PHOENIX – A marketing company masquerading as delivery services and its owner are the subject of a Consumer Fraud lawsuit filed by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. Valley Delivery and Next Day Delivery, and their owner, Matthew Willes, are accused of deceiving Arizonans by leaving fake missed “delivery slips” on consumers’ doors in order to obtain their personal information.
According to the Attorney General’s lawsuit, Valley Delivery and its alter egos Next Day Delivery and Metro Delivery distributed hundreds of thousands of fake “delivery slips” to Arizona residents notifying them that they missed a “delivery” and needed to call Valley Delivery to reschedule.
Allegations:
Valley Delivery also operated a misleading and deceptive website that made a number of material misrepresentations about the nature of its business practices. Rather than disclosing its function as a telemarketing company, for instance, Valley Delivery presented itself as a company that specializes “in local delivery services” with a fleet of 250 delivery drivers in over a hundred metropolitan locations. In reality, the company only operated in Arizona and employed eight “drivers” to place the fake delivery slips on consumers’ doors. These misrepresentations induced homeowners to contact Valley Delivery about the “missed delivery.”
The owner of My Home Services, Defendant Matthew Willes, also operated another business, Next Day Delivery, LLC. Next Day Delivery was intended to be a trade name and replacement for Valley Delivery in anticipation of its eventual expansion to other states.
Similar to Valley Delivery, Next Day Delivery operated a misleading and deceptive website. Notably, the website represented that Next Day Delivery’s headquarters was located in Nevada and featured a large button with the words “Reschedule your Delivery” on the homepage. Next Day Delivery only operated in Arizona, however, and clicking on the “Reschedule your Delivery” button did nothing, which forced consumers to call the listed number. Like Valley Delivery, the purpose of the website was to induce homeowners to call Next Day Delivery and unwittingly surrender their personal information.
My Home Services, Valley Delivery, and Next Day Delivery generated millions of dollars in revenue as a result of these deceptive business practices.
The named Defendants knowingly created, perpetuated, condoned, and profited from the fraudulent acts described in this Complaint, as set forth below. Defendants’ knowledge is demonstrated by a 2013 consent judgment between the State of Arizona and Matthew Willes’ previous business, Metro Delivery, LLC (“Metro Delivery”). Under that judgment, the company was ordered to “not represent to consumers that they are attempting or have attempted to deliver a package to the consumer unless that is the sole purpose of [Metro Delivery, LLC’s] contact with the consumer.” Instead of running his business in compliance with the court’s orders, Willes simply started up new businesses and continued the same conduct.
The lawsuit seeks restitution against Valley Delivery, injunctive relief, disgorgement of profits, and penalties of up to $10,000 for each willful violation of the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act.