RICHMOND (Legal Newsline) - Virginia Attorney General and Gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell has filed suit against a Petersburg-based furniture company that operates over the Internet.

McDonnell said Tuesday that HomeSpun Home Fashions has violated the state's Consumer Protection Act and has cost customers more than $80,000 by not shipping more than 100 orders in the time frame promised.

"A top priority of our office is to protect consumers from unethical business practices by enforcing the Virginia Consumer Protection Act," said McDonnell, a Republican who has announced his candidacy for the 2009 race for Governor.

"Virginia is a great place to do business, but businesses must operate legally and fairly. Given the serious nature of the complaints received about HomeSpun Home Fashions, legal action must be taken to provide relief to affected customers."

HomeSpun formerly advertised itself at Cratefurniture.com, but that site no longer exists. McDonnell says he received complaints from consumers who said they placed an order and paid for it over the phone or Internet, but never received it.

McDonnell received 118 such complaints, including 10 in the last month. HomeSpun is not certified with the Better Business Bureau, which gave the company an unsatisfactory rating because of 183 complaints during a recent three-year period.

From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at john@legalnewsline.com.