Caring for the Consumer

“Clarice” was a 78-year-old widow who had responded to an advertisement for a free hearing test that was mailed to her home. At the store her hearing was tested and she was told her that she needed a $2,000 hearing aid. When she said she was low income and could not afford the monthly payments, she was provided with some documents to sign and told they were “so her insurance would pay for the hearing test.” Two weeks later she received a credit card from Wells Fargo Bank, along with a statement that said she owed $2,000 for a hearing aid purchase.

Clarice immediately came to Lakeshore’s office and spoke to an attorney. The attorney sent a letter to Wells Fargo stating that Clarice had never purchased, nor received a hearing aid, and would not be paying for one. Ten days later a hearing aid arrived at her home in the mail, but Clarice refused delivery. The attorney made a call to Wells Fargo and a representative advised the Lakeshore attorney that the charge had been removed from the credit card account and that the credit card would be canceled immediately with no reflection on Clarice’s credit score.