The Maine Attorney General takes complaints and refers most of them to their Consumer Mediation Service (CMS). The CMS will try to get the business to address your complaint and in some cases will assign a volunteer mediator to help you resolve your dispute.
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Filing a Complaint with the Attorney General Find your state office. Locate the online complaint form. Fill in the personal information. Describe the transaction. Explain what was wrong with the product or service. List any action you have taken. Notify if you have hired a lawyer. Explain what you are seeking. Attach necessary documentation.
Consumer Complaint Against A Business/Company If you prefer to contact us by regular mail or have copies of documents to submit in support of your comments, download this form, then print, fill in, and mail. For information on the collection and use of personal information, please see our notice, Information Collection, Use and Access.
If you are not represented by a lawyer, you can go to Maine Courts Guide & File “Start a New Filing ” and choose “Small Claims” as the type of filing. Go through the Guide & File interview to complete the forms online and file them electronically with the Bangor District Court.
Contact the business or individual to resolve the issue. Many states require or strongly recommend that you contact the business before filing a complaint. Tennessee, for example, requires that you contact the business first. On the other hand, Delaware makes no mention of contacting the business first.
It also describes the Attorney General's Consumer Mediation Service, which attempts to resolve consumer disputes with businesses. There is no charge for this service.
This chapter discusses nursing home rights, funeral abuses, social security schemes, hearing aids, and other issues confronted by the elderly.
Chapter 09: Consumer Rights When You Buy A Used Vehicle. Maine has enacted a number of laws that deal with consumer protection when it comes to purchasing a used motor vehicle. For example, a used car must always meet the state inspection standards.
The Maine Home Construction Contracts Act requires you use a written contract with specific provisions whenever the construction or repair contract is for more than $3,000. For example, the contract must limit any down payment to no more than one third (1/3) of the total price and the contract must include an express warranty of good workmanship.
The Maine Implied Warrant y is the little known law that protects Maine consumers from being sold seriously defective items. It can be an Unfair Trade Practice to refuse to honor the Maine Implied Warranty Law within four years of sale. The basic test for possible implied warranty violations is as follows:
This hearing must come within 45 days of acceptance of the Lemon Law application and if the Arbitrator concludes that the car is indeed a Lemon, the consumer can receive either a new vehicle or the return of the purchase price.
If a consumer does not discover the defect until sometime later, then the consumer’s remedy is to have the business or the manufacturer repair the item. If the item cannot be repaired, then the consumer can consider revoking ownership and demanding the return of the purchase price.
To file a complaint, visit your state's Attorney General's website, locate the online complaint form, fill it out and attach the necessary documents, and then mail it to the Attorney General's office address. Each state designates an agency to handle consumer complaints of fraud, deception, or unfair business practices.
If you want to fill out a hard copy, there should be a form that can be downloaded and then printed. Fill in the personal information. Include your name, address, and contact information (phone and email), as well as the name and contact information of the seller or service provider. Describe the transaction.
If you have been the victim of fraud or deception, you should file a complaint with the attorney general . A complaint is a formal written document filed by a party seeking legal relief by outlining the allegations, details, remedies, and parties involved. The process for filing includes gathering paperwork, contacting various involved parties, ...
Send the business necessary information. 1 Your name, physical and email address, and phone number. 2 The product or service, including the brand name, model and serial number. 3 The problem with the product or service, in as much detail as possible.
1. Find your state office. Type the name of your state and “consumer protection” into a search engine. The attorney general’s website for your state should come up near the top of the search results. If you are taken to the attorney general’s main page, look for a link for “consumer protection.”. Click on it.
Contact the business or individual to resolve the issue. Many states require or strongly recommend that you contact the business before filing a complaint. Tennessee, for example, requires that you contact the business first. On the other hand, Delaware makes no mention of contacting the business first.
On the other hand, Delaware makes no mention of contacting the business first. In any event, contacting a business first is a good idea. You may resolve the issue faster. Sometimes mistakes do happen, and legitimate business are often happy to refund you.
