On the Job 

The Consumer Protection Section helps resolve consumer issues, keeps track of consumer complaints and assists law enforcement on consumer-related investigations.

Could you tell us more about your section?

The section has 90 employees, including those in regional offices in Toledo and Cincinnati. Handling consumer complaints is one of the biggest services we offer. People file complaints online, in writing or on the phone. We log them in a publicly searchable database. If you’re going to have someone put a roof on your house or you’re going to buy a car, for example, you can search our database and see whether there are any complaints against that person or that dealership.

We offer informal dispute resolution -- a voluntary service where we try to work out problems between businesses and consumers.

We also look at complaints against a business to see if it’s appropriate for the Attorney General to seek a civil remedy for violations of the Consumer Sales Practices Act or the Telephone Sales Solicitations Act.

If there is a potential criminal element to a complaint, it is kicked over to our Economic Crimes Unit, which makes contact with local law enforcement and prosecutors to see if we can offer service to them either in the investigation or during prosecution.

We have the Identity Theft Unit, which deals with data-breach or credit-card issues. If your credit-card information has been stolen, you can contact us and we’ll help you unwind those things. We also give consumers the information they need to monitor their credit.

How are you different than the Better Business Bureau?

They provide a great service, and we share information. The biggest way we differ, however, is that we offer the legal-services side. We have the ability through the Consumer Sales Practices Act and the Telephone Sales Solicitations Act to take action in court to get an order prohibiting someone from engaging in certain types of business and certain types of acts. We have legal teeth. We can bring the power of the Ohio Revised Code and the courts to bear on folks who are engaging in unfair, deceptive or unconscionable acts.

What do business owners need to know?

It’s a complex marketplace; there are a lot of statutes, rules and court decisions out there that can trip up a business owner. We offer free presentations and educational materials on pretty much every statute we would be enforcing. We would be happy to provide a speaker for any group, preferably 25 people or more. If they want to give us a forum, we’ll come talk.

What is the best thing about your job?

The folks who work in this section are so committed and they are so driven to try to do all they can for the consumer. They derive a lot of satisfaction out of being able to help someone. We get a weekly internal scam report and every time we get one that says, for example, a caller wanted to let us know that someone claiming to be from the IRS called to say they owe back taxes, and they recognized the call as a scam, that’s a good day.

What challenges does your section face?

One of our challenges is effectively communicating what we do. We offer many services and so much information that is useful to consumers, but we need to do a better job of getting our message out.

What’s coming up?

Our next project is going to be bringing the Elder Justice Initiative to the forefront. This collaborative effort is now housed in Consumer Protection. We will have more training and presentations to offer.

What’s the best way to contact the Consumer Protection Section?

The Attorney General’s website (www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov) is the most efficient way to contact Consumer Protection. Online, the consumer has an opportunity to write a narrative of what happened and can attach related documents, such as checks, emails or contracts. We take phone calls, mail and walk-ins, too.

The Jonathan D. Blanton File

Previous jobs: Jackson County prosecuting attorney (2001-2011); principal assistant attorney general, supervisor of the Economic Crimes Unit, Office of Attorney General Mike DeWine (2011-2014); deputy director of investigations and enforcement, State Medical Board of Ohio (2014)

Education: Bachelor of Arts in political science, Ohio University; juris doctorate, the University of Kentucky College of Law

Family: Wife, Susie; daughter, Nina, 10; son, Vince, 8; and a “well-meaning, but somewhat irritating, dog, Roximus”

Hobbies: “I enjoy cooking, eating, driving other people’s antique cars, and hanging out with my family. I have really cool kids.”

Favorite quote: “Character is the only thing no one can take away.”

Contact: 614-466-8831, 30 E. Broad St., 14^th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215; Jonathan.Blanton@Ohio AttorneyGeneral.gov.