'Raleigh Geeks' ordered to pay $455,000 and stop operating computer repair businesses in North Carolina
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A Triangle computer repair business was ordered to pay $455,000 in refunds and penalties. Raleigh Geeks has also been permanently barred from operating a computer repair business in North Carolina.
The ABC11 Troubleshooter has been investigating Raleigh Geeks since I received my first consumer complaint back in July of 2013. Click here to read our original story.
Since then, the North Carolina Attorney General's office has taken on the investigation and taken Raleigh Geeks to court where they argued that the owners of Raleigh Geeks regularly misled their customers.
"Consumers were abused left and right," said Matt Liles an Assistant Attorney with the North Carolina Attorney General's Office.
The state's investigation into the business started last year, based on a complaint filed in May 2014 that claimed Raleigh Geeks regularly accepted payment upfront for computer repairs without completing the repairs on time or sometimes at all. The complaint said that customers who called to check on the status of their repairs were often left without a call back.
The Consumer Protection Division of the AG has received 69 complaints from consumers who say they have lost personal information, hundreds of dollars each and sometimes their computers.
"Their violations were persistent," Liles said. "They openly flouted the law. They were deliberate."
No one from the computer business appeared in court.
A judge ordered the defendants, Timothy Staie and Mark White, who were two the key players in Raleigh Geeks to pay up to $455,000 in civil penalties for unfair business practices and refunds.
After cooperating with the AG's office another defendant, Garrett Foster, has agreed to a consent judgement that requires that he does not associate with Staie and White and that he notify the North Carolina Attorney General's office if he plans to work in the computer repair business again. Another defendant, Steven Leo, was dismissed from the case as he appeared to have owned Raleigh Geeks in name only.
Raleigh Geeks also operated as Caveman Computers, Protect Computers, and Fuquay Computer Center.
The Attorney General's Office recovered 133 pieces of equipment from Raleigh Geeks and returned some of them to their owners. Many computers are still missing, however.
Any Raleigh Geeks customers who have not yet inquired about or claimed their computers are asked to call the Consumer Protection Division at 1-887-5NO-SCAM.
