Oregon Department of Justice

Attorney General Hardy Myers today announced that a Lake Oswego mail order company, advertising "hard-to-find" compact discs (CDs) on the Internet, is out-of-business in Oregon for alleged violations of the state consumer protection laws. Named in an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance filed today in Marion County Circuit Court is Sound City 2000 and its owner Linda Simmons.

"Customers throughout the United States and Europe used the convenience of the Internet to order CDs from Oregon only to find the bad service outweighed the ease of ordering, " Myers said. "Consumers should not assume that a business is honest or reliable simply because it sells over the Internet and should always check out its marketplace history before ordering product."

Department of Justice investigators received 50 complaints against the company alleging that they paid for CDs and never received them, and that it took months to receive requested refunds. Consumers also complained of early crediting of their credit cards only to wait for months for the goods or refunds. Justice and the Federal Trade Commission shared information during the investigation.

Under the agreement, Simmons will permanently cease doing business in the retail music industry in Oregon and will provide restitution to all consumers who submitted complaints to Justice. Simmons also has deposited $1,000 in an attorney's trust account for payment of future restitution.

The Department of Justice had prior dealings with Simmons and her husband, Ladislav Hanousek, who as president of Sound City USA signed an AVC in 1990 agreeing not to sell counterfeit, bootlegged or pirated merchandise.

Consumers wanting information on shopping on the Internet may call the Attorney General's consumer hotline at (503) 378-4320 (Salem area only), (503) 229-5576 (Portland area only) or toll-free at 1-877-877-9392. Justice is online at www.doj.state.or.us.