HARRISBURG – Attorney General Tom Corbett announced that the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection has filed an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance requiring a Lackawanna County company to pay restitution to more than 60 Pennsylvania consumers who did not receive pre-paid Internet service which they had purchased from the company.
The legal agreement resolves allegation against Digital Freedom LLC, Clarks Summit, which marketed pre-paid Internet service in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Sullivan and Wyoming counties.
Corbett said that between December 2005 and the present, 64 consumers filed complaints with the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection after being unable to access pre-paid Internet service through Digital Freedom and failing to receive appropriate refunds from the company.
According to the terms of the AVC, Digital Freedom will pay a total of $7,591.11 in restitution to the 64 consumers who have filed complaints. Additionally, the company will be required to pay restitution to additional consumers who file verifiable complaints within the next 90 days.
Corbett said the AVC also requires Digital Freedom to pay a $1,000 fine for violations of Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, along with the cost of the Attorney General’s investigation.
Consumers who purchased Internet service from Digital Freedom but have been unable to access that service or obtain a refund should contact the Bureau of Consumer Protection at 800-441-2555 or file an online complaint using the Attorney General’s Web site. Consumers have until Aug. 18 to file their complaints.
Corbett noted that consumers who are scheduled to receive restitution as part of this legal settlement will be contacted directly by the Attorney General’s office.
The Assurance of Voluntary Compliance was filed on Monday in Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas by Senior Deputy Attorney General J. P. McGowan of the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.