Wasden releases 2021 Consumer Protection Report
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has released his office’s 2021 Consumer Protection Report.
The 20-page annual document details the office’s work on consumer-related topics such as recent national opioid settlements, enforcement actions, restitution totals and national tobacco settlement litigation. The report also includes a top 10 list of complaints from Idaho consumers.
“The Consumer Protection Division is a key part of my office, both for the role it plays in directly protecting Idaho consumers, and for its role representing the state in consumer-related litigation,” Wasden said. “This report illustrates the breadth of this important work.”
The Consumer Protection Division recovered more than $7.1 million dollars, which equates to $7.25 for each tax dollar appropriated to the division in FY 2021. The division led Idaho’s efforts to join three opioid settlements that will bring $120 million to Idaho at the state, regional and local level. Consumer Protection attorneys also filed enforcement actions against a variety of entities over issues such as health claim advertising, fraudulent tax preparation services, and privacy.
The report highlights the state’s ongoing efforts to continue securing funds connected to the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. The attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division is responsible for litigating against the tobacco industry over the state’s enforcement of certain tobacco laws. The tobacco industry paid Idaho more than $22 million in 2021. Since 1998, settlement payments to Idaho total more than $542 million.
The report also details the nature of complaints filed with the Consumer Protection Division. Motor vehicle-related complaints again led the rankings in 2021, followed by complaints about construction and contractors and landlord/tenant issues. Categories in the 2021 top 10 rankings that weren’t in the 2020 rankings include complaints related to recreational vehicles and moving companies.
