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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 30, 2025 |
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LANSING – As Northern Michigan continues to recover from the recent ice storm, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is urging residents to stay alert for price gouging and deceptive business practices, and to file a complaint about any potential consumer protection violations to her office.
With many residents relying on tree removal and clean-up services, Attorney General Nessel warns that some companies may exploit the emergency by inflating prices or engaging in unfair business practices. While tree services are not licensed, it’s important that consumers vet them as thoroughly as other contractors and request written quotes outlining the total project cost before signing any agreements. This will help consumers avoid potential price gouging and other predatory business practices, especially during emergencies.
“Bad actors often see emergencies as an opportunity to take advantage of people in need,” Nessel said. “We need residents to be our eyes and ears and report potential price gouging or deceptive business practices. Filing a complaint with our office can protect your community against these scammers.”
Michigan law prohibits service providers from charging prices that are “grossly in excess” of what others are charging for similar services.
Over the past few years, the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Team has been investigating unfair business practices engaged in by a handful of companies providing emergency tree mitigation services. For example, in March 2024, Attorney General Nessel settled a lawsuit against Rockford business owner David Foster and his companies, Michigan’s Choice Tree Service and Storm Support Emergency Tree Removal, where Foster admitted to violating the Michigan Limited Liability Company Act by operating Storm Support without the necessary certificate to operate, and to violating the Michigan Consumer Protection Act (MCPA) by “causing a probability of confusion or of misunderstanding as to the legal rights, obligations, or remedies of” their customers.
Under the MCPA, illegal practices include:
- Gross discrepancies between the oral representations of the seller and the written agreement covering the same transaction or failure of the other party to the transaction to provide the promised benefits.
- Charging the consumer a price that is grossly in excess of the price at which similar property or services are sold.
- Causing coercion and duress as the result of the time and nature of a sales presentation.
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Making a representation of fact or statement of fact material to the transaction such that a person reasonably believes the represented or suggested state of affairs to be other than it actually is.
Michigan consumers who suspect they are the victims of illegal or predatory business practices, as well as consumers who received quotes or proposals for service that might constitute predatory practices or price gouging, are encouraged to contact the Department of Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Team. The Attorney General also welcomes complaints from consumers in northern Michigan who are aware of a person or business engaging in questionable tactics, even if the consumer has not been victimized.
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