July 13, 2023 (DENVER) – Attorney General Phil Weiser announced today a settlement reached with Walmart over the company’s failure to ensure the price customers paid for its products matched the price listed on the shelf. This settlement is part of a partnership between Weiser and Attorney General Aaron Ford of Nevada.
Under the terms of the settlement, the company will pay $3 million to Colorado, which will be used to help fund local food pantries and other programs that Coloradans who earn low incomes lean on to afford food and other necessities.
“All retailers have a duty to ensure the price their customers pay at the register is the same one they see on shelves,” said Weiser. “Today’s settlement provides consumers with reassurance that they’re paying the price they expect when they shop at Walmart and other stores. It’s also important that the money from the settlement will benefit Coloradans who are struggling economically—the same Coloradans who were most affected by Walmart’s inaccurate pricing.”
Walmart’s in-store pricing system relies heavily on store associates manually updating price changes. In 2022, during a period of increasing labor shortages and record-high inflation in Colorado and Nevada, Walmart’s pricing system repeatedly failed to pass price inspections from state agriculture department officials. Those officials conduct regular inspections using federal guidance to ensure customers get accurate pricing information. From March-July 2022, Walmart failed nine of 17 state inspections in Colorado.
During negotiations with Colorado and Nevada, Walmart took steps to address these discrepancies between shelf and register price by:
Increasing training for associates tasked with changing shelf prices;
Requiring associates be close to the relevant shelf when accepting price changes; and
Limiting the number of price labels an associate can print at one time.
Under the terms of the settlement, Walmart also agreed to the following future action:
Enacting a corrective action plan for stores that fail company inspections including retraining, discussing accurate pricing with the store manager, additional scrutiny for stores that fail initial inspections, and investigating any technological causes for failing to provide accurate pricing; and Reporting to the state on the results of these inspections and conferring on any necessary corrective action.
In addition to funding local food pantries and other programs, the Colorado Department of Law may also offer grant opportunities or funding to other nonprofits or organizations with similar missions.
Attorney General Phil Weiser today kicked off National Consumer Protection Week by unveiling the list of the top 10 consumer complaints and inquiries his office received in 2022, which included retail sales, home services and repair schemes, and automotive sales and services.
Last year, consumers filed 17,941 complaints and inquiries with the Consumer Protection Section in the Colorado Department of Law, a 28% increase from 2021.
“At the Department of Law, our responsibility is to protect Colorado consumers. National Consumer Protection Week is an opportunity to provide resources, education, and knowledge so that Coloradans can continue to navigate and avoid scams, while also warning scammers and other bad actors that we are working to halt them and hold them accountable,” Weiser stated. “We also are committed to protecting Coloradans by pushing for pro-consumer legislation, as we did in enacting a law preventing deceptive auto-renewals and are doing this year pushing for new medical debt collection protections.”
National Consumer Protection Week, which this year runs March 5-11, is designated by the Federal Trade Commission as a time to help people understand their consumer rights and to make well-informed decisions about money. The attorney general’s office partners with the FTC to help raise awareness about Colorado scams and resources available.
The top 10 types of complaints and inquiries received in 2022 are:
Retail Sales: Unauthorized memberships or subscriptions, service and delivery issues and cancellations and termination issues.
Home Services/Repair: General contracting and remodeling, heating and cooling and handyman services.
Professional Services: Product and service warranties, legal related services.
Automobile: Service and repair and rentals
Gov’t Agencies: General complaints regarding organizations, state representatives
Lending Companies: Issues under the Uniform Consumer Credit Code, interest rates, credit reporting.
Real Estate: Renting and leasing, property management.
Imposter Scams: Fraud, business impersonation, phone calls, wire money transfers.
Debt Collection: Issues under the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, harassment, disputed debt, unlicensed collection.
Health Care: Issues regarding hospitals and Urgent Care, insurance carriers, quality of care and billing.
These scams were the most common complaints the attorney general’s office received in 2022, but scams can differ based on where a person lives. For the first time, the attorney general’s office is providing an interactive map that shows the common scams for each county in Colorado: https://coag.gov/protecting-consumers/.
March 7, 2022 (DENVER)—Attorney General Phil Weiser today kicked off National Consumer Protection Week by unveiling the list of the top 10 consumer complaints and inquiries his office received in 2021, which included unemployment insurance scams, retail sales related to COVID-19, and automotive sales and services.
Last year, consumers filed 13,970 complaints and inquiries with the Consumer Protection Section in the Colorado Department of Law, a 15.1% increase from 2020.
“One of our foremost responsibilities is protecting consumers,” Attorney General Weiser explained. “National Consumer Protection Week is an important opportunity to educate consumers about our work, help them protect themselves, and put irresponsible actors on notice that we are committed to holding them accountable.”
