COUNTYWIDE : Water Device Firm Must Make Refunds

A defunct water treatment company accused of defrauding nearly 40 Ventura residents was ordered Monday to give customers the opportunity to return their purchases and get their money back.

The judgment in Los Angeles County Superior Court stemmed from a two-part lawsuit filed last year against Northland Purewater, a Burbank-based marketer of water treatment devices, by the Ventura County district attorney’s office and the state attorney general’s office.

The lawsuit alleged that the company failed to inform customers of their right to change their minds after the purchase, Deputy Dist. Atty. Gregory W. Brose said. The lawsuit also states that the company failed to comply with guidelines for installing the water treatment devices, he said.

Northland Purewater and its officers Richard Henley and Richard Talbert were ordered to pay $20,000 in civil penalties and $10,000 in costs.

“Consumers who purchased the devices were not informed of their right to change their mind within a three-day period,” Brose said.

Brose said only those customers who financed their purchases of the devices will be able to return them.

“There is no legal protection for customers who paid cash,” he said.

The second part of the lawsuit, filed against Chrysler First Financial Services Corporation and its California division, which purchased most of the signed contracts from Northland Purewater, has not been settled.