People Come First At Our Consumer Rights Law Firm
Spring Cleaning Your Credit Report
April 15th has come and gone. Now is the time to focus on your credit report. Why – what is the big deal? Your credit score is important. Unpaid debts, late payments, judgments and misreporting will not help you. They will keep your score low and make it difficult to obtain a mortgage, get a loan, finance a new car…
Security Credit Services and Jacob Law Group Ordered to Pay $800,000 in a Settlement with the FTC
In March of this year the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed a formal complaint against collection agency, Security Credit Services, LLC (“SCS”) and Jacob Law Group PLLC (“Jacob”) alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) by charging consumers illegal fees for payments made by telephone and for threatening to file suit against consumers to get them to…
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 and “Robo-Calls”
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) enacted in 1991, limits the placement of pre-recorded telemarketing calls and all autodialed or pre-recorded calls to cell phones. These calls are most commonly referred to as “robo-calls”. Today companies are using robo-calling more than ever either as a marketing tool to solicit new business or to collect debts. As technology continues to expand…
Recent Case Provides Disputes Do Not Have to be in Writing
I started the week discussing case law that did not have a favorable result for consumers so I figure it a good idea to following it up with a recent appellate decision that ends on a positive note. In the case of Hooks v. Forman, Holt Eliades Ravin LLC, plaintiffs Karen Hooks and Geraldine Moore filed suit against a collection…
Debt Collection Calls That Never Stop
What is a debt collector? A debt collector is a company that regularly engages in the collection of debts for another. That means that the original creditor is not a collector for purposes of this law. If a new creditor buys the debt from your original creditor, that new creditor can be deemed a debt collector if they bought the…
Federal Trade Commision Shuts Down a Texas Based Collection Agency
Earlier this year, after launching an investigation into the Texas-based collection agency Goldman Schwartz, Inc., the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) makes the decision to file suit against the collector for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). The Texas U.S. District Court ordered the agency to close its doors after allegations of harassment, lies and threats were made…
Amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) is the federal law that governs the credit reporting agencies’ conduct on consumer reporting. As of January 1, 2013 the FCRA underwent amendments concerning the access of arrest and conviction records in employment decisions. The FCRA imposes requirements on employers who use the credit reporting agencies to obtain reports on potential or existing employees…
Knowing Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act, also referred to as the “FCRA”, is a Federal law enacted to protect consumers and their credit reports. This law governs how your credit worthiness can be reported, dictates who can review your credit report and gives you the right to review and dispute information reported by creditors. A question you may be asking yourself…
Low Income Consumers at Risk of Being Denied a Bank Account
In recent years, low income consumers are at great risk forbeing denied bank accounts, a necessityfor building finances and aiding low income Americans at getting ontheir feet. Innocent mistakes like a bounced check or anover-draft from an account have tarnished these consumers fromobtaining bank accounts because of private databases used by mostof America’s banking industry. In a post written last…