Over $3 Million Recovered By Attorney General’s Office

(Pierre) – Attorney General Mark Barnett announced today that his office has set a new record for consumer recoveries. In calendar year 2001, the Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Protection recovered $3,062,965.91 for consumers.

Barnett said, “A large portion of the money came from court ordered restitution. But a sizable amount was also from new car recoveries, computer replacements, and billing errors. As you can tell from the numbers, we work very hard every day for South Dakota consumers.”

The office obtained $134,705.38 from new car recoveries, including those that fell under Lemon Law guidelines; $181,247.15 came from computer and computer part replacements, and $118,628.16 from billing errors.

The Consumer Protection Division fielded approximately 24,000 calls in 2001 and opened 1,974 cases.

Consumers with concerns or questions are encouraged to contact the South Dakota Division of Consumer Protection at 1-800-300-1986 or www.state.sd.us/atg.  

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