Employment law and consumer protection, explained by the attorneys who litigate it. Straight answers on your rights at work and in the marketplace.
Consumer Rights
A fairly common, yet illegal tactic of overly aggressive debt collectors is to threaten consumers with arrest if they do not pay their debt. Some shady debt collectors have even go as far as to illegally impersonate a police officer and claim to have a warrant for the consumer’s arrest. This tactic is illegal on a couple of different levels. For one thing, it is […]
Consumer Rights
New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo sued debt collection agency, Benning-Smith Group, for allegedly violating approximately 1,000 state and federal laws. Cuomo claims that his office received 850 complaints against Benning-Smith debt collectors from consumers located in several different states. According to Cuomo, the Benning-Smith debt collectors used outrageous and illegal collection techniques. One debt collector allegedly repeated the name of a consumer’s daughter […]
Consumer Rights
According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), debt collectors must disclose in every voice mail left for a consumer, that the communication is from a debt collector. However, the FDCPA also prohibits debt collectors from telling third parties that the consumer owes a debt. Consequently, this creates a conundrum for debt collectors who leave voice mails for consumers. On the one hand, the […]
Consumer Rights
University of Texas Health Science Center, University Health Science Center at Tyler, and the Center for Clinical Research are facing a lawsuit from former employee, Debra Ellen Cohen, who claims they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by not providing equipment to accommodate her disability. (Case No. 6:11-cv-00650) The ADA requires an employer to […]
Consumer Rights
According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), all consumers have the right to request a validation of a debt. A debt collector who is in compliance with the FDCPA must send a consumer a written notice within 5 days of their first communication with them. The notice must tell the consumer, among other things, about their right to request validation of […]
Consumer Rights
Attorney General John Suthers has filed a lawsuit against High, High 2, Subscription Solutions, C&R Marketing & Associates, 5280 Publication LLC, Magazine Man, along with the owners of the companies, Raymond B. Jones Jr., his mother, Cora Jones for an alleged telemarketing scam.This mother and son team is accused of duping victims by calling them, pretending to […]
Consumer Rights
A federal class action lawsuit has been filed against Wise Media, LLC, an alleged spammer that tricks cell phone customers out of $10 a month for “flirting tips” unless they immediately reject a “tip” they never asked for, consented to, or even received. According to the class action lawsuit, lead Plaintiff Andrew Humble he received a text message from an unknown […]
Consumer Rights
Debt collection agency, Allied Interstate Inc., has agreed to a $1.75 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), following allegations that Allied Interstate violated the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) by trying to collect debts from people who did not owe the debts. The FTC also alleged that Allied Interstate made a practice of speaking to neighbors, co-workers and family members about consumers’ debts, even […]
Consumer Rights
Cherika Holley filed a personal injury lawsuit against her apartment’s management company, Lindsey Management Co. after the apartment manager, allegedly caused an explosion in the building by setting of an odor eliminator in a refrigerator that was actually designed to be used in a 10,000-cubic-foot room According to Holley, she was lying on her couch, watching television and napping, when […]
Consumer Rights
McGavic & Finney PC, an Oregon debt collection law firm that had several complaints over its debt-collection tactics has been closed down under an agreement with Justice Department. Additionally, the settlement requires founding partner Derrick E. McGavic to pay $70,000 and surrender his license to practice law. According to the Attorney General’s office, McGavic & Finney specialized in representing national debt collectors that purchase […]
Consumer Rights
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is the federal law that governs how debt collection agencies can operate. The FDCPA protects consumers from abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors. The Act gives consumers protection with regards to personal, family, and household debts, including money consumers owe on a personal credit card account, auto loan, medical […]
Consumer Rights
1. Most importantly, peace of mind! Make the debt collectors stop calling you in a harassing manner. Remember how nice it was to answer your phone without screening it first? Remember how peaceful it was before your phone began to ring 10+ times a day? Are you sick of telling the debt collectors to stop calling you, only to have them call […]
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