Friday, April 19, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Last year, the state Consumer Affairs Division returned about $800,000 to Nevadans who felt they were bilked by businesses.
This year, the agency is setting its sights on tackling the problem of automotive repairs, the largest source of consumer complaints nationally and in Nevada.
The Consumer Affairs Division is observing its 25th birthday this month. Gov. Mike O'Callaghan created the one-person division in April 1971 without approval of the Nevada Legislature.
"We had a problem at that time and people had no place to go for relief," O'Callaghan recalled. "They needed somebody who had a friendly ear and could take action to help them. At first, the Legislature tried to limit their powers but as years went on, the powers were expanded."
The agency has grown to 17 full-time employees with a two-year budget of $1.5 million.
The division held an open house Wednesday in Las Vegas, attended by O'Callaghan, now executive editor of the Las Vegas SUN, and Gov. Bob Miller.
Consumer Affairs Commissioner Patricia Morse Jarman says the agency has handled more than 150,000 complaints since its inception. "Gov. O'Callaghan foresaw the need for consumer protection and this still holds true, even more so today," she said.
She said Miller and the 1995 Legislature strengthened the agency, allowing it to conduct undercover operations, issue cease-and-desist orders, distribute limited consumer information and hold administrative hearings. The Legislature assigned four deputy attorneys general to file suits and complaints. In the past, there was only one half-time deputy.
The division plans to return to the Legislature in 1997 to get more muscle as it takes on automotive repair fraud.
The No. 1 piece of advice Jarman gives to consumers is never sign anything they haven't read and understood. She said don't release financial information such as credit card numbers and checking and savings account data during unsolicited telephone calls.
It's been a revolving door in the commissioner's office over the past six years. Jarman, who will have been on the job two years in June, is the fourth commissioner since 1990.
Before Jarman was appointed, there was criticism by legislative auditors that the division didn't gather sufficient evidence and conducted poor investigations. This prevented suits from being filed to recover money for consumers.
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