RALEIGH, N.C. (Legal Newsline) - North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper announced a court order on Friday against a Raleigh-based computer repair service that will keep the company from collecting money or entering into computer repair contracts.
Cooper filed a lawsuit and a request for a temporary restraining order against Raleigh Geeks after receiving 24 consumer complaints alleging the company made misleading statements about repairs or failed to return repaired computers. Wake County Superior Court Judge John Jolly Jr. granted Cooper's request on Friday to stop the owners of Raleigh Geeks, Timothy Staie, Garret Foster and Steve Leo, from performing business at all Raleigh Geeks locations.
"Taking money upfront, keeping someone's computer for months, and then giving it back still broken is no way to do business," Cooper said. "Customers who paid for repairs that never happened deserve their money and their computers back."
Raleigh Geeks allegedly accepted payment for computer repairs upfront and failed to complete work in the agreed timeframe. After consumers complained, they allegedly got no response or repeated empty promises that the repairs would be completed soon. Raleigh Geeks also allegedly returned consumers' computers in worse shape or not at all.
"When you pay someone for repair work, you expect to get your property back on time and in working order," Cooper said. "Take precautions in case a fix-it job doesn't go the way it should."
Cooper's lawsuit seeks a permanent ban against the allegedly deceptive practices, refunds for consumers, the return of consumers' computers and the payment of civil penalties.
North Carolina AG obtains court order against computer repair service
