Consumers in Iowa can sue someone who knows or should know their conduct is an unfair practice, deception, false promise or false pretense. The conduct must be in connection with the advertisement, sale or lease of consumer merchandise, but the definition of merchandise is broadly defined to cover services, goods and many other items. A consumer fraud claim can be combined with other claims for damages like violation of fair debt collection laws and other credit relief scams.
Consumers can be compensated for actual damages and can also receive punitive damages and attorney’s fees. Although there are several categories of professionals exempted from the law, it’s still very useful for getting compensated when someone does something unfair or fraudulent. It’s already been used in lawsuits against debt settlement companies, car lenders and many other companies in Iowa. At Nancy L. Thompson Law Office P.C. we’ve used the law to sue debt collectors and a construction company that did a poor job repairing our client’s roof. Consumers who think they’ve been the victim of a deceptive or unfair practice should contact us. We take these cases on a contingency fee basis where we don’t get paid unless the lawsuit is successful.
