Regulators: National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG)

Prerequisite:   Before you complain to regulators

(video on how to find current attorney general by state)

According to their website, The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) is a national and nonpartisan meetingplace for America’s state/territory attorneys general.  NAAG strides to provide a forum for attorneys general plus their staff to collaborate on issues critical to their work. Additionally, NAAG provides training and guidance to support attorneys general in preserving the rule of law and the United States Constitution.   

So the next logical question is what does a state’s Attorney General (AG) do?  Well here is a brief summary:  

While varying from one jurisdiction to the next due to statutory and constitutional mandates, the role of attorney general typically includes: 

• Issuing formal opinions to state agencies 

• Acting as public advocates in areas such as child support enforcement, consumer protections, antitrust and utility regulation 

• Proposing legislation 

• Enforcing federal and state environmental laws 

• Representing the state and state agencies before the state and federal courts 

• Handling criminal appeals and serious statewide criminal prosecutions 

• Instituting civil suits on behalf of the state 

• Representing the public’s interests in charitable trust and solicitations 

• Operating victim compensation programs 

Attorneys general receive much of their enforcement authority from state consumer laws, most of which give the attorney general primary enforcement responsibility within their state. State consumer laws are very broad in scope and provide protections for the myriad of transactions that consumers across the U.S. enter into every day. They also help to protect the ethical business entities operating within the law from losing business to unscrupulous or even fraudulent competitors.

Depending on the jurisdiction, these state laws broadly prohibit unfair, misleading, unconscionable, and deceptive acts and practices. Most are enforced civilly, but some also have criminal provisions. These laws are typically titled Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices Acts (UDAP) or Consumer Protection Acts (CPA) (collectively general consumer laws).

It is important to note that AGs work for the state interest and the interest of the general public.  So they may not be able to offer specific advice or directly prosecute a case solely on your behalf….at least not necessarily solely based on your complaint alone.  But this does not mean that contacting the AG would be worthless.   They may be able to point you to the necessary tools needed towards legitimate civil or criminal litigation to help you recover your funds.  

You can file a complaint against an AG if you believe that the AG has not acted in the public’s best interest.   Who knows how long that would take and whether the energy invested would actually help you recover your funds.  But each respective state’s AGs office’s website is a good first step.

#RegulatedFool

_______________________________________________