It is important to realize that changes may occur in this area of law. This information is not intended to be legal advice regarding your particular problem, and it is not intended to replace the work of an attorney.
Oregon has a law called the Unlawful Trade Practices
Act. This law applies when a consumer purchases real estate, goods
or services for personal or household use from a seller who regularly
engages in that business or occupation. It also applies to healthcare
professionals who commit practices prohibited by this law in the course
of providing professional services. In general, most purchases or leases,
including those involving used goods (like cars) are covered by this
law. This law does not apply to the purchase of insurance, a loan of
money, extension of credit or most landlord-tenant disputes. Violation
of this law does not create a cause of action that would allow you
to sue for personal injury.
The Unlawful Trade Practices Act prohibits many practices, most of
them involving some form of deception or misrepresentation by the seller.
Here is a list of the most common violations of the Unlawful Trade
Practices Act:
- misrepresenting the characteristics, benefits and qualities of the product or services offered;
- making false or misleading statements about prices, including price reductions;
- causing confusion about important aspects of a transaction, such as the approval, sponsorship or certification of the product by others;
- representing that used or altered goods are new;
- discrediting another’s products or services by false or misleading representations about them;
- false advertising;
- false representations about the availability of credit;
- false representations that goods are available for sale when in fact the goods are not available, or available in only a very limited quantity;
- false or misleading representations about prizes, contests or promotions used to publicize a product, business or service;
- promises to deliver by a certain time with intent not to deliver as promised;
- unauthorized service or dismantling of goods or real estate;
- and telephone or door-to-door solicitation without proper identification.
The misrepresentations covered by this law can come in
many forms, and can be either spoken or written. An unlawful practice
may be committed even by the failure to disclose an important fact.
In addition, the act requires that certain disclosures be made when
the seller knows that there are material defects in real estate, goods
or services.
If you feel you have been victimized, you should keep all your contracts,
canceled checks and any other documents pertaining to the transaction.
If you wish to file a court action concerning an unlawful trade practice,
you must file it within one year from the date the seller committed
the violation, or the date you reasonably should have discovered the
violation of the act.
You may want to obtain a copy of the act from the Oregon Attorney General’s
Office of Consumer Protection/Financial Fraud in Salem, by calling
(877) 877 9392 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. You also may register
a complaint about an unlawful trade practice with this agency, which
was created to enforce this law. In addition to phoning the office,
consumer complaints may be made online at www.doj.state.or.us using
the “consumer complaint form” link. While the AG’s
Office of Consumer Protection/Financial Fraud does not represent individual
consumers, it can sometimes help individual injured consumers resolve
their complaints with businesses by mediating and helping them get
their money back.
There are also many other places than the attorney general’s
office where consumers may turn for help.
For complaints about defective new vehicles, for example, consumers
may want to call the Better Business Bureau, which operates an arbitration
service for several major auto-makers.
For complaints about insurance, consumers may want to contact the state’s
Insurance Division; for complaints with a regional or national impact,
the Federal Trade Commission may help.
If efforts you make to resolve your complaint are not successful — either
by dealing directly with the business or through one of the agencies
just described — you may wish consult a lawyer or file an action
in small claims court. If you can prove that you have suffered any
actual loss as a result of an unlawful trade practice, and that the
business knew or should have known that its conduct or that of its
agents violated the law, then you may be awarded the amount of your
loss, or $200, whichever is greater. You may also ask to be compensated
for your attorney’s fees. And, if the conduct was intentional
and malicious, you may ask for punitive damages that may be greater
than your actual loss.
Note that if the business wins the case, however, the consumer faces
having to pay the defendant’s attorneys fees. This is true even
if the case was involuntarily dismissed because the consumer ran out
of funds to keep the lawsuit going.
Legal editor: David Tilton, February 2009