Consumer Protection in Texas

Many Texans are unaware of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), which was specifically created to protect and get redress for consumers who are dissatisfied with a product or service from a supplier who will not resolve their problem.

The Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), is not an agency or bureau, but a law that is enforced by the Texas Attorney General.

An excerpt from the website Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act states: "The primary purpose of the DTPA is to protect consumers against false, misleading, and deceptive business and insurance practices, unconscionable actions, and breaches of warranty. The DTPA provides for both public enforcement and private remedies. Public enforcement is done by the Texas Attorney General, who can seek a court order prohibiting further deceptive practices. A private citizen may seek redress for damages caused by certain specific acts and practices listed in the DTPA."

Filing a Complaint
All you have to do is go on line and fill in a form at the Texas Attorney General's website. Follow the instructions, which ask you for your personal information, the company and it's employee you were dealing with, and the details of your compliant. You should include documents such as invoices, checks, credit card payments, serial and model numbers, and even pictures. When you have completed the form, submit it to the Attorney General (the links, instructions and forms and are given at the end of this article). You do not have to do anything else.

The Texas Attorney General will then, at his discretion, contact the supplier, informing him of your complaint. Usually, within days of being contacted, the supplier will resolve your problem, as your complaint and the information you provide are records that are open to the public, and suppliers do not want the bad publicity. They also want to avoid the expense and additional bad publicity of going to court to defend themselves.

Actual Complaints
Here are two instances of my using the DTPA to get customer satisfaction. I prefer not to disclose the company's names as the complaints were settled to my satisfaction:

1. Car engine badly damaged by a retailer's service department.
My daughter had taken her car to a retailer to get an engine oil change. The day after the change, she called and told me that the car had stopped running, and there was smell of burnt oil coming from the engine. I picked her up and arranged for the car to be towed to a repair shop. They reported that the engine oil drain plug had fallen off and all the oil in the engine had drained out. They gave me an estimate of $2500 to repair the engine.

Armed with this estimate and the oil change invoice from the retailer, I set up a meeting with the manager to request a $2500 check from them, because they had caused the damage by not properly replacing the drain plug.

When I presented the repair estimate to the manager, he denied that they had damaged the car and refused to pay anything. My response to him was "I am not going to argue with you - I am filing a complaint with the Texas Attorney General under the DTPA" - whereupon he promptly excused himself for a few minutes, and returned with a check for $2500!

The mere threat of me using the DTPA was sufficient to resolve this matter.

2. Defective Microwave Oven
My wife and I had purchased a microwave oven from another retailer. As it was a large and heavy oven, they loaded it into car for us.

We started using the oven, and within a few days, the paint on the door and door frame started peeling off. Even worse, the turntable roller rest had abraded the paint from the area under and around it, exposing the steel, which was rusting and corroding. I called the retailer and they told me to bring it in for repair. With some difficulty, I loaded this heavy oven into the car and took it back to them. A week later, they called and said I could pick it up.

Again, after using it for a week, the paint started peeling off, and I took it back and said I want to return it and get a refund. They refused, saying that they will repair it again. I told them I am not going to lug this heavy oven around any more, and I did not believe that they could do a better repair. They re-iterated that it must go for repair again. I did not to argue with them and loaded the oven into my car (without any assistance from them). When I got home I filed a complaint with the Attorney General I also included a picture of the inside of the oven (see picture). About ten days later, I received a call from the retailer's corporate office, saying they are delivering a new oven at no charge to my house, and I need not return the old one.

What a powerful law!

Procedure for filing a complaint:
Go on line to the following site: Attorney General of Texas

Click on Consumer Protection, then click on File a Complaint.

A new window will open with the heading "File a Consumer Complaint". Follow the instructions given below this heading.

The forms are in the box with the heading "Consumer Complaints".

Here is a direct link to the on line form.

For more information on the Act, click on this link: Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act

List of sources:

Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act

Attorney General of Texas