Complaint Review: New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer - Albany New York

"Under New York consumer protection statutes, it is fraudulent to advertise merchandise for sale that is not available for delivery within 30 days of the advertisement unless it is otherwise clearly specified. -- That's a direct quote from New YorkAttorney General Eliot Spitzer.



Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General of New York

So with well over 1700 reports on J.D. Marvel in clear violation of this statute, why are they still in business?

Perhaps it's merely an oversight. It takes time to verify a pattern of unscrupulous operation on the part of a particular company. O.K., here are enough complaints to establish more than a pattern' -- more like a way of conducting business.We understand that state budgets are tight and it may take time to get convictions, but what is not so understandable is an apparent misplaced sense of priorities on the part of Eliot Spitzer!

Not only is the New York Attorney General spending a lot of staff resources to force the Amish in the state to put electricity in new houses they build for themselves [Amish don't use electricity -- a matter of the practice of their faith], but he also has begun a campaign to harass and try to close down crisis pregnancy centers in New York. His office has issued subpoenas to New York City crisis pregnancy centers, requiring them to provide copies of all advertisements, web site addresses, services provided, staff who provide the services, training materials, blank forms, records of all agreements made, and a list of all persons who received any service from the clinics before Feb. 1, 2002. Basically, Mr. Spitzer is on a fishing expedition to attempt to shut down crisis pregnancy centers. Isn't this a free speech issue?

What next, Mr. Spttzer? Will your office begin a desegregation' campaign against New York's Hasidic population, who now ride on buses with the women separate from the men as required by their practice of their beliefs?

It seems to me you would be able to deal with a lot of real crime if you simply decided to leave people of faith alone.

Music to Our Ears:

We are pleased to present this article from Mr. Spitzer's press release page. The good news is that a company similar to J.D. Marvel was ordered to provide refunds. Hopefully his office will now focus their efforts on Champlain, which is home to many cross border fraud companies.

Here is the Press Release in its entirety:

For Immediate Release

November 10, 2003

SETTLEMENT WITH LONG ISLAND MAIL ORDER COMPANY ENSURES THAT CUSTOMERS RECEIVE TIMELY REFUNDS

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today announced a settlement with a company that repeatedly failed to ship ordered merchandise within thirty days or offer refunds to consumers as required by law.

Under the settlement, Northport Marketing, Inc., d/b/a Beautiful Music Company, located in Northport, New York, and its president and owner Richard Huntley, will not advertise items for sale unless the merchandise is reasonably anticipated to be available for shipment within thirty days. In addition, they agreed to either ship merchandise within thirty days of receipt of an order or notify consumers that there will be a delay in shipping and offer refunds. Beautiful Music Company also agreed to maintain a toll free phone number through which customers may make complaints and provide return forms for unwanted items. The company will pay $2500 in costs.

In April of 2002, the Attorney General's office received about fifty complaints from consumers about Beautiful Music Company. The investigation found that the Suffolk County business, which advertises CDs and cassette tapes in catalogs, newspapers and magazines frequently read by senior citizens, failed to ship ordered merchandise within thirty days or notify customers of a shipping delay and offer them a refund as required under the General Business Law.

"Under New York consumer protection statutes, it is fraudulent to advertise merchandise for sale that is not available for delivery within 30 days of the advertisement unless it is otherwise clearly specified. This agreement ensures that consumers who use mail order companies receive the goods they pay for--or refunds--in accordance with the law," said Spitzer.

Prior to this investigation, Beautiful Music Company did not maintain a toll free hot line through which consumers could contact the business. Accordingly, this settlement not only provides refunds to aggrieved customers, but also ensure, that future customers will have the benefit of an 800 telephone number through which they can check on the status of their orders and make complaints.

The investigation was handled by Assistant Attorney General Alan Berkowitz under the supervision of Denis McElligott, Assistant Attorney General in Charge of the Suffolk Regional Office and Juan Merchan, Assistant Attorney General in Charge of Public Advocacy for Long Island. Assistance was provided by Senior Investigators Tom LoFrese and Stephen Boyle.

Robert

Staunton, Virginia
U.S.A.

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