National Consumer Protection Week, which this year runs March 6-12, is designated by the Federal Trade Commission as a time to help people understand their consumer rights and to make well-informed decisions about money. The attorney general’s office partners with the FTC to help raise awareness about Colorado scams and resources available.
The top 10 types of complaints and inquiries received in 2021 are:
Retail sales, unemployment scams, automotive sales and service, professional and other related services, commercial and residential home repair, vacation and travel, debt collection, healthcare and medical services, telecommunications and real estate sales and services.
Consumer protection actions taken in 2021:
To thwart medical product scams related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the office investigated Nationwide Medical Supply, Inc. for price gouging and deceptive marketing practices, and reached a settlement with Loveland Medical Clinic for failing to comply with a cease-and-desist order to stop marketing fake COVID-19 cures. Additionally, the office, in partnership with the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, issued cease-and-desist letters to COVID-19 testing sites that failed to be properly certified by the federal government to perform testing and for failing to report test results and cases to CDPHE as required by state law.
To address the pervasive fraud against the state’s unemployment insurance program from the start of the pandemic, the attorney general first looked to help Coloradans address the effects of their personal identity being compromised by publishing an Identity Theft Repair Kit. The attorney general has since partnered with state and federal law enforcement officials and the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment to launch the Colorado Unemployment Fraud Task Force. The focus of the joint task force is to investigate and prosecute those who engaged in illegal conduct to fraudulently apply for unemployment insurance benefits.
In 2021, investigations by the Consumer Credit Unit in the Consumer Protection Section of the Department of Law revealed several companies failed to refund unearned guaranteed automobile protection (GAP) fees to consumers as required by Colorado law. The department secured more than $9.5 million in consumer refunds from Wells Fargo, more than $1.68 million from BBVA USA (formerly known as Compass Bank), and $121,983 from American Assurance Corporation for failing to provide customers with the full gap benefits they were entitled to.
Last year, more than 200,000 Coloradans received checks in the mail from a 2019 settlement that the attorney general’s office reached with CenturyLink for deceptively overcharging customers for services. More than $8 million was refunded to consumers from the settlement.
StopFraudColorado.gov is a website for the Attorney General’s Office’s Consumer Protection Section that is designed to emphasize consumer protection outreach and makes it easier for Coloradans to avoid becoming a victim of fraud while streamlining the process for filing fraud reports. If you notice any scams, fraud, price gouging, or other attempts to take advantage of Coloradans, contact Stop Fraud Colorado at 800-222-4444 or www.StopFraudColorado.gov.
Action22, in partnership with Attorney General, Phil Weiser and with the cooperation of DoLA, OEDIT and other funders, brings you the Rural Resourcing Road Trip. Through a series of convenings over the next few months, this “road trip” will help you connect and gather those resources necessary for effective operation and fund seeking for your project(s). Join the next discussion set for noon on Wednesday, March 9th at Lamar Community College. Dr. Linda Lujan, President of LCC will act as co-host. The meeting will be held in room 299 of the Betz Building at the college at 2401 South Main Street in Lamar.
Dec. 30, 2020 (DENVER, Colo.)—Attorney General Phil Weiser released an advisory warning Coloradans about potential COVID-19 vaccine scams and vowing that the State will enforce laws prohibiting fraudulent or deceptive sales of fake COVID-19 vaccinations and cures.
Currently, only two vaccines are FDA-approved, with more anticipated: the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for use in individuals 16 years and older and the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine for use in individuals 18 years and older.
“We are committed to ensuring the medical safety and security of all Coloradans,” said Weiser. “As such, we will take seriously the sale or advertising of fake COVID-19 vaccinations and we will bring legal action against those who engage in such illegal conduct.”
The Colorado Consumer Protection Act safeguards Colorado residents from unfair and deceptive trade practices by persons and businesses. Selling or advertising to sell a fake COVID-19 vaccination or cure, or an appointment to receive a vaccination, is punishable by a civil penalty of up to $20,000 per violation, or $50,000 per violation against an older person.
Below are some basic tips to identify vaccine-related scams:
Do not respond to unsolicited e-mails, text messages, advertisements, or telephone calls offering to sell COVID-19 vaccines or other cures or treatment.
Do not pay for a COVID-19 vaccine. You will not have to pay for the vaccine itself, although you may be charged a small fee for administration of the vaccine—any offer to “sell” a vaccine is a scam.
Beware of any attempt to sell you an appointment for the approved vaccine.
Before responding to communications from a doctor, pharmacy, health department, or other health care practitioner, verify the source of that communication.
Talk to your doctor to receive accurate information on when a vaccine will be available for you.
Above all, do not rely on unsubstantiated claims from strangers about COVID-19 vaccine availability.
For more information about potential scams and how to avoid them, and laws prohibiting the sale of fake COVID-19 vaccines, go to bit.ly/VaccineAdvisory.
