By: Jeffrey Lapin
As the holiday season is upon us consumers are decorating and buying gifts for family and friends. At the same time, scammers are preparing their holiday scams to “deck their halls” with your money, privacy or identity. Below are 12 common holiday scams as well as ways to make sure the scammers, and not you, end up with a bag of coal. […]
By: Jeffrey Lapin
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regulates consumer financial products and services, such as mortgages and credit cards. Here are some of the more noteworthy actions and announcements by the CFPB from November 2012: […]
By: Jeffrey Lapin
Michael Collier, a disabled Army veteran, and his wife, Kim, recently sued Gurstel Chargo, P.A., a Minnesota-based law firm and debt collector, in Arizona for violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) as well as for other claims based on the law firm’s attempt to collect a debt. The Colliers claim that the law firm is illegally holding their money and one of its legal assistant’s told Michael that he should have died among many other things. In their lawsuit, the Collier’s are claiming damages under the FDCPA, punitive damages along with other items. […]
By: Jeffrey B. Lapin
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), has now been in existence for fourteen (14) months. It was created as part of the 2010 Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. So far, the CFPB has been praised by consumer advocates and criticized by businesses. […]
By: Jeffrey Lapin
The Consumer Federation of America (CFA), with assistance from the North American Consumer Protection Investigators (NACPI), has issued its 2011 Consumer Complaint Survey Report, which, among other things, lists the top 10, actually 12, consumer complaints from 2011. In addition, the Report identifies the fastest growing complaints, worst complaints, and newer types of consumer problems. Finally, it offers suggestions for new consumer protection laws and tips for consumers for dealing with many of these consumer problems. […]
By: Jeffrey Lapin
Lapin Law Offices has updated its website (lapinlawoffices.com) to include definitions of some commonly used consumer protection and other financial words and phrases. It includes words and phrases involving the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). […]
By: Jeffrey Lapin
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) launched a Consumer Complaint Database that will provide basic information about complaints made against credit card companies. This is the first time this type of data is available to the public without the filing of a Freedom of Information request. The Database is located on the CFPB’s website, Consumer Complaint Database, which is available to view now.
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By: Jeffrey Lapin
Dealing with the death of a relative is hard enough. Family members do not need the additional stress of having to deal with having the identity of their deceased relative stolen. Remember, family members are not responsible for the debts of their deceased relatives, unless they had specifically agreed to be. In addition, the estate of the deceased is not responsible for these types of fraudulent debts. […]
By: Jeffrey Lapin
Collecting on debts of the deceased has become a very profitable area in the debt collections industry. Using tactics and practices created specifically to convince anguished family members to pay, some of these debt collectors will stop at nothing to get money even breaking the law. In almost all circumstances you are not personally liable for the debts of a deceased relative despite what you might be told by a debt collector. This post will not cover which debts may be owed by the deceased’s estate, which would be paid through the probate process. Rather, I will discuss your individual liability for the debts of a deceased spouse, parent, child or other relative and what you should do if contacted by a debt collector trying to collect a debt owed by them. […]
By: Jeffrey Lapin
Consumers beware: scammers are lurking everywhere trying to separate you from your money or to steal your identity. With some simple precautions you can prevent yourself from being their next victim. Below are 11 ways you can protect yourself. […]
