Senator Ken Cuccinelli announces plans to center consumer affairs in Attorney General's office |
FAIRFAX - Senator Ken Cuccinelli announced his plans to move the Office of Consumer Affairs into the Office of the Attorney General and to consolidate all other state government consumer affairs agencies into that office. This is not the first time that Ken Cuccinelli has addressed consumer affairs issues. As a state Senator, Ken Cuccinelli was able to gain bipartisan support for legislation to protect consumer privacy and secure consumer financial data. He has sponsored bills to reduce medical fraud and to allow consumers to freeze their credit reports to combat identity theft. In Virginia, consumer issues are currently handled by three different state agencies - the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, the State Corporation Commission and the Office of the Attorney General. The Office of Consumer Affairs regulates the practices of organizations and businesses, serving as the central clearinghouse for the collection, evaluation, investigation or referral of consumer complaints. It was originally placed within the Department of Agriculture when Virginia had an agricultural based economy and consumer issues were focused on food safety and ensuring fair competition among farming interests. The State Corporation Commission currently handles complaints, questions and concerns about utility, financial and insurance activities. The Attorney General plays role as Consumer Counsel for Virginia, as he represents Virginia consumers in the enforcement of state and federal consumer protection laws. The Attorney General also provides important public information about privacy, scams on the elderly and other deceptive behavior by businesses that harms families. "The current Virginia division of consumer affairs into at least three different agencies," Cuccinelli stated, "is outdated, confusing and inefficient. Today, Virginia's families and its elderly population are faced with sophisticated scams and misleading advertising and pricing tactics. The last thing they need is to waste time and money trying to find the correct agency to complain to." He continued, "Under my plan, when complaints are made, investigations will be conducted in coordination with the legal staff that will actually be representing the consumers or businesses in court. Consumers and businesses will also have one-stop service when it comes to questions, complaints or the sharing of information about potential scams and other violations. Virginians will know that the Virginia Attorney General is looking out for their interests." For more information on this plan go to http://www.cuccinelli.com/ |
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