CLEVELAND — The Ohio Attorney General’s Office has filed a consumer protection lawsuit in Cleveland against a northeast Ohio company that failed to deliver on pre-paid field trips for more than a dozen schools, including one in Columbus, and thousands of students from across the state.
Consumers who have not yet filed a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office may do so at www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov or 800-282-0515.
The Attorney General’s Office said Friday that Discovery Tours in Mayfield “must be held accountable” for betraying the trust of families and schools.
The AG’s office says it has received more than 700 complaints about Discovery Tours since May 2, mostly from parents who paid hundreds of dollars for trips before the company canceled the outings and closed its doors.
One of the trips that was cancelled involved students from Ridgeview Middle School in Columbus.
The Consumer Protection Section of the Attorney General’s Office found that Discovery Tours continued to accept money from schools and parents “when it knew (or should have known) consumers would not receive the promised services,” according to a statement announcing the lawsuit.
The company filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy Monday, claiming $1.4 million in assets and nearly $4 million of debt.
An attorney for the company’s owner, Alfred Cipolletti, declined to comment.