SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) - Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna announced a settlement on Thursday with a Sumner HVAC company that allegedly engaged in unfair and deceptive practices in violation of the state's Consumer Protection Act.
Under the terms of a consent decree, Dick's Heating and Air Conditioning will pay $8,000 in penalties and $33,295 in attorney costs. If the company fails to follow the terms of the agreement, it will face a penalty of as much as $25,000 per violation.
Dick's allegedly failed to secure consumers' permission prior to doing work and demanded payment, made deceptive claims about prices, charged for replacement parts still under warranty and engaged in other deceptive practices. McKenna's office received 52 complaints about Dick's and the Better Business Bureau received 29.
As part of the agreement, Dick's must stop failing to clearly disclose the limitations of satisfaction guarantees, failing to disclose all potential restocking costs and fees prior to sale, failing to disclose the price of services and goods to be rendered, except where the price is identified as an estimate, misrepresenting technical training, experience or certifications, distributing advertising or promotional material that misrepresents the safety and health risks and benefits of their services or products, and misrepresenting in advertising the value or cost of products and services.
Wash. AG settles with HVAC company
