Alabama Consumer Law Blog

We always enjoy (if not always agree with) the posts on Michigan Collection Law Blog by Gary Nitzkin. He has a fascinating post on his advice to debt buyers that you might find interesting.

Here is a short excerpt and we recommend you read the rest of this good article:

These debts are generally fraught with lots of problems. If you are contemplating buying debt or if you are being sued on a credit card debt from someone other than the original creditor, read on...I am about to save you a lot of grief. Here are the usual problems with purchased debt:

Our primary difference with Gary's post is that in Alabama the debt buyers sometimes do produce the original documents between the creditor and the consumer. This may show that you "owe" the debt but the debt buyers have not and will not, in our experience, produce the purchase agreement where the debt buyer supposedly bought the debt from the creditor. This is the "prove they own the debt" argument we made in this post. When a debt buyer dismisses the case with prejudice, you have the option in Alabama to potentially sue the debt buyer for not correcting your credit report as we posted here.

Posted by John G. Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Collectors/Debt Buyers , Credit Report Errors

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Arbitration is harming more and more Alabama consumers. Many things we buy come with arbitration agreements and we have no choice if we want the product. For example, it is difficult to find a new car dealer who does not require arbitration but yet the auto dealer association begged Congress to prohibit arbitration agreements with manufacturers. Virtually all credit card agreements require arbitration. The list goes on and on.

Is this bad for consumers? To help you gain the facts to make your own decision, please read the entire post from the Consumerist - we have provided a small sample of the post:

What started as a way for peers to come to a sort of expedited gentleman's agreement has evolved into a extra-judicial system for corporations to enforce their will and protect themselves from censor. The Christian Science Monitor found that the top 10 arbitration firms decide in favor of companies 98.4% of the time. This seems hardly representative of a system between parties "of generally similar sophistication and bargaining power."

We also recommend that you go to this site and find out more about how troubling the problem of mandatory arbitration has become and what you can do about it.

Posted by John G. Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Arbitration

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After a debt buyer dismissed a case with prejudice that it had filed against one of our clients, a simple question was asked of us - "Since I won, shouldn't this be taken off my credit report?" As we pondered this question, it occurred to us that our client had asked a critically important question. If you win your lawsuit in Alabama (i.e. the case is dismissed with prejudice), then why should the collection agency or debt buyer be allowed to keep telling the world through your credit report that you still owe the money when a judge has just ruled you do not owe the money?

This is one of our longer posts but we hope you will stay with us as the terrible problem in this state is only increasing - mass lawsuits are being filed by debt buyers who have no intention of providing any evidence that you owe the debt. Alabama consumers need to know they do have options when dealing with these kinds of companies who not only sue you but want to destroy your credit as well.

Continue reading "What Happens When You Defeat Collectors In A Collection Lawsuit?" »

Posted by John G. Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Cases Filed , Collectors/Debt Buyers , Credit Report Errors

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This story is both funny and sad. A man received 2000 credit cards from Exxon with his name and account number on them. If you read this story from the always excellent Consumerist, make sure and read the comments. There is one about someone being billed $1.07 (with the threat of a late charge) and sending the gas company 107 checks for a penny each.

Posted by John G. Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Funny Stories , Identity Theft

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Occasionally some lunatic debt collector will tell our clients that they are going to jail if they don't pay off a credit card or medical bill. We normally sue the collectors for making such outrageous statements which are illegal. But this story by Liz Weston caught us off guard. It involves police officers and debt collectors and... well click here and read this strange story yourself....

Posted by John G. Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Collectors/Debt Buyers , Unfair and Deceptive Practices

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You know an article about the British legal system has to be good when the title is "No Wonder Their Empire Collapsed" by the ever funny Legal Juice blog. This is a short post well worth the time to click over and read.... thankfully we never have anything crazy happen in our American justice system.....do we?

Posted by John G. Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Funny Stories

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We have all heard about illegal downloading of music and the lawsuits that the recording industry (through RIAA) has filed against people. Certainly some are guilty but there are numerous reports of the recording industry running (or trying to run) roughshod over people.

The Consumerist has a nice article on Debbie Foster who was awarded over $68,000 in fees that the recording industry must pay. Sometimes it does turn out right to stand up and defend yourself from an unjustified suit.

Posted by John G. Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Recent News About Cases

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Amazing story from the Consumerist. Ever had a flight cancelled and the airline would not cooperate with you? Been frustrated because you can't get a human being to help you?

Read this story about Jane Waun who sued Spirit Airlines in small claims court and won $1,350.75. Score one for the little people...

Posted by John G. Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Recent News About Cases

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The Legal Juice has reported a story about a guy surrounded by police who then, in their presence, calls 911. If you want to read this strange story, click here. By the way, the Legal Juice is one of the more entertaining blogs out there - it just happens to deal with legal issues.

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Posted In: Funny Stories

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Alabama consumers need to be wary of protecting themselves from thieves who can strike any where at any time. We were recently reminded about how important this is when Birmingham News reporter, John Archibald reported on a story that happened to him under the caption, "They Stole from Me, And I'm Furious"

If you ever have your wallet, purse or anything that contains your personal information stolen, there are several things you should do immediately in order to protect yourself. Most of these are common sense, but are well worth repeating. These include:

- filing a report with the police;
- immediately canceling all credit and debit cards;
- contacting your bank; and
- contacting your credit card companies to put a hold on charges on your accounts.

