Raleigh, NC, May 11, 2006--A carpet and air duct cleaning company that authorities say used misleading advertisements and illegal bait-and-switch tactics has been barred from operating in North Carolina.
Wake County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Titus signed a default judgment Wednesday against America's Best Home Services and its manager, Timothy D. Pollard, that also orders them to pay $95,000 in consumer refunds and $425,000 in civil penalties.
"Companies like this one that deceive customers and bully them into paying thousands of dollars for services they don’t need have no business being here in North Carolina," Attorney General Roy Cooper said in a statement.
Cooper sued America's Best and Pollard last August, about a year after the company began pitching home air duct and carpet cleaning services through newspaper advertisements and direct-mail coupons.
Consumers who responded to low-price offers often were talked into purchasing extra services that cost as much as $2,000, Cooper said.
More than 130 consumers complained to the state Consumer Protection Division about the company's practices, he said.
