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| Before you send your dispute to Palm Beach County Consumer Affairs, please read the following helpful information |
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| If you have a consumer Inquiry or Dispute - It is frustrating to pay for a product or service only to
discover it doesn't match the promises or expectations. When that happens, you expect to have the problem resolved or
your money returned. |
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| First, Contact the Business - Take your problem to the salesperson, manager, landlord or the company's
customer service representative. Most problems are resolved at this level. If you are still not satisfied, contact
the owner or the company's headquarters. |
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| When to send a dispute form to Consumer Affairs - If the business or landlord will not resolve your problem directly, you can
file a dispute with the Palm Beach County Consumer Affairs Division. Disputes can be submitted in person at the Consumer
Affairs Division, by U.S. Mail, by telephone. |
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| Who may send a dispute -- The Consumer Affairs Division is an agency of the Palm Beach County, Florida, Board of County
Commissioners. Consumer disputes may be submitted by citizens against any business or landlord operating
in Palm Beach County -- where the citizen believes s/he has been unfairly, deceptively or
illegally treated. Palm Beach County is composed of 38 municipalities. Some of the major
cities include: West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Lake Worth, Boynton Beach, Palm
Beach Gardens, Wellington, Riviera Beach and Jupiter. |
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| If you send a dispute to our office, Consumer Affairs reserves the right to forward your case to other
government (local, state or federal) agencies which may have direct regulating responsibility over the business/industry for which you are submitting a dispute/inquiry. Part of the Division's responsibility is to act as
a coordinating agency. |
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| By law, the Consumer Affairs Division cannot require a business to resolve your
dispute. Our goal with mediation is to encourage informal solutions to consumer disputes.
To that end, we will make the business aware of your dispute and attempt to mediate a solution
whenever possible. We offer this process as a public service, and we must rely on the voluntary
cooperation of both the business and the consumer to resolve disputes. We strive to keep
disputing parties from the costly and time consuming experience of going to court. |
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| We cannot act as your private attorney. Our investigators are not attorneys and cannot
give legal advice or opinions. If you feel you need legal advice, you will need to consult with a
private attorney, legal aid society or other organization. |
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| In certain instances Consumer Affairs may bring legal action against a business
that has violated specific sections of the ordinances administered by Consumer Affairs. Some of these
enforcement actions include but are not limited to issuing civil citations resolved in county court
or "cease and desist" orders reviewed by a Hearing Board or Special Master. |
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| How Our Mediation Process Works |
| After we process your written dispute and determine how it will be handled,
we will send a letter to the business asking for a response to your allegations. You
will receive a copy of our initial correspondence to the business and copies of any written responses. |
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| We will contact you directly if additional information is needed. If you need to provide additional
information, please do so in writing. |
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| If your case is referred to another agency, we will advise you of that referral.
In any event, we will keep your case file so that we can monitor the dispute history of a business
and provide that information to other consumers who inquire. |
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| Company Moved or Out of Business Perhaps the most frustrating consumer complaint is one
against a company that is out of business or has moved without leaving a forwarding address. Those cases are
almost always impossible to resolve. Even agencies that assist consumers may not have the resources
to find these companies. |
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| In some rare instances, consumers may recover some of their money if the
company has filed bankruptcy. To have any chance, you must file a "proof of claim". Bankruptcy
cases can be very complex, so you may want to hire an attorney to help you - especially if your
claim is large. |
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| Other Considerations |
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| You always have the option of going to a Small Claims Court in Palm Beach County.
The Small Claims Court handles civil disputes that are less than $5,000. For more information call
(561) 355-2500. |
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| If You Need an Attorney |
| You may want to hire your own attorney if our mediation cannot resolve
your dispute or your case involves large sums of money. |
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| Private Attorneys |
| If you do not have an attorney and think you will need one, contact
the Palm Beach County Bar Association (561) 687-3266 (West Palm Beach area) or
(561) 451-3256 (Boca/Delray). |
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| Legal Aid Society |
| Some legal aid is available to aggrieved consumers who are
disadvantaged, disabled or elderly and cannot afford to pay. If you fall into this category,
you should call the Legal Aid Society (561) 655-8944. |
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| You will automatically be taken to the correct dispute form
when you "click" on the "I Agree to conditions" button from one of the two choices below.. |
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