Better Business Bureau collects nearly 90 complaints against Grand Rapids toy business

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WILX) – A toy selling website based in Grand Rapids faces legal action after the Better Business Bureau gathered nearly 90 complaints against it.

Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a Notice of Intended Action (NIA) against Planetary Toys Thursday for allegedly violating Michigan’s Consumer Protection Act. The Department of the Attorney General said in a press release that they had found probable cause to believe the business is engaging in multiple unfair trade practices.

They company is accused of:

• Causing a probability of confusion or misunderstanding as to the source, sponsorship, approval, or certification of goods or services;
• Representing that goods or services are of a particular standard, quality, or grade, or that goods are of a particular style or model, if they are of another;
• Advertising or representing goods or services with intent not to dispose of those goods or services as advertised or represented;
• Advertising goods or services with intent not to supply reasonably expectable public demand, unless the advertisement discloses a limitation of quantity in immediate conjunction with the advertised goods or services;
• Representing or implying that the subject of a consumer transaction will be provided promptly, or at a specified time, or within a reasonable time, if the merchant knows or has reason to know it will not be so provided; and
• Failing, in a consumer transaction that is rescinded, canceled, or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of an agreement, advertisement, representation, or provision of law, to promptly restore to the person or persons entitled to it a deposit, down payment, or other payment, or in the case of property traded in but not available, the greater of the agreed value or the fair market value of the property, or to cancel within a specified time or an otherwise reasonable time an acquired security interest.

“The complaints demonstrate that the website routinely charges consumers for purchases, but then fails to send them the items purchased,” the NIA states. “Some consumers indicate that while they did receive an item, it was not the item they ordered but rather a less valuable item—such as an ordinary toy as opposed to a special edition toy. Very few complaining consumers have received a refund. The website listed an invalid address and disconnected phone number. While you attempted to explain away these issues to our Office’s investigator, this Office remains concerned about these business practices.”

A copy of the NIA is on the Department’s website.

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