The Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit against the owner of several Falmouth businesses, accusing him of taking deposits from people for vacation tours and failing to refund their money after the tours were canceled.

The lawsuit filed in Kennebec County Superior Court in Augusta on Feb. 29 says Cumberland resident Barry L. Somes offered bus tours to destinations including New York, Quebec City and Washington, D.C. He promised to donate profits to a nonprofit he created, Lids for Kids, to benefit children in the community, the lawsuit states.

Somes would collect money in advance, often cancel the tours within weeks of scheduled departure and fail to give refunds, according to the eight-page civil complaint. The suit accuses him of unfair and deceptive trade practices.

The lawsuit names Somes and two of his businesses, Seacoast Convention Bureau Inc. and Club Impac Inc., as defendants in the case. The lawsuit asks to the court to order Somes and his companies to submit accounting records for all tour deposits dating from Jan. 1, 2011. It does not specify how much money the state is seeking in damages. It seeks a civil penalty of $10,000 for each violation.

Somes did not immediately return a message for comment Thursday afternoon.

“Since December of 2011, the Maine Attorney General’s Office has received 54 complaints from consumers seeking refunds of deposits paid to Defendants. Of these 54, Defendants have paid refunds to only 17 consumers,” Assistant Attorney General Linda Conti wrote in the civil complaint. “The Better Business Bureau has received 28 complaints and has given Defendants an F rating.”

The Secretary of State’s Office administratively dissolved Club Impac Inc. in 2011 and Seacoast Convention Bureau Inc. in 2014, the lawsuit states.

Attorney General Janet Mills invited consumers who have complaints about Somes to contact her office’s Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-436-2131 or consumer.mediation@maine.gov.

“Mr. Somes took money from many elderly people who were looking forward to what might be their only vacation of the year,” Mills said in a written statement announcing the suit. “He pulled the rug out from under them by not only canceling their plans, but also failing to provide timely refunds so they could make alternate arrangements. This is not how a reputable business operates. By bringing this action, we hope to discourage others from trying to do the same.”

 

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