Start your complaint with the seller or manufacturer. If they don't help, seek help from your local government or a consumer organization. Use these steps to get started. Open All +. 1. Collect Your Documents. Gather your records: sales receipts, warranties, contracts, or work orders.
If the seller doesn't resolve the issue, a government office or a consumer organization may be able to help: File a complaint with your local consumer protection office or the state agency that regulates the company. Notify the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in your area about your problem.
If the plaintiff wins and the defendant does not pay the small claims judgment voluntarily, the plaintiff will need to take additional steps to collect. A common step is to request that the defendant (now also called the judgment debtor) go to court for a Disclosure Hearing to determine whether the defendant/judgment debtor has sufficient income or assets to pay the judgment.
If you do not show up, you will likely lose the case by default. As a defendant in a small claims case, there are several things you can do to respond: If you owe money to the plaintiff, you can try to work out a settlement; You can contact a lawyer or legal assistance organization for advice;
Appealing the case. Either side can file a Notice of Appeal within 30 days of losing a small claims case. A plaintiff can only appeal on a question of law, which means that the judge made an error in applying the correct legal principle to the case. A defendant can appeal on a question of law or a question of fact.
If mediation is unsuccessful, the court then holds a hearing. Learn more about mediation. In the hearing, the plaintiff goes first. The plaintiff has to show by testimony and other evidence that the defendant is liable for the money being sued for. The defendant may also testify and offer other evidence.
Small claims court is a session of the District Court. Anyone can bring a case or be a defendant in small claims court with a few exceptions. For example, you cannot sue a city or town in small claims court.
Examples of small claims cases 1 Collecting a debt for goods or services owed by an individual or business; 2 A purchase of unsatisfactory goods from an individual or business where the person will not refund your money, give a credit, provide an acceptable exchange, or repair the goods; 3 Your former landlord has refused, without justification, to return a security deposit; 4 Your former tenant has refused to pay for damage to rental property the tenant is responsible for; or 5 You loaned personal property to someone and he or she did not return it, or returned it in damaged condition.
Collecting a debt for goods or services owed by an individual or business; A purchase of unsatisfactory goods from an individual or business where the person will not refund your money, give a credit, provide an acceptable exchange, or repair the goods;
Where service cannot, with due diligence, be made personally within the state, service of the summons and complaint may be made upon a person who is subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of the state by delivery to that person outside the state by registered or certified mail, with restricted delivery and return receipt requested, in the following cases:
Service of the summons and complaint may be made as follows: By mailing a copy of the summons and of the complaint (by first-class mail, postage prepaid) to the person to be served, together with two copies of a notice and acknowledgment form and a return envelope, postage prepaid, addressed to the sender.
A person responding to a subpoena to produce documents shall produce them as they are kept in the usual course of business or shall organize and label them to correspond with the categories in the demand.#N#When information subject to a subpoena is withheld on a claim that it is privileged or subject to protection as trial preparation materials, the claim shall be made expressly and shall be supported by a description of the nature of the documents, communications, or things not produced that is sufficient to enable the demanding party to contest the claim.
The summons shall bear the signature or facsimile signature of the clerk, be under the seal of the court, contain the name of the court and the names of the parties , be directed to the defendant, state the name and address of the plaintiff’s attorney, and the time within which these rules require the defendant to appear and defend, and shall notify the defendant that in case of failure to do so judgment by default will be rendered against the defendant for the relief demanded in the complaint.
Upon an officer or agency of the United States, by serving the United States and by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to such officer or agency, provided that any further notice required by statute or regulation shall also be given.
Service by publication is complete on the twenty-first day after the first publication. The plaintiff shall file with the court an affidavit that publication has been made.
Upon any other public corporation, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to any officer, director, or manager thereof and upon any public body, agency or authority by delivering a copy of the summons and the complaint to any member thereof.