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Have you ever purchased a car, a television or any other product that didn’t work the way the seller said it would? Have you ever bought something you were told was new, and then discovered it wasn’t new? Have you ever used the services of an automobile mechanic or other repair person and found out later that the repair job wasn’t done properly? Have you ever bought an insurance policy and then found out that it didn’t provide all the coverage the insurance agent claimed it would provide?
If so, you should know about a Texas law designed to help people like you. The law is called the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and is often referred to as the DTPA.
This law covers any consumer who purchases or tries to purchase almost any product or service. The law applies to both business and individual sellers. So if you have a garage sale or sell your old car, you would be a "seller" under the DTPA.
The purpose of the law is to prevent consumer fraud by punishing those who try to deceive consumers. The law allows consumers to recover as much as three times their actual damages, plus attorney’s fees and court costs.
The actions prohibited by the law generally consist of anything intended to mislead or deceive the consumer. If a car salesman tells you a used car is in "excellent shape" when he knows the car has mechanical problems, that would be covered by the law. In fact, if the car salesman knew the car had a bad problem and he didn’t warn you about the problem, that would be covered by the law also.
The Deceptive Trade Practices Act lists a number of activities that are specifically prohibited. A few of them are:
Representing that goods are original or new if they are deteriorated, reconditioned, reclaimed, used or second hand;
Making false or misleading statements of fact concerning the reasons for, existence of, or amount of price reductions;
Knowingly making false or misleading statements of fact concerning the need for parts, replacement, or repair service. There are many more prohibited actions under the DTPA, including selling goods or services for a price greatly over the real value. If you have questions about this law, or think you might have a potential claim, please call our office. We will be glad to discuss this with you, and there will be no charge for your initial consultation.
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