NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (Legal Newsline) - Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley filed a lawsuit on Thursday against a metal restoration business for allegedly collecting payments for chrome restoration services it did not provide.
Nu-Chrome LLC and the company's managers, Donald Kemp and Mark Kemp, allegedly misled consumers with false promises of metal restoration services for rare and antique automobiles. The defendants allegedly charged upfront payment of at least half the cost of the work without ever delivering a finished product. Nu-Chrome and the Kemps also allegedly extracted additional payments from consumers with new promises the work would be finished before again failing to deliver on the promises.
Most consumers allegedly failed to receive the return of their original rare parts or refunds.
"Consumers trusted this company with their rare, often irreplaceable, antique automobile parts, and in return received no service, no refund, and no return of their property," Coakley said. "These false promises and deceptive practices are unacceptable and we will work to prevent these defendants from further harming their customers."
Coakley's lawsuit against Nu-Chrome seeks restitution for consumers, penalties and a court order permanently prohibiting the defendants from violating the Consumer Protection Act.
Coakley obtained a temporary restraining order on Tuesday against the defendants. The order prohibits the defendants from taking further deposits from consumers unless the deposits are put into escrow and used for the ordinary course of business. The order also freezes the defendants' assets and requires completion dates for all outstanding and new orders.
Mass. AG sues Nu-Chrome, seeks restitution for customers
