BOSTON (CBS) — A lawn care company will reimburse thousands of customers for abusive and illegal debt collection practices, according to the Massachusetts attorney general.
As part of a settlement, The Lawn Company (TLC), based in Shrewsbury, will pay approximately $143,000 in restitution to approximately 5,500 affected consumers, as well as $150,000 in fines.
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The I-Team first interviewed TLC customers in 2014, who said they continued to receive bills after having already canceled their service.
Amesbury owner Angela Robinson was one of nearly 2 million people who received marketing materials in the mail promoting TLC’s chemical lawn treatments. After a few dates, she decided to cancel the service.
Worker at The Lawn Company, based in Shrewsbury (WBZ-TV)
However, another bill appeared, which Robinson refused to pay. The next thing she knew, letters from a debt collector arrived, followed by a subpoena in small claims court.
“If you don’t owe someone anything and they try to charge you, you have to fight,” Robinson told WBZ.
It turned out that Robinson was one of more than 1,600 people being sued by TLC for small claims lawsuits in Westborough District Court. For many consumers, including 200 out-of-state residents, this was not the neighborhood they lived in or where they signed the original sales contract.
“It’s outrageous and unacceptable. That’s why we investigated and brought this action,” Attorney General Maura Healey told I-Team. “It was wrong that people were being unlawfully charged with hidden charges. And then it was wrong for the company to aggressively harass them and take them to court for illegal debts.
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As part of the settlement, TLC agreed to help consumers repair damaged credit reports and ensure judgments are vacated from public records.
The Lawn Company, based in Shrewsbury (WBZ-TV)
The company must also provide adequate information to customers about any automatic renewal provision in sales contracts.
Consumer restitution will be distributed by a third-party administrator, who can be contacted at 860-623-0004.
Healey encourages people with questions or concerns about deceptive or abusive debt collection practices to call the Consumer Helpline at 617-727-8400 or file a complaint online.
“Usually when someone is injured, we look at the situation and see that a lot of people have been injured,” the AG said.
Ryan Kath can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter or connect on facebook.
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