Our Bureau of Consumer Protection Saved Consumers More Than $16.6 Million in 2024
HARRISBURG – During National Consumer Protection Week, March 3rd through 7th, the Office of Attorney General will highlight and share information about their year-round efforts to protect consumer rights, and help people learn to detect, report, and avoid scams.
We will also share consumer protection tips on social media throughout the week, including overviews of our Bureau of Consumer Protection’s work this past year, information about our office’s Civil Rights Enforcement Section and Health Care Section, and tips on purchasing a used car, how to identify and prevent scams.
“One of the core functions of the Office of Attorney General is to protect consumers. During National Consumer Protection Week, I want all Pennsylvanians to understand the resources available to them if they believe they may be a victim of fraud,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said. “Last year, our office directly helped consumers save and recover more than $16 million, and we will continue to fight for Pennsylvanians.”
In 2024, the Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection saved consumers more than $11.8 million through mediation efforts and secured $4.8 million in restitution through legal actions.
Attorney General Sunday highlighted a few of the consumer protection actions taken in the past year:
- The Office of Attorney General distributed more than $800,000 to victims of Vision Property Management after consumers were unlawfully evicted from their homes or vacated them after unlawful “rent-to-own” contracts were not upheld. This additional restitution followed an earlier this year court judgement that allowed hundreds of former rent-to-own tenants of Vision Property Management to obtain deeds to their homes.
- The Office of Attorney General returned nearly $3 million to consumers through settlements with Community Loans of America and Progressive Leasing following earlier settlement agreements.
- Data breaches continue to become more common so the Office of Attorney General launched an online portal for companies to report data breaches that impact Pennsylvanians. This will allow for the Office to better track instances where an investigation is necessary.
- $35,000 was returned to victims of the alleged unlawful billing, leasing, and debt collection practices of A.R. Building Company, Inc. The lawsuit alleged that A.R. Building arbitrarily inflated repair costs that the company billed to tenants for alleged damage to apartments.
- A settlement with SoLo Funds, Inc., a California based-lending platform that solicited tips and donations from potential borrowers, resulted in $158,000 in restitution to be distributed to consumers. Other consumers also received a write off of their total debt to SoLo funds.
- A settlement with Equifax over a coding error that lowered many consumers’ credit score netted Pennsylvania $470,000 after impacting more than 51,000 Pennsylvania borrowers.
If you believe you were harmed by a business, you can file a complaint with the Bureau of Consumer Protection in a variety of ways:
- Online here: https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/submit-a-complaint/consumer-complaint/
- By calling the hotline: 1-800-441-2555
- By emailing: scams@attorneygeneral.gov
Go to https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/ for more information. Also, visit www.ftc.gov/ncpw to learn how to get free consumer education materials and read the latest from consumer protection experts.
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