Illinois Consumer Fraud Act - ICFA Attorney

The ICFA is broad. It covers almost any transaction between a consumer and a business, including:

• Auto Sales & Repairs: Odometer fraud, hiding accident history, or charging for repairs not done.
• Home Improvement: Contractors taking deposits and disappearing, or doing substandard work.
• Retail Sales: False advertising, fake "sales," or selling used goods as new.
• Debt Collection: Using deception to collect a debt (also covered by the FDCPA).

If you win an ICFA claim, you can recover:

To win an ICFA lawsuit, you generally need to prove four things:

• A Deceptive Act or Practice: The business made a false statement, hid important information, or acted unfairly.
• Intent for You to Rely on It: The business wanted you to believe their deception so you would buy their product or service.
• Trade or Commerce: The deception happened during a regular business transaction.
• Actual Damages: You lost money or suffered harm directly because of the deception.

Why use the ICFA instead of just suing for regular fraud? The ICFA is much more favorable to consumers:

• Easier to Prove: Unlike common law fraud, you don't usually have to prove the business knew their statement was false. If it was deceptive, that's often enough.
• Attorney Fee Shifting: If you win, the defendant has to pay your legal fees. This makes it possible for attorneys to take small cases that would otherwise be too expensive to fight.

Don't wait too long to get help. In Illinois, you generally have three years to file an ICFA lawsuit. The clock starts ticking when the fraud happens, or when you realize (or should have realized) you were tricked.

Legal Disclaimer: Hyslip Legal operates its primary Illinois office out of Algonquin, IL. While we handle state-level claims such as the ICFA, our attorneys also maintain a robust federal practice concerning federal consumer protection laws (such as the FDCPA, FCRA, and TCPA) inside the state of Illinois and nationwide.