If you believe you have been victimized by a COVID-19 vaccine scam, witness a retailer sell or attempt to sell a non-FDA approved vaccine, or witness other such suspicious activity, please report it to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office at stopfraudcolorado.gov.
Southeastern Colorado community colleges get a $5 million boost from
Attorney General’s Office to revitalize rural housing, support trades programs
Aug. 26, 2020 (DENVER, Colo.)— Communities in Southeast Colorado have long faced challenges with blighted housing and shortages on available housing stock. This housing shortage is largely due to the age of houses and the lack of appropriately trained labor in the area to remediate blighted housing. A large number of these houses were constructed before 1939, with many of them containing asbestos, which is expensive to remediate. Because the cost to remediate, repair, or renovate the houses often exceeds their resale value, many commercial homebuilders will not develop in the area and potentially viable housing instead becomes a nuisance.
To address this housing challenge, Attorney General Phil Weiser today announced a new grant program in the Office of Community Engagement designed to both revitalize rural housing and support construction training programs at community colleges in Southeastern Colorado.
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office, as part of its new Colorado Partnership for Education and Rural Revitalization (COPERR), will grant up to $5 million to Trinidad State Junior College, Lamar Community College, and Otero Junior College to develop skilled trades programs that will address labor shortages and increase the availability of viable and affordable housing in Otero, Prowers, Las Animas, Crowley, Kiowa, Bent, and Baca counties. The program is funded through funds the state received from the national mortgage settlement, a settlement reached in 2012 after 49 states sued mortgage servicers after the 2008 financial crisis. Before the launch of this program, none of the funds obtained in this 2012 settlement were used in Southeastern Colorado.
“During my visits to Southeastern Colorado, leaders and residents have consistently raised the issue of the housing shortage in that region. Through a process of bringing together leaders from local government and the community colleges, we were able to build a partnership that will address workforce and housing shortages and contribute to the revitalization of those communities,” Weiser said. “Rural communities are a vital part of Colorado’s cultural and economic fabric, and I am proud to support programs that will provide opportunities for students while addressing this important housing need.”
Community colleges provide essential trades programs and other opportunities for students to pursue their goals, especially in rural Colorado. As economic mainstays in many areas of our state, these schools also have the infrastructure and expertise to build trades programs so students can help revitalize housing in their own communities.
“We applaud the Attorney General and his staff for their vision and partnership with several of our colleges to support trade and construction training programs in areas of the state that need it most,” said Joe Garcia, chancellor of the Colorado Community College System. “The COPERR program will no doubt have a positive impact in revitalizing our rural communities. I appreciate the program’s focus on and concern for Southeast Colorado, which is too often overlooked.”
Workforce training programs will have in-class learning and experiential learning, during which students will complete remodels and new construction of blighted properties that the community colleges have acquired or purchased via COPERR funds.
“Trinidad State is thrilled to be a partner in COPERR,” said Dr. Rhonda Epper, president of Trinidad State Junior College. “This investment is just the boost we need to help train more construction workers while addressing blighted housing in Trinidad and surrounding communities in Las Animas County.”
The students will pay tuition for the workforce training courses, but they will also receive a stipend upon completion of their work for the experiential learning component, allowing the homes to be remodeled or rebuilt for a lower, but still fair, cost.
“This program will be a game-changer for Southeast Colorado,” said Dr. Tim Alvarez, president of Otero Junior College. “Quality affordable housing and addressing our region’s shortage of trades professionals are two major components to revitalizing our rural communities.”
Representatives from the cities of Lamar, La Junta, and Trinidad have participated in stakeholder meetings since March 2020 and have developed a working inventory of properties within their communities that need to be remediated. Although the community colleges will start with renovations in these communities, they will expand their programs to address blighted housing—with a goal of remediation—in each of the seven southeastern-most Colorado counties and work to maximize the reach and impact of the program.
The three community colleges will also be working with local governments in Southeast Colorado, in conjunction with state and federal government entities, to ensure proper disposal of waste materials generated through COPERR. Once the community colleges complete the remediation of a property, they will sell it back to the community and reinvest the proceeds into COPERR.
“We are ready to get to work with our community partners to solve this critical Southeast Colorado need, and we are thrilled to offer students a new hands-on, relevant workforce experience that will benefit our communities greatly,” said Dr. Linda Lujan, president of Lamar Community College.
Trinidad State Junior College and Lamar Community College will deploy construction programs as early as fall of 2020, while Otero Junior College will conduct a needs assessment in 2020 and deploy its construction and historic preservation program in the fall of 2021.
“I am inspired by the commitment of these community colleges and local government to reinvigorating their communities,” said Weiser. “I am excited about what we can do working together to build a stronger future for this important part of our state. We are working together to build a future for residents in Southeastern Colorado that includes reasonable, affordable housing and job opportunities.”
Learn more about COPERR and monitor the schools’ progress at coag.gov/coperr.
