Consumer Protection

Mediation — Is it Right for Your Case?

Mediation is a formal settlement conference that serves as a bridge between formal litigation and informal negotiations, making it a vital tool for resolving disputes while preserving relationships. Its effectiveness in various settings allows for mutually beneficial outcomes that might not be attainable through traditional litigation.How it Works:The parties typically select (or are assigned) a third-party who is "neutral" to the outcome of the lawsuit (in fact, a mediator is often called a "neutral.")  The mediator is often a lawyer, or a former judge, who has special training to help ...

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Ticketmaster: a problem for more than just Swifties

I've got some news that'll make you want to throw your concert t-shirt in the trash (but please, don't do that - they're collectibles now). Ticketmaster just hit a sour note - they've been hacked. Again. Here's the lowdown on this not-so-greatest hit: 1. Data Breach Bonanza About 560 million customers might be affected—that's more people than the entire United States population. The hack includes names, emails, phone numbers, and encrypted credit card information, which is more than enough information to create "clones" of your existing credit card and potentially enough to open ne ...

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Bank Fraud: A Quick Guide for Consumers

As an attorney who has represented consumers in cases against banks for more than 20 years, I've seen an unprecedented and startling storm of bank fraud over the last 18 months.  If your money (or a loved one’s) has seemingly just washed away from your bank account, let's break down the three primary types of fraud we're seeing all over SC: Elder Scams: Typically, scammers convince elderly individuals to move their money to a "secure" location, often through a series of deceptive emails, texts, and phone calls. Sometimes, these scams are preceded by "Team Viewer" or other remote ...

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The Unending Ring: Telemarketing Calls and What You Can Do About Them

You may have seen HBO's new docuseries "Telemarketers."  It's a fascinating deep dive into the world of telemarketing, showing the tactics they use and the people behind the calls. It's a must-watch for anyone wanting to understand why these calls keep coming and what can be done about it. But what can you do if the world of Telemarketers comes calling on your cell phone?   And why, despite the government's best efforts, are they still buzzing our lines? First off, telemarketing is like playing the lottery. They're dialing for dollars and for every thousand folks who hang up, there's one ...

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Take Control of Your Mortgage: Tips for Dealing with Mortgage Servicers

Owning a home is a dream come true for many of us. However, it also comes with its own set of challenges, and dealing with mortgage servicers is one of them. A mortgage servicer is simply the company that you pay your mortgage payments to. While they generally keep decent records, they can still make mistakes like sending a statement with the wrong amount owed, unexplained charges, and failing to credit a payment. If you've ever noticed an issue with your mortgage statement, it probably caused you some alarm. Maybe your mortgage servicer misapplied your payment. Or, you were charged fees fo ...

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What Happens When Your Insurance Company Won’t Pay Your Claim?

Paying insurance premiums is a fact of life. When you borrow money for a house, you need home insurance. Car owners must buy auto insurance. To protect your family, you need life insurance. And everyone has some kind of health insurance. The insurance companies have great ads (Flo, Jake, "Chaos," ducks and lizards) to make you believe they will take care of you if anything happens. That's their promise. If the insurance company does not keep their promise, you have rights. It's a legal contract. The insurance company must pay your claim - and all of it - if something happens. But there's mo ...

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ID Theft Help – When to Call a Lawyer

Download our step-by-step guide for tackling ID theft Are you a Data Breach Victim? ID Theft Victim? Both??  -- When to Call the Cavalry. Happy Anniversary South Carolina Taxpayer! October 10, 2022 marked 10 years since the South Carolina Department of Revenue was hacked by cybercriminals, who made off with 3.6 million social security numbers and at least 387,000 credit and debit card numbers. There's a (REALLY) good chance that at least your social security number, at the very least, was taken, since 3.6 million was about 3/4's of South Carolina's population in 2012. Cong ...

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Venmo, Zelle, Crypto and other Wire Transfer Scams

The inventiveness of criminals never ceases to amaze me. I remember back in the good old days when I just used to get emails from the imprisoned sons of Nigerian oil ministers, sending me heartrending pleas for aid that (invariably) started with the words "Dear Friend." How quaint were the days when you could see scams coming from 4,000 miles away! Unfortunately, those days are gone. The crooks have upped their game. Substantially.  Although the variety of scams is endless, they all, at heart, rely on one thing -- a means of payment that is not only hard to trace but - once payment is sent ...

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What is a Security Freeze?

Download our step-by-step guide for tackling ID theft What's a security freeze? A security freeze, also known as a credit freeze, is when you instruct the credit reporting agencies not to release your credit report or score to anyone without your say so. This is the single most effective way to protect yourself from identity thieves. Why? because most identity theft - at least for anyone trying to open new credit in your name -- starts with the identity thief making a credit application in your name, using your personal information. In order to grant that credit, most banks ...

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Can I Sue a Car Dealer for Lying?

It's a question that many car buyers ask themselves: Can a car Dealer lie to me? Like many things in life, the answer is not entirely clear. Except in a few situations, car dealers are not required to tell you the truth, and they can take advantage of this fact. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the most common lies that car dealers tell their customers, and what you can do to protect yourself from being taken advantage of (and what you can do when you are). Car dealers don't have to tell you everything. In fact, they're legally allowed to withhold some information from you if they t ...

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Do I Need an Attorney to Dispute My Credit Report?

Download our FREE guide on how to dispute your credit report What is a credit report and why dispute it? If you're like most people, you've heard of credit reports, but you may not know exactly what one is. A credit report is a record of your borrowing and repayment history. It includes information about how much money you've borrowed and how on time (or not) you've been with making repayments. If you've ever applied for a loan or credit card, the lender has likely checked your credit score and report. How can I correct mistakes on my credit report? First, know how importan ...

