PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon’s Attorney General filed a lawsuit against an air duct cleaning operation for allegedly mailing deceptive advertisements and making illegal robocalls.
“These calls and mailers were incredibly deceptive—not to mention obnoxious,” said Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum.
The lawsuit claimed U.S. Air Ducts, its owners and their associated companies violated Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act by promising customers a “seasonal special” in print advertisements. Once in the home, technicians would use high pressure sales tactics to get consumers to spend hundreds of dollars for a complete cleaning, a fake VIP membership and services the company couldn’t perform, according to the complaint filed in Multnomah county.
The Oregon Department of Justice received 18 complaints about the Vancouver-based company.
The air duct cleaning operation was the focus of a KGW investigation earlier this year after numerous customers complained about aggressive sales tactics and excessive bills.
In February, general manager David Moshe told KGW he did not have to respond to consumer complaints about US Air Ducts & Builders because the company didn’t exist anymore.
“I don’t have to. That’s the beauty of it,” Moshe said in February.
Oregon’s AG referenced KGW’s investigation and Moshe’s statement in the lawsuit.
Moshe could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit.
Washington’s Attorney General filed a similar lawsuit against the air duct cleaning operation last month.