LAFAYETTE, Ind. (Legal Newsline) - Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed a lawsuit on Thursday against a Tippecanoe County trash collector for allegedly failing to collect residential trash after taking payments from customers.
Tippecanoe Waste Removal Inc. allegedly charged upfront payments during November and December for at least the next three months of trash and recycling pick up. The company then allegedly failed to pick up the trash starting in December before closing its doors in January.
Zoeller's office received 318 complaints from consumers who allegedly lost between $10 and $200 each. The lawsuit alleges losses of $15,748 in total.
"Many consumers were negatively impacted by this business' decision to close its doors without notice and not provide refunds," Zoeller said. "Today's lawsuit is an example of how my office works every day to protect consumers from deceptive business practices and hold violators accountable."
Tippecanoe Waste Removal posted a message on its website stating the company would shut down and transfer all of its accounts to a separate company called Waste Management. While the website claimed the new company would honor payments already made to Tippecanoe Waste removal, Waste Management allegedly did not acquire the accounts.
Zoeller's lawsuit alleges Tippecanoe Waste Removal violated the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act. The suit seeks consumer restitution, a permanent injunction, civil penalties and investigative costs.
Zoeller sues trash collector after 318 complaints
