“Most consumers not getting refunds when state cracks down on bad businesses”

KXAN-TV  
October 27, 2016 

Texas consumers file an average of 24,000 complaints a year with the Texas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. The complaints range from issues with debt collectors to fraudulent companies. The Attorney General’s Office often boasts of shutting down companies and winning huge financial penalties and restitution for consumers, but a KXAN investigation reveals the AG may never actually help get your money back when you’re the victim of a scam. In fact, the agency does more to collect money for itself than it does for consumers. KXAN analyzed more than 147,000 consumer complaints submitted to the AG since 2010 and reviewed the results of more than 1,200 cases where the office has taken legal action against businesses since 2003. KXAN found thousands of complaints unresolved and hundreds of cases where consumers never received restitution payments ordered by Texas courts.

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Submitted by Josh Hinkle.