The Iowa legislature enacted the “Private Right of Action for Consumer Frauds Act” effective July 1, 2009, allowing Iowa consumers to obtain damages for fraud or other unfair and deceptive trade practices.
Prior to the passing of this legislation consumers could not bring actions for damages or recover their attorney’s fees when they were victims of unfair and deceptive trade practices. Consequently, consumers were unable to find legal representation unless they were wiling to bear the expense of legal representation themselves, which often times would be far more expensive than the amount of damages they could recover. The lack of consumer protection legislation opened the door for deceptive trade practices in all types of consumer transactions with Iowans.