Illinois Attorney General sues ABC Plumbing, alleges deceptive practices
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a lawsuit Thursday against ABC Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric Inc., alleging deceptive business practices.
Raoul's office said the company misled consumers, most often senior citizens, so that they signed contracts for home repairs at inflated prices by unlicensed technicians, while the consumers unknowingly waived their rights to cancel the contracts.
"ABC Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric's deceptive business practices are not only illegal but also disheartening because those practices target senior citizens," Raoul said in a news release. "When consumers reach out to home repair companies like ABC, they trust the company will present honest prices for complete work. Instead, ABC took advantage of its customers. I will continue to defend the rights and peace of mind of Illinois consumers by ensuring home repair companies uphold Illinois law that protects our consumers."
The lawsuit alleged that ABC Plumbing technicians walk into consumers' homes to review the home repair issue for which they were hired, but then inspect other areas of the house without permission and find additional issues. The technicians call these issues emergencies or claim they are life-threatening hazards, and say they must be fixed right away, Raoul's office said.
Consumers are asked to sign a digital tablet to initiate the work, but are not allowed even to read what they're signing, Raoul's office said. Consumers sometimes did not realize that they were signing a contract, or that the contract had language waiving their three-day right to cancel, Raoul's office said.
Raoul said these practices are often aimed at senior citizens who call ABC Plumbing for urgent work they can't complete themselves.
Once ABC Plumbing finishes the overpriced and often unnecessary work, it is often sloppy or incomplete, and the technicians who perform it are sometimes unlicensed, Raoul's office said.
The consumers sometimes try to cancel their contracts with ABC Plumbing, only to find they have waived their right to do so without being told, Raoul's office said.
"No homeowner should be taken advantage of when dealing with a plumbing emergency — especially the most vulnerable among us," James F. Coyne, business manager of the Chicago Plumbers Union, Local 130, UA, said in the release. "All Illinois residents should be able to trust their plumber to solve their emergency effectively and professionally."
The lawsuit accused ABC Plumbing of violating the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and the Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act. It seeks an injunction to stop current and prevent future violations and rescind all contracts entered into unlawfully.
A comment from ABC Plumbing was not immediately available.
