of the Consumer Sales Practices Act and Home Solicitation Sales Act. The company “provided incomplete, shoddy, and substandard services to consumers and then failed to correct such work.”
Five other lawsuits filed include businesses in Franklin, Hamilton and Licking counties. In each lawsuit, the state “seeks an order requiring the defendants to reimburse consumers and pay civil penalties and court costs,” according to a release. The lawsuits also seek an order “preventing the defendants from engaging in business in any consumer transactions in Ohio until those debts are paid.”
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