Commissioner of Insurance– The commissioner’s position is to protect consumers by ensuring that insurance companies are providing affordable services and operati… The four states exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to justify ignoring federal and state election laws and unlawfully enacting last-minute changes, thus skewing the results of the 2020 General Election. © 2020 State Bar of Wisconsin. Include problem history with date and location of purchase; copies of all documents; and your work and home numbers. Like DATCP, the DFI acts as a mediator, enforcer, and educator. Still, “by statute we can’t be the private attorney for every citizen who has been ripped off,” Sullivan emphasizes. Be calm, courteous and friendly. The State Bar of Wisconsin Lawyer Referral and Information Service can help you determine if you need a lawyer, and how to proceed if you do. Still, the DOJ does receive complaints directly from consumers. P.O. After the case went to trial, Legal Helpers opted to settle on the third day, for $1 million. In one such case, Sullivan’s staff worked with a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Florida attorney general’s office to get a consumer’s belongings that were being held hostage in a storage facility near Chicago’s Midway International Airport. To submit a complaint to DATCP by mail, It also registers and regulates the mortgage banking industry and other financial service providers such as loan companies. The agency has eight attorneys on staff. The other three major categories of consumer complaints to the DFI include those against banks and credit unions (state-chartered only), mortgage bankers and brokers, and loan companies. One role DATCP plays is that of mediator. Violations of state and federal laws included mismanaging consumers’ mortgage escrow accounts and operating unlicensed mortgage servicing facilities in some states. Earlier this year, for example, the DFI took action against Ocwen Financial Corp., an Atlanta-based mortgage servicing company. As another example, complaints to DATCP about Chicago-based Legal Helpers, a debt settlement company, resulted in the DOJ initiating a lawsuit alleging the firm illegally collected millions of dollars in fees from Wisconsin consumers who were trying to get out of debt. According to the Consumer Sentinel Network, a U.S. Federal Trade Commission service available to law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, the activities listed below were the subject of the most complaints in 2016. Credit bureaus, information furnishers, and report users, The DOJ is “outside the mainstream of the Wisconsin consumer complaint structure,” says Sullivan, chief of the DOJ’s Consumer Protection Unit, which has six attorneys. ), “Collections agencies by their very nature are involved in work that upsets consumers,” Althoff says. “If someone needs to be sued, DATCP and DFI don’t have that authority. Information is available by contacting the Office of Lawyer Regulation. But, again, DATCP’s job is investigation, not litigation. “We try to resolve complaints in the most sensible way to make sure consumers are not being harmed. The DFI regulates state-chartered banks, savings and loans, savings banks, and credit unions, as well as various operations of the securities industry. “It depends on what your issue is,” says Francis (Frank) Sullivan, chief director of the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Unit of the Wisconsin Department of Justice. All rights reserved. The four states exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to justify ignoring federal and state election laws and unlawfully enacting last-minute changes, thus skewing the results of the 2020 General Election. Be specific about wanting replacement, a refund or repair. You can call Wisconsin Attorney General at phone number, fill out a contact form on their website www.doj.state.wi.us, or write a letter to PO Box 7857, Madison, Wisconsin, 53707-7857, United States. Sometimes, however, violations require more forceful action. “Complaints also may come through police departments who give us a call and say, ‘Hey, we have this issue out there.’”, Of the written consumer complaints DATCP received in 2016, telemarketing issues ranked at the top of the list, numbering nearly 3,700, or about one-third of the annual total. Have a complaint about a consumer product or service? DATCP’s primary consumer protection function is to serve as an investigator. 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