FTC Warns of Social Security Scam
The Federal Trade Commission has issued a new warning regarding a new scam that tricks people into thinking their social security benefits are in danger. The FTC has posted a sample of the call on their webpage that can be accessed here. The FTC states: The Social Security Administration scam is the number one scam...Read More
Do FCRA Punitive Damages Survive the Plaintiff’s Death?
One of the best parts of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) is a consumer’s opportunity to recover punitive damages against a defendant that willfully violates the Act. Regretfully, sometimes litigation can take several years and a plaintiff can pass away while the case is pending. When then is happens, the personal representative of the...Read More
$101,000 Verdict in Portland Credit Reporting Trial
A federal jury awarded a consumer in Portland, Oregon $101,000 for damages related to a Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) claim. The background: Despite repeated attempts by Sponer and his lawyer to get his bank to delete the $29,000 debt that his credit report showed he owed for the car loan, Wells Fargo didn’t do...Read More
Bloomberg on FCRA Standing Issues
Bloomberg recently ran a story on a South Carolina Fair Credit Reporting Act claim (“FCRA”) and how the Court allowed the claim to continue over a standing challenge: Latisha Burns brought an FCRA action against Warehouse after her credit report allegedly listed an erroneous outstanding debt. Burns filed her suit in 2018 after credit reporting...Read More
Recent Repos Gone Wrong
There have been a few reports of repossessions gone wrong recently. A local story out of Gadsden, AL involving a repo agent on the hood of the car: The 34-year-old man told police he was in the 300 block of George Wallace Drive, and was attempting to repossess a gray 2013 Ford Mustang at about...Read More
Eleventh Circuit on Implied Warranty of Merchantability
The Eleventh Circuit released an opinion recently regarding the implied warranty of merchantability and products that are “unfit” and “defective” as those terms are defined by Alabama law. In Easterling v. Ford Motor Co., No. 18-12914, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23286 (11th Cir. Aug. 5, 2019) the Court stated: On the other hand, defectiveness and...Read More
Equifax Settles Data Breach Claims
Equifax has agreed to settle claims over the 2017 data breach: The proposed settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, if approved by the federal district court Northern District of Georgia, will provide up to $425 million in monetary relief to consumers, a $100 million civil money penalty, and other relief. The bureau coordinated its...Read More
Towing Companies Accused of Overcharging
Mobile, Alabama, like many other cities, set the maximum that a towing company can charge for towing a car. Often companies attempt to find loopholes in the ordinances and charge more. Mobile Police has cracked down on this practice: “Some of these wrecker companies are charging in excess of 25, up to 100 percent more...Read More
AJC Article on Medical Debt
Medical debt has always been one of the toughest areas of debt collection. Since medical care is essential, consumers are not able to negotiate or make meaningful market-based choices. Then adding on what insurance should pay renders the whole billing almost incomprehensible to most consumers. To illustrate, the Atlanta Journal Constitution ran this story recently:...Read More
Equifax Breach Causing Government Verification Issues
When Americans apply for government benefits, they often have to go through a verification process via Equifax in order to verify who they are. Several government agencies use the following process: This verification method asked applicants questions like their date of birth, Social Security numbers and addresses, assuming that only the applicant would have that...Read More