People Come First At Our Consumer Rights Law Firm
It is a familiar story – a panicked consumer calls. His or her paycheck was garnished. They had no clue this was going on. He or she did not receive notice that their wages were going to be garnished or maybe that there was even a case pending against them. How can they get this garnishment stopped, and what other…
A credit score is a number that potential creditors use to determine the likeliness of paying off one’s debts. Every consumer with credit has a credit score which is determined based on the information reported on your credit report. A credit report is run through an algorithm that calculates several factors in a credit report to produce a score. That…
One of the most popular questions from consumers is do I have to pay an old debt? It is the old debt dilemma – to pay or not to pay. TO PAY: If you incurred the debt, the collector can continue to seek payment until it is satisfied. The debt will fall off your credit report after 7 or 10…
Earlier this week, we discussed the 2003 amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) called FACTA, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. Last year an issue based on the statute came before the Northern District of Illinois and the Court was forced to decide on summary judgment whether distributing a copy of a merchant’s receipt to a customer…
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”) is an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) that was added in 2003 to safeguard consumers from the growing dangers of identity theft. FACTA sets out guidelines for which consumer information can be shared and sets parameters for the use, privacy, and accuracy of this information. This amendment to the FCRA entitled consumers to a free…
Identity theft is a very real and serious crime that is rapidly growing. It happens when a person, whether known or unknown, steals your identity and uses your personal information without your knowledge and/or permission to open accounts and borrow money in your name. Identity theft can destroy your financial reputation and can cost both time and money to repair…
As I have discussed in several posts throughout the year, new amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, (“FCRA”) require employers and credit reporting agencies to provide additional information to potential and current employees prior to accessing a credit file for employment purposes. Employers are also required to provide additional disclosures after taking adverse action against the individual based on…
The FICO Score is a credit score most lenders use to determine your credit worthiness and whether you are a credit risk, so to speak. Your FICO Score is a number that is calculated by combining pieces of your credit history from your report. This information is grouped into five different categories using percentages to reflect the importance of each…
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) was created to aid consumers in preventing the occurrence of fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices. Over the last decade, the FTC has spent a considerable amount of time policing the Debt Collection Industry. In a recent opinion of a long-running investigation, the FTC ordered collection agencies, namely Rumson, Bolling & Associates (“Rumson”) to pay…
In the literally thousands of consumers that we have assisted here at SmithMarco, PC and our Protecting Consumer Rights website, we have seen what the most popular questions or concerns are about collections. Here we answer them for all: When can a debt collector contact me? Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) the federal statute specifically states that a…