The Better Business Bureau of Western Pennsylvania has expelled the American Family Legal Plan of Penn Hills and the Automotive Market Report of Monroeville for failing to abide by its standards.

It ousted the former based on a lawsuit the state attorney general's office filed on April 12 after elderly consumers claimed the American Family Legal Plan defrauded them.

The BBB said the company sells a prepaid program for $2,200 that consists of a variety of legal services. Some services are included at no extra charge, while others are offered at a discounted rate normally charged by the plan's attorney. It uses mass mailings and seminars to market the plan to senior citizens.

In its lawsuit, the attorney general's office asked Commonwealth Court to order the defendants, which include the plan's parent company, American Family Prepaid Legal Corp. of Irvine, Calif., to immediately halt their "illegal" conduct regarding current or future marketing or sale of estate planning products.

Also named as defendants are attorney Brett B. Weinstein of Montgomery County, Heritage Marketing and Insurance Services, Stanley Z. Norman and his father Jeffrey L. Norman, Todd B. Garry, Patrice Kimbler, Lewis Kopelman, Ronald J. Patten and William Woods.

Attorney General Tom Corbett said the defendants deceived elderly consumers by inducing them to buy revocable living trusts and other estate planning products that pay the sellers high commissions but may not be in the consumers' best interests.

He said consumers were deceived into believing they were receiving competent legal and impartial estate planning advice when, in reality, they were coaxed or deceived into purchasing only the products that the defendants sold.

"In our view, the defendants horribly misled older Pennsylvanians about the financial consequences of the trust or annuity packages that they purchased," he said. "The allegations in this case are among the most insidious financial misrepresentations perpetrated on the elderly to be investigated by this office."

The defendants signed an interim consent agreement May 25 in which they admitted no wrongdoing but promised to change the way they do business.

Among other things, sales representatives are to identify themselves as such and not pose as estate planners or financial planners. Licensed insurance agents are not to pose as attorneys and must admit they are paid a commission based on the amounts the consumers invest.

Although the defendants reached an agreement with the attorney general's office, the Better Business Bureau expelled American Family Legal Plan because its interaction with its customers "indicates a significant failure of the business to meet standards of conduct expected of a BBB member."

The Penn Hills office of the plan didn't return a call requesting comment.

BBB President Warren King said the membership of the Automotive Market Report, which monitors the sale of used cars at auto auctions across the country, was revoked because it "failed to respond to a complaint forwarded by the bureau, and did not make good faith efforts to resolve the complaint in accordance with generally accepted good business practices."

Company owner Clyde Hillwig said a customer in California complained he wasn't getting the report, which costs $130 a year.

"We sent them to him," said Mr. Hillwig. "Maybe someone in his mailroom is intercepting them."

Mr. King said the bureau contacted Mr. Hillwig's company by phone, e-mail and certified letter "and they didn't respond to us or their subscriber."

"The [bureau's] standards of membership are designed to offer consumers confidence before they make purchasing decisions," he said. "Expulsion from membership is unfortunate; however, the bureau and its board take enforcing our membership standards very seriously."

Under the bureau's bylaws, all final actions by its board to exonerate, suspend or expel a member firm are a matter of public record. To view the bureau's reports on the companies mentioned above, go to www.westernpennsylvania.bbb.org.

Mosquito control

If you see an untended in-ground or above-ground swimming pool with stagnant water, report it to the Allegheny County Health Department at 412-687-2243. The department has treated pools in Lawrenceville and Stanton Heights to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in them.