Med-Tag to Repay Consumers

An Orange County man has agreed to repay consumers who responded to work-at-home ads.

The promise of extra income persuaded hundreds of people nationwide to respond to ads and direct mail from Med-Tag, the company run by Richard D. Stevens of Orange.

The company’s ads read: “Get Paid $349 Weekly . . . Assembling Medical ID Cards/Tags! It’s Simple and Easy!” But when consumers sent in $29.95 or more for kits, all they received were informational brochures.

Under an agreement reached last week with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, consumers can get refunds from Stevens by writing to Med-Tag and putting “refund request” on the envelope. As part of the agreement, all other mail sent to Med-Tag will be returned to the sender.

Postal service officials say Med-Tag’s offer began appearing last summer. They estimate Stevens took in tens of thousands of dollars.