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MN Attorney General v Wall & Associates, Inc.

BBB reports on known significant government actions involving business' marketplace conduct.

State of Minnesota vs. Wall & Associates, Inc.

The following describes a pending government action that has been formally brought by a government agency but has not yet been resolved.  BBB is providing a summary of the government’s allegations, which have not yet been proven. 

On December 11, 2018, the Attorney General of the State of Minnesota filed a lawsuit against Wall & Associates, Inc. in Hennepin County (MN) District Court.  Charges allege the business is in violation of Minnesota consumer protection laws. 

According to a press release issued by Minnesota’s Attorney General: 
“Minnesota law requires companies that offer to help people settle tax debt to register with the State and prohibits them from collecting payments before services are delivered.  The lawsuit alleges that the company, Wall and Associates, Inc., failed to register in Minnesota and collected large advance payments from customers of up to $15,000 prior to the full delivery of services, in violation of Minnesota law. 

Despite not being registered to do business in the State, Wall offers to help Minnesota consumers with tax debt problems, making claims on its website such as:
• ‘one of Minnesota’s leading professional tax representation and negotiation firms’;
• we ‘[ne]gotiate and settle your tax debt on your behalf’; and
• we ‘reduce[d] the amount our clients owe the IRS by over $150 million dollars!’
Wall claims to operate local offices in Minnesota, but really just rents temporary office space in Minnesota to make in-person sales pitches to prospective Minnesota customers. 

The company also failed to make required disclosures to Minnesota consumers, including: 1) prominently including on the front page of its agreements “the total amount and an itemization of fees … reasonably anticipated to be paid by the debtor over the term of the agreement”; and 2) a prominent statement describing a Minnesota debtor’s 10-day right to cancel the agreement. The company also illegally made Minnesota customers “subject to the laws of Virginia,” rather than the laws of Minnesota. 

Some customers of the company have reported difficulty in getting Wall to return their calls or be responsive to inquiries about the status of their file, even after paying thousands of dollars to the company.” 

The matter is pending.  For more details go to the Minnesota Attorney General’s press release or call (651) 296-3353 (within the Twin Cities metro area) or (800) 657-3787 (outside the Twin Cities).   Individuals may also download a Complaint Form at www.ag.state.mn.us and mail the completed form to the Attorney General’s Office at: 445 Minnesota Street, Suite 1400, St. Paul, MN 55101-2131.