Alabama Consumer Law BlogCan the statute of limitations be re-aged by income tax intercept?
In one of our recent live Youtube Q&A sessions, a viewer asked if the statute of limitations can be re-aged by tax income intercept.
Articles Posted in Unfair and Deceptive Practices
When dealing with crooked companies look for federal laws to sue (FCRA, TCPA, etc.)
When dealing with crooked companies look for federal laws to sue (FCRA, TCPA, etc.)
Recently, I was speaking with a client about some bad conduct that a company was doing to him. He was upset about this conduct, and rightfully so.
Should you trust a debt collector who tells you not to file an answer in a collection lawsuit?
Should you trust a debt collector who tells you not to file an answer in a collection lawsuit?
Why would a debt collector or a debt collection law firm tell you not to file an answer?
PayDay Lenders Target the Elderly and Disabled In Alabama
We ran across this recent article titled “Social Insecurity: High-Interest Lenders Tap Elderly, Disabled” in the Wall Street Journal detailing how payday lenders have been targeting the elderly and disabled. This isn’t something that is happening just in other parts of the country. The story was out of Dothan, Alabama and shows how Alabama’s elderly and disabled have been targeted.
Payday lenders charge rates that would make some loan sharks blush and this article shows how they are targeting our elderly. We all need to be on the guard against this type of activity but particularly those of us who have elderly family and friends who might fall prey to this type of activity.
Another resource for you is to join our Facebook Fan Page – Alabama Consumer Protection Attorneys where we share useful information about the same types of issues that we cover in this blog.
Debt Collectors Threatening Jail Time, Seriously?
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….
Another resource for you is to join our Facebook Fan Page – Alabama Consumer Protection Attorneys where we share useful information about the same types of issues that we cover in this blog.
Alabama Seniors And Annuities
Alabama seniors, in particular, are facing a danger of misleading statements about annuities. Annuities are contracts where an insurance company promises to make regular payments to you in exchange for premiums that you pay. Sometimes the time period of getting paid is a fixed number of years (i.e. “$2,000 per month for ten years”) and sometimes its as long as you live.
Here is the problem: there are unscrupulous agents who will use unfair pressure and lies to convince Alabama consumers (mainly seniors) to buy products that are more risky that promised or otherwise inappropriate.
Click here to read the warnings issued by the NASD on investments in general and for the specific warning regarding annuities and seniors.
Alabama Consumers Beware Of “Debt Settlement” Companies
Last week the FTC settled claims with debt settlement or debt elimination companies who had misled many consumers. Read here to find out more about this and to protect yourself. We often get contacted by people who are getting sued and they are shocked because they were working with one of these debt elimination companies. These companies can’t prevent a creditor or debt collector/debt buyer from suing you so be careful in dealing with these debt elimination companies.
Another resource for you is to join our Facebook Fan Page – Alabama Consumer Protection Attorneys where we share useful information about the same types of issues that we cover in this blog.
Best Bypass Best Buy?
This one caught us off guard that a major store would do this:
The Connecticut Attorney General has announced a lawsuit against Best Buy in regards to a secret internal website that is identical from their public website except for the prices. Consumerist has received reports of this website being used to attempt to trick our readers as recently as March 19, 2007.
Customers coming into the store looking for prices they saw at home on the public website were told that the sale had ended and were shown a separate internal website that reflected different in-store prices. The customers were led to believe that they were looking at the same website they accessed at home.
How Abusers Use Credit Reports To Extort Money Out Of Alabama Consumers
Sometimes Alabama consumers ask us why they should worry about wrongful items being on credit reports? There are many answers but one is illustrated by this story which describes what appears to be a very aggressive tow truck operator who allegedly threatened to put (and maybe did put) wrong information on an Air Force officer’s credit report.
While we don’t know who is right or wrong in this case, we have seen unscrupulous creditors and debt collectors and collection agencies use the threat of putting false information on credit reports to force innocent people to pay money they don’t owe. An attorney friend of ours was told one time by a collection agency that the debt collector knew the amount being collected was wrong “but it will mess up your refinance so why don’t you just pay it”. The attorney did. This type of misconduct must stop and suing the bad guys is certainly one way to motivate them to stop doing this….
Another resource for you is to join our Facebook Fan Page – Alabama Consumer Protection Attorneys where we share useful information about the same types of issues that we cover in this blog.
Alabama Consumers – Be Wary Of Extended Warranties On Cars
Alabama consumers are pressured into buying extended warranty agreements when buying cars. This recent post by Ronald Burdge shows why that may not be a good idea.
Extended warranties have been one of the highest profit customer ripoffs ever seen in the auto industry. Worse yet, with little regulation, they are likely to stay that way. So, what can you do to avoid being ripped off by one?
First, don’t buy one. Everyone in the industry knows that the profits are high and the payout is low. No matter what they are wanting to charge you, the odds are that over half that money is pure profit to the car dealer. And if the warranty company’s name isn’t the same as an auto manufacturer, then you can bet that the profit margin is even higher, probably at least 60 percent and more likely 75 percent of the price is pure profit.