Northboro lawn company settles allegations of abusive debt collections

An Northboro-based lawn care company has reached a settlement to resolve claims that it used illegal and abusive debt collection practices, Attorney General Maura Healey announced Friday.

The consent judgement resolves Ms. Healey's lawsuit against Foreman Turf Specialties Inc., doing business as TLC The Lawn Company and owner Jack R. Foreman Jr. for unfair and deceptive debt collection practices.

"This lawn care company tricked customers into signing contracts with hidden fees and then sued more than 1,500 customers for amounts they didn't owe," Ms. Healey said in a statement.

The attorney general's complaint alleged that TLC, a company that markets chemical law treatments to thousands of homeowners across New England, routinely added hidden charges and fees to customers accounts, causing them to pay money they didn't owe. TLC aggressively pursued collection of the hidden fees, both through a third-party debt collection company and by filing small claims actions in Westboro District Court, according to the attorney general's office. TLC filed more than 1,600 small claims actions in Westboro, including more than 200 against people who do not live in Massachusetts.

According to the attorney general's office, the company also automatically renewed customers' original contracts unless customers contacted them to cancel their order, a practice the attorney general said was not properly disclosed.

The attorney general's office said the terms of the settlement require TLC to pay $143,514 in restitution to affected customers, as well as a $150,000 civil penalty. TLC must also help eligible customers repair their credit. The settlement also prohibits TLC from collecting illegal and unauthorized sums and filing actions in distant courts. The company must also provide consumers notice about the automatic renewal provision in their contracts and obtain the consumers' advance consent.

The attorney general's office said consumer restitution will be distributed by a third party administrator. Affected consumers can call (866) 623-0004. Sarah Petrie, special assistant attorney general in the attorney general's consumer protection division, investigator Anthony Crespi of the civil investigations division, and Max Weinstein, chief of the consumer protection division, handled the settlement.