A Caldwell company agreed to change its advertising after Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador’s office accused the company of misleading customers.
Labrador’s office is suing Right Now Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, accusing the company of running deceptive direct mail ads that claimed customers could purchase furnaces or air conditioning units at a discount. Now denies the accusations.
One ad states: “For only $1,200, you can get rid of your old furnace and replace it with a brand new, top-of-the-line furnace.”
The attorney general’s office claims the company’s claims and others are not true.
To get a new furnace, customers must pay for the installation of a furnace and a new air conditioning unit, the lawsuit says, and Right Now’s ads “failed to clearly and conspicuously disclose the cost of the furnace or provide the full cost of purchasing and installing both units.”
Labrador’s office said customers complained the company failed to provide them with a detailed contract identifying the equipment and services they agreed to purchase and provided them with a document called an “estimate,” which the company claimed was a sales contract.
Labrador’s office said the company’s “estimates” had a tendency to mislead or confuse reasonable customers. It accuses Right Now of unfair competition and deceptive conduct, violating the Idaho Consumer Protection Act and the Idaho Consumer Protection Rules.
The Attorney General’s Office and Right Now agreed to a pledge of voluntary compliance, in which the company agreed to change its advertising to clearly disclose the total cost it charges customers to purchase and install its HVAC products. For example, if the company advertises that customers can purchase an air conditioner for an installation fee of $1,475, it must sell the air conditioner at that price.
In the agreement, Right Now does not admit liability and requires the company to retain all records related to customer complaints it receives for two years after the agreement takes effect.
“The provision of this warranty does not constitute an admission of fact or violation of any state or federal law, rule or regulation,” the agreement said. “This warranty is being made to address the Attorney General’s concerns…”
The company agreed to pay $6,500 to the Attorney General’s Office to cover its fees and costs incurred during the litigation.
Canyon County District Judge Randall Grove approved the agreement on Dec. 22.
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