There are also a few other steps that you should take that may not be so obvious. As a preventative step, you should periodically make a photocopy of all of your credit cards, driver's license and any other important documents in your wallet or purse. This is especially recommended when travelling, but is also advisable even when not traveling, as this will assist you in contacting your credit card companies and banks with accurate information to freeze all of your accounts.

You should also consider monitoring your bank accounts to track any fraudulent purchases. Once you have notified your bank, if any purchases appear, you will usually not be responsible if you have acted quickly.

Finally, you should contact one of the three main Consumer Reporting Agencies, Trans Union, Experian and Equifax to place a "fraud alert" on your credit reports. This will prevent anyone from being able to open a new credit account in your name without you first being contact to approve it.

Good Luck and watch yourselves!

Posted by John G. Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Identity Theft

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Alabama's elderly consumers need to be aware that they, like others, are being targeted by identity thieves. We recently ran across this newspaper article headlined "Senior Citizens Often Targeted by Identity Theft Scams" by reporter Rebecca Blanton reminding us of this fact.

Maj. Gary Goodson of the Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office reminds us in the article, “If you haven’t solicited someone for information and you’ve received something anonymously or unsolicited, then 99 percent of the time it’s going to be a scam or a fraud. If you have to pay anything to get something free, it’s definitely going to be a scam."

Be on the look out for people pretending to be from your bank or from some government entity wanting to either confirm your information or stating that there is a problem with your account or your information and that they need you to provide information in order to protect yourself or correct the problem.

If you receive a call along these lines, do not give out any personal information. If you are concerned and want to make sure there isn't a problem with your account or information, hang up the phone and then call back whatever entity was supposedly calling you. Do call the number the caller gives you, but look the number up in the phone book or through directory assistance.

The FBI agents stated in the article that they weren't surprised to hear about calls targeting the elderly, who can be particularly vulnerable. The article noted, 'they say it’s been their experience the elderly are targeted for several reasons. Most are likely to own their own home and have good credit. People raised in the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s were raised to be polite and trusting. Con men exploit these traits."

If, however, you find yourself the victim of identity theft, you need to take steps to protect yourself. Visit our website for more information about how to protect yourself if you have been the victim of identity theft.

Posted by John G. Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Identity Theft

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We recently filed a lawsuit against Choicepoint (and State Farm) for putting and keeping false information related to a wreck on our Alabama client's credit report. We don't normally think of car wrecks as having anything to do with credit reports but credit reporting agencies such as Choicepoint do track this information. When the information is wrong, it can have serious consequences. Often insurance companies pull a Choicepoint report when deciding what rates to charge and whether you qualify for insurance. An error on your report can be very costly and frustrating.

We have previously mentioned about Choicepoint related to identity theft and insurance related matters but given the number of recent contacts by Alabama consumers who have been frustrated and hurt by Choicepoint, we thought it might be wise to mention our lawsuit against Choicepoint.

You can read the complaint filed by Angie Duckworth by going to our website under the "Representative Consumer Protection Cases" or by clicking here which will take you directly to the lawsuit.

If you are facing the challenge of correcting errors on your Choicepoint report, please remember that the same steps (listed here, here, and finally here) that are helpful when dealing with Equifax or Trans Union or Experian are also helpful in dealing with the more specialized consumer reporting agencies such as Choicepoint.

We are proceeding with discovery in our case and will post more if any interesting developments occur that we think might be helpful for our readers.

Finally, we are glad that David Szwak is working on the case with us. He is an excellent consumer lawyer from Louisiana and was previously mentioned in our article on Zombie debt.

Posted by John G. Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Cases Filed , Credit Report Errors

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The Consumerist has a post entitled "Best of Bank of America". Only read this if you would like to be amazed at what Bank of America has done...

Posted by John G. Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Funny Stories

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We ran across a recent blog post on the Trial Lawyer Resource Center blog site that summed up our feelings on the frivolous multimillion lawsuit that was recently tried in Washington DC over a pair of pants. The post was entitled, Crazy Pants Lawyer get Zero: The System Works.

The post makes the point that, while our system of justice is not perfect, it does work. At the end of the day, the plaintiff in that case had the right to file the lawsuit, a bad lawsuit, just like we all have the right to say or do something stupid. However, he did so at his own risk. The case was tried, he had his day in court and the judge found that his case had no merit and, in addition, ordered that he pay the court costs for the defendants.

Few would argue that that was not the correct outcome, though it is not always easy to actually know what the real facts are. One need look no further than the Duke Lacrosse case to see just how fast the facts of a case can be distorted from the media and by outsiders. It didn't take long for many in media and public to convict those players. However, the system ultimately worked, though slowly.

The truth is that there are frivolous lawsuits filed. However, the system takes care of those like it did in the DC pants case. As trial lawyers, we evaluate cases based on what potential jurors would do with the case. Most lawyers don't file frivolous cases because they know that jurors and judges will throw them out of court.

In the end, the system does work. A consumer justice lawyer, Joe Watkins, summed up the verdict in favor of the dry cleaners and the harm these type cases can have on our justice system when he said, “the suit itself was ludicrous. As an attorney for 30 years I am aware of the dangers that this type of sensationalism can generate. The general public cannot help but be engrossed in its details. Now that the decision has been reached, the general public can bask in what is just another example of the Civil Justice System accurately and fairly working for us all,” said Watkins. To read the post click here.

Posted by John G. Watts & M. Stan Herring | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Recent Case Decisions

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