Since he got out of law school, John Sours has been defending people and businesses in court and sometimes prosecuting civil suits.
When he was sent to Vietnam in January 1971, Sours, as a young captain and military lawyer, expected to be assigned to defend courts-martial with the 101st Airborne Division. Instead, he was ordered to specialize in contracts, which then, as now, boils down to making sure businesses and people keep their promises.
After 37 years as a partner in two metro Atlanta law firms, he’s still at it, and says, “I absolutely love my job” as administrator of the Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection.
He runs a staff of about 50 people, who help consumers, sometimes investigating unfair and deceptive businesses.
Sours was appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal in January 2011.
Q. I’ll bet you have your hands full with consumer complaints.
A. Yes, we do. The volume of complaints is up about 8 percent over the past year. Part of that is a reflection of the economic downturn.
Q. In downturns, what’s the typical call?
A. Some people say they’ve been overcharged, that they’ve been misled by salesmen, subjected to deceptive promises, directly or through advertising. Salesmen do often overpromise, as do advertisements, and consumers need to listen very closely to what sales people are saying. Often they’re not sure what they hear but don’t ask. We get a lot of complaints about undisclosed charges. And many of those are valid.
Q. Should consumers get sales contracts on computers, TVs and other complex gadgets in writing?
A. Yes. But be aware that some contracts are so heavily lawyered up that it’s difficult to parse out exactly what is being represented. So you have to ask questions, which opens the opportunity for exaggeration.
Q. So what can your office do?
A. Every complaint that comes into the office is read and evaluated by staff members. When we decide to open an investigation of a business, our staff can get necessary documents and information by issuing subpoenas, but we often try to settle disputes short of that. Sometimes it just takes a phone call to a company to explain what someone is complaining about.
Q. Does your office handle complaints about Internet service providers?
A. Yes, that’s a source of complaints, that the Internet is too slow or doesn’t work like people thought or costs more than they thought. Also, Internet-based scams are a growing problem, and often it’s the elderly who are targeted.
Q. Your office has the power to mediate with business, right?
A. Our mediators last year were extremely busy. As a result of their interventions, we calculate over a million dollars was saved or restored.
Q. What’s the biggest thing people complain about?
A. Abusive debt collection activities is one of the biggest. We had over 1,800 complaints about debt collectors last year. They often call up and say “you’re going to be arrested” and harass consumers until people are desperate.
Q. Are there many official investigations?
A. We do investigate, where we believe it is warranted. But we use informal resolution efforts first and seek voluntary compliance before using compulsory process.
Q. How much power does your office have?
A. The law under which we operate is both very broad and very specific. It basically prohibits deceptive, unfair trade practices. We are a law enforcement agency. We have an intake section that receives from 80 to 120 contacts a day, about three quarters over the phone. It’s very helpful when we receive information in writing or over the Internet.
Q. What’s the best way to file a complaint?
A. We’d prefer email, but complaints can also be faxed, you can write a letter, make a phone call, or just walk in.
Q. Do you get complaints about the automobile industry?
A. Typically, 20 to 25 percent of complaints we get are related to automobile issues — allegations of deceptive sales practices, unfair repair practices, and problems with the cars themselves. Georgia’s lemon law provides for compensation to consumers of defective new motor vehicles, RVs and boats. We had just shy of 800 lemon law complaints last year. We maintain a panel of arbitrators. Consumers win roughly 40 percent of the time. Last year, total settlements, repairs and replacements were valued at about $9.6 million.
Q. What are some other things that are against the law?
A. Advertising goods or services without having enough merchandise on hand to meet expected demand. Making false or misleading statements about one’s or another’s business or its products or services. Telling retail customers they can buy wholesale.
Q. Last time I bought a car it ended up costing a lot more than the sticker price.
A. Yes, we get that. One violation we see often is where a dealer will advertise the price of a new car, and our guidelines say this has to include everything except tax, title and additional charges required by government. Sometimes we see dealer advertisements that add “documentation fees” to the advertised price, which is improper.
Q. Can you handle all complaints?
A. We try to respond to all complaints, but we can’t open investigations into every complaint or business. We have only 50 employees and get over 10,000 complaints each year.
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Meet John D. Sours
Occupation: Administrator, Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection
Age: 67
Family: Three grown children, four grandchildren
Education: Bachelor’s in government and economics and law degree from College of William & Mary; master’s in law, Georgetown University
Background: Partner in two law firms for total of 37 years, specializing in litigation and representation of contractors, architects, engineers and developers; former president and chairman, Atlanta Vietnam Veterans Business Association; former chair, Common Cause Georgia; past president, Leadership Sandy Springs; former chairman, Fulton County Republican Party
Hobbies: Reading, theater, watching baseball, sudoku
What you are reading: “The Trouble With Happiness,” by Dennis Prager
Event in your life that shaped you the most: The Vietnam War
Favorite Quote: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (and women) to do nothing” — Edmund Burke
If you would like to suggest a candidate to interview, please email writer@billhendrick.com.
