Attorney General Steve Marshall in recent days received an award from the nation’s oldest consumer protection organization for his office’s historic $60 million consumer settlement against Terminix.
The “Consumer Champion” award was presented to Marshall by Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research, based in Washington, DC, for the State of Alabama’s emphasis on putting consumers ahead of lawyers in the statewide Terminix settlement.
“Not only was the Alabama Attorney General successful in defending the rights of Alabama consumers, but he did so without using outside counsel, or joining a multi-state enforcement that would have shared settlement with third-party lawyers,” stated Hild. “Consumers’ Research holds up Attorney General Marshall’s actions to other states as an example of consumer advocacy done right.”
This comes afterMarshall and Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich in November first announced the state’s settlement with Terminix. While many of the victims of Terminix’s alleged illegal business practices reside in Mobile and Baldwin counties, the state-negotiated settlement affects Terminix customers statewide.
“I am extremely proud of my Consumer Protection Division for their handling of this case, and for the way they go about their work,” said Marshall. “This team truly buys in to the mission of serving Alabama consumers. I am humbled to receive this honor on their behalf.”
During a press conference last week, Marshall also announced that the claims deadline in the settlement for former Terminix customers who experienced dramatic price increases has been extended by 45 days.
“The 16,000 former Terminix customers in Alabama who dropped their coverage due to exorbitant price increases are all eligible to file claims for payments of at least $650 each, or they can have their lifetime contracts reinstated,” he added. “However, as of today, only 6,540 former customers have actually filed a claim. That means nearly 9,500 former Alabama Terminix customers are leaving $650 on the table.”
“Previously, former Terminix customers who experienced these unjust price increases were only allowed to file a claim by June 1, 2021. However, that deadline has now been extended to July 15, 2021. I urge all former Terminix customers in Alabama to take advantage of this opportunity to file a claim by visiting www.terminixfund.com as soon as possible,” Marshall concluded.
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Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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