Ohio Is Latest State to Sue Allcare Dental

Ohio is the latest state to file suit against New York-based Allcare Dental for failing to deliver promised services to consumers after it abruptly closed in early 2011. Pennsylvania sued the defunct chain in April.

"When Allcare shut its doors, it left behind hundreds of Ohioans who had paid for dental products and services they never received," Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said. "In some cases, Ohioans went weeks and months without dentures, or they scrambled to retrieve their dental records and quickly find a new provider. We want to do everything we can to protect these consumers."

Allcare was a dental chain operating in 15 states that provided dentures and other dental services to consumers in several states, including 16 offices in Ohio. Consumers who could not pay cash for Allcare's services could apply for third-party financing that was arranged by Allcare but was provided by separate companies. Most consumers were required to pay in advance for a year of service.

In January 2011, Allcare closed its offices and canceled all scheduled appointments with no advance notice to consumers. Most Allcare employees also had no prior knowledge of the closure.

After the closing, the Ohio Attorney General's Office received more than 940 complaints against Allcare, mostly involving failure to deliver. In their complaints, consumers disputed about $2 million in payments to Allcare.

Although consumers have not received refunds from Allcare, some have received money from the third-party financing companies, and some have successfully disputed the charges with their credit card providers.

The Ohio lawsuit charges Allcare with violating the Consumer Sales Practices Act by failing to provide promised products and services and failing to provide refunds. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, $25,000 in civil penalties per violation, and full restitution for consumers.