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What to Do if a Client has a Mixed Credit File

If you have a client who is dealing with mixed credit file issues, you need to act immediately. A mixed credit file can cause many problems for your client, including difficulty in obtaining loans or mortgages. In this blog post, we will discuss what a mixed credit file is and how lawyers can help their clients deal with the problem. What is a mixed credit file? A mixed credit file is a credit report that contains information from two consumers and combines them into a single credit report. Let's say you have a client named "Sally Emily Smith." Sally's credit SHOULD be stellar (she's ...

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Can a Debt Collector Sue You?

I get asked this question a lot.  And the answer is (like so many things in life) "it depends." In the past 20 years in the United States, many collection agencies that used to collect only debts for others started buying that debt (insiders call this debt "paper.").  Sometimes the debt is very old (perhaps years beyond the statute of limitations which, in South Carolina, is typically 3 years from the last payment). These debt collectors - or debt buyers more accurately - can sue you to collect this debt.  If you live in South Carolina, they will typically sue you in South Caro ...

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Taking the right steps when your client’s identity has been stolen

Download our step-by-step guide to tackling ID theft   What to do if your client experiences ID theft There may come a day when you're in your office minding your own business and a client walks in with an identity problem. They know exactly who they are and so does someone else. They're victims of identity theft. And they're worried about what to do next. You may be a little worried too. Here's how to handle these cases like an expert ID theft lawyer.  ID thieves typically will divert account statements from the rightful owner's mailbox. As a result, most victims of iden ...

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Invasion of the I.D. Snatchers

Download our step-by-step guide to tackling ID theft Most 1950s science fiction films are, let's face it, pretty cheesy. In The Blob, a jello-mold creature absorbs a town. In Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, a very tall woman (in the days before the WNBA) attacks a town. And in Rocket Ship X-M, Lloyd Bridges attempts to seduce every woman in an intergalactic town. But perhaps the worst science fiction movie of all time, and a contender for the worst movie of all time, was Plan 9 from Outer Space, where extraterrestrials team up with vampires to (you guessed it) oppress a ...

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How Arbitration Screws Customers

On Thursday December 12, 2013 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will hold a field hearing on Forced Arbitration Clauses, which have been called “Corporate America’s Most Successful Dirty Secret.”As many of you know, Arbitration Clauses are now found buried in the fine print of almost EVERY consumer contract you sign — cell phones, insurance, credit cards, vehicle purchases, etc. When you sign such a contract, Courts now find you have “agreed” to whatever it contains — including giving up the rights given you under state and federal consumer protection laws. That means you ...

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Can a data breach hurt me years later?

Yes.  In fact, it's far more likely to hurt you then. I've written about the 2012 SC Department of Revenue Breach (in which 3.8 million social security numbers, among other things, were stolen from DOR) and you've heard all about it. Think the worst is over? Think again.  Here are some scary facts: 1) Data Breach victims are 4x more likely to become identity theft victims (ie., to have their names and ID's not merely stolen, but USED to actually DO SOMETHING BAD, ranging from fraudulent accounts to terrorism). 2) Studies from javelinstrategy.com show that, after committing the data breach ...

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Freedom from Choice

Have you heard the big news? Hasbro, the maker of the Monopoly board game, is getting rid of one of the game’s eight playing pieces. In case you haven’t played for a while, the current pieces are (in order of lamest to coolest) : thimble, iron, wheelbarrow, boot, tophat, dog, battleship and racecar. We, the public, get to decide which piece gets the axe. Obviously, the racecar is totally safe. Everyone loves it. It has wheels - which makes sense in a game that goes in a circuit - and it looks awesome. The battleship is formidable. The tophat is dapper. The boot kind of looks like the race ...

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SCDOR Data Breach

Saturday mornings as a kid in the 70’s were the best. I’d wake up early, pour myself a giant bowl of Count Chocula and sit down in front of the TV to watch Super Friends. In case you missed it, Super Friends was a cartoon about a team of superheroes (Batman, Superman, etc.) who banded together to fight evil as The Justice League. An oft-repeated scenario was this one: Super Villain X captures Aquaman. He then pretends to be Aquaman in order to wreak havoc and maybe learn the Justice League’s secret handshake. Just when you think all is lost, the real Aquaman escapes to confront fake A ...

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Common Consumer Complaints

One of the clients in your corporate practice mentions that his daughter just signed a contract for a car that she really can't afford. "I told her not to worry, because she has three days to cancel the contract, right?" he asks you. Your pro bono client tells you that a debt collector is calling his employer. He is worried about getting fired and wants to know if the calls are legal. A longtime client calls you about her apartment lease. "I moved out months ago and have not received my security deposit back from the landlord. Isn't there a law preventing him from doing this?" She asks. ...

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Home Improvements Contracts

One of actor Tom Hanks' more forgettable roles was as a beleaguered homeowner in The Money Pit. Hanks and his wife, played by Shelley Long, move into a "fixer upper" house with plans to renovate it. At one point, water is streaming out of the house in the background. A plumber hands Hanks a huge bill, declares that he is late for his daily golf game, jumps into his Corvette and disappears. While the scene is funny, there may be an eerie familiarity to it if you own a home. And chances are, the scenario is also familiar to some of your clients who are homeowners. Few of them w ...

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Everyday ERISA

It was the winter of 1963 in South Bend, IN, when the last Studebaker automobile built in America rolled down the assembly line. The company, which had begun as horse-drawn wagon maker 111 years before and had survived two world wars and the stock market crash, was effectively wiped out. On the heels of the plant's closure, Studebaker terminated its retirement plan for hourly workers. In his article The Most Glorious Story of Failure in Business: The Studebaker-Packard Corporation and the Origins of ERISA, 49 Buffalo Law&nb ...

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