(Seal, Office
of the
Attorney General)
STATE OF ARIZONA
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (520)
GRANT WOODS CONSUMER PROTECTION & ANTlTRUST SECTION MAIN PHONE: 628-6504
ATTORNEY GENERAL 402 WEST CONGRESS, SUlTE 315 TELECOPIER 628-6532
TUCSON, AZ 85701-1367
PROCEDURE FOR FILING A CONSUMER FRAUD COMPLAINT
1. First, make a separate list of the things you want to say. Try to separate your feelings
from the facts. Present the events in the order in which they happened, using dates
whenever possible.
2. Type or print legibly in BLACK ink.
3. Enclose copies of documents such as contracts, letters, advertisements, sales slips,
PROOF OF PAYMENT, warranties, papers or other documents that may support
your complaint. KEEP THE ORIGINALS FOR YOUR FILES.
4. Remember that your complaint should describe the event or practice which was
misleading to you. If possible, you should state why the practice was misleading.
MAIL or DELIVER your complaint to either the Phoenix or Tucson office:
Attorney General Grant Woods Attorney General Grant Woods
Consumer Information & Complaints Consumer Protection Section
1275 W. Washington 400 W. Congress. South Bldg, Ste 315
Phoenix, AZ 85007 Tucson, AZ 85701-1367
(602) 542-5763 (520) 628-6504
Toll Free 1-800-352-8431(IN STATE ONLY)
Upon receipt of your complaint a member of our legal staff will review your
complaint and contact the company involved (if necessary). This process may
take from two to eight weeks, depending on the circumstances and the
information you are able to provide with your complaint. Although you may
feel that you have been "ripped off", this does not necessarily mean that the
business has engaged in unlawful activity which is within our jurisdiction.
Our office restricts our legal action to those cases which involve the greatest
harm to the public and which will have the greatest deterrent effect on fraud
in the marketplace. We are prohibited by law from giving you legal advice, legal opinions or acting as your private attorney. If you have suffered or may suffer significant monetary loss, you should contact a private attorney to discuss your legal rights and remedies. If you do not know an attorney you can locate one by referring to the Yellow Pages of your telephone directory or by contacting the Lawyer Referral Service of your County Bar Association. If your claim is less than $5000, you may be able to file a suit in Justice Court. Justice Court has a Small Claims division for claims which do not exceed $1500. We can send you, upon request, a manual which explains how to prepare and file such a suit.
******************************** end page 1 ******************************* ******************************** start page 2 *******************************---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***FOR AG USE ONLY* File No.: __________________ Category: P5 ______ V ______ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT IN BLACK INK ONLY) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
State YOUR Name and Address: State Name and Address of FIRM
complained against:
Stephen A. Langford Iomega Corporation
9140 N. Shadow Mt. Dr. 1821 West Iomega Way
Oro Valley, Greater TUCSON Roy, Utah 84067
Phone 520.279.0448 Bus. n/a Phone 1.800.MY.STUFF
AZ 85737 (Good luck!)
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Please indicate which of the following age Categories applies to you:
(for statistical purposes only)
Under 19 ( ): 20-39 ( ); 40-59 ( ); 60-69 ( ); 70-79 ( ); 80+ ( )
May we send a copy of this to the person complained against? (X) Yes ( ) No
(If your response is no, we may be prevented from taking any action on your
complaint.)
We may send a copy of your complaint to another government agency for their
review or investigation. May we also send a copy to any private agency which
resolves disputes like those raised in your complaint! (X) Yes ( ) No
Date of Transaction 11 thru 16 Sep 1996.
Did you sign any documents? ( ) Yes (X) No
(Please attach copies of each document)
Was an oral or written warranty given? ( ) Vet (X) No
Place of Transaction: Internet site of www,iomega.com and related pages
Witness to Transaction: n/a Name of Salesperson: n/a
Have you complained to the FIRM? (X) Yes ( ) No To whom> COMMENTS@iomega.com
What was their response? form response asking me to fill out unrelated
questionnaire.
Was the product or service advertised? (X) Yes ( ) No If Yes. indicate how
advertised and indicate date: Ad received via USPS on 10SEP1996
Do you have an attorney! ( ) Yes (X) No If Yes, give attorney's name and
address:
Is any legal action pending! ( ) Yes (X) No
Explain:
I am wondering whether or not I legally can bill them for my time
wasted while trying repeatedly to download promised software upgrade Tools V.5
Other Consumer agencies Contacted: n/a
Please explain the entire circumstances surrounding your complaint below and
on the reverse side. Please fully describe any oral or written
misrepresentations made to you:
Written ad promises free upgrade to software for Zip drives (Iomega product).
I have considerable experience downloading software from various sites. This
is the worst ... [continued on separate page]
This statement is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge.
Signature: ( Signed Stephen A. Langford, 16 September 1996 )
I have told them that I see the current situation as bait and switch, and I have told them that I am considering billing them for my time. Still, no response.
Most people, needing the software, will give up trying to download it and will just order it for $39.95, on a disk. However, I have established that it is impossible to download the software, and I see the circumstances as one of bait and switch -- I refuse to send them money after having spent all these unrewarded hours trying to obtain something "FREE."
I have obtained interruptions to the download process as quickly as to yield files only about 20KBytes in size as well as after having downloaded more than 3M of data. One needs the entire package in order to be sure it will run correctly.
Iomega has seen its stock rise from about 4 in January 1995 to about 60 in 1996, before some setbacks after a split. But there is no doubt at all that the company has been successful financially. They can afford to have enough servers going to handle the demands. I believe that the problem lies in lack of proper control over the servers that they DO have working, in terms of giving current download customers priorities over all other conditions that might arise. I have tried to download during off-hour periods such as having arisen at 5:30a this past Sunday morning, or staying up until l0p or getting up at 1a on weekday nights. No matter what I have tried, which includes having my email handler request any new mail, every two minutes -- in order to keep my own Internet-Service provider from timing me out and closing the connection. Nothing makes any difference.
Whether or not it is true, it SEEMS to be true that Iomega has a corporate policy that it will promise people that they can download files, but that they will rarely actually be allowed to succeed at doing so. This amounts to what I would call a de facto bait and switch. I would like the Attorney General of the State of Arizona to demand that Iomega Corporation show cause why it should be permitted to continue doing business in this State. I would like Iomega Corporation to make good on its promise to provide free downloads of upgrade software to people who try to use the Internet for that purpose.
I realize that this may well be asking the Attorney General of Arizona, Grant Woods, to break new legal ground. I trust that he will not shy away from such a prospect.
Please see supporting material in cover letter.
Signed: Stephen A. Langford 16 Sep 1996 RETURN©Stephen A. Langford, Oro Valley, Arizona, 4 March 1997. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This document may be freely transmitted in its entirety, so long as no monies are earned during the transaction/s. Permission is required for any and all other pertinent circumstances. (Metering for this page begun 17 September 1996.)
