You might owe money on a credit card or loan, a utility or medical debt, but you still have rights against abusive debt collectors. Read more to learn about your rights.
Continue reading Stand Up to Collection Agency Harassment →
Understanding Consumer Law
How to Use this Resource
We hope the articles below help you understand your rights as a consumer. You can scroll through the titles, or sort by Practice Area or Topic. You can also use the search feature to locate information by keyword.
Flitter Milz represents people with a variety of problems involving consumer credit and collections. If you have a particular question or believe your consumer rights have been violated, Contact Us for a no cost consultation.
Author: Consumers Law
Protect Yourself from Solar Scams
We hear from a lot of people these days who fear they might be the victim of a solar scam. There’s a knock on the door, a fast-talking salesman, and, before they know it, they’re bound to a lengthy and costly contract for solar panels they did not want or need.
Continue reading Protect Yourself from Solar Scams →
How Do You Get Your Car Back After Repossession?
You don’t park your car in front of your house anymore.
It’s been a few months since you were able to make a payment and you’re worried about repo men showing up in the middle of the night.
What you didn’t anticipate is the repossession firm showing up where you work. Suddenly, you have no car, no way to get back home, no way to get anywhere.
This can be a devastating situation, but it’s not a hopeless one. Even though your car has been repossessed, it doesn’t mean you can’t get it back.
Continue reading How Do You Get Your Car Back After Repossession? →
Midland Credit Management KO’d in Flitter Milz Lawsuit
September 24, 2018/Philadelphia, PA
U.S. Court of Appeals precedential ruling impacts consumers nationwide
In an important ruling this week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, PA agreed with Flitter Milz that a collection dun sent to a consumer was deceptive and in violation of the federal law regulating debt collectors.
Midland Credit Management, one of the largest debt-buyers and debt collectors in the United States, sent our client a collection notice stating Midland would “report forgiveness of debt as required by IRS regulations.” Flitter Milz argued that the debt involved was so small that there is nothing ever to report to the IRS, and the statement about Internal Revenue was just a scare tactic.
The federal appeals court, sitting in Philadelphia, agreed that the consumer might be persuaded into thinking that a settlement may be reportable to the IRS, and this remark is misleading under the consumer laws. The Court agreed with Flitter Milz, holding that “it is not merely the inclusion of a lie, but also incomplete” language in a collection letter that may violate the consumer laws. The Court has told Midland that ‘half-truths’ to consumers are not good enough.
Flitter Milz is a nationally recognized consumer protection law firm representing consumers in matters against collection agencies and collection law firms for violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. “This victory, is not just for our client and firm, but for consumers across the U.S.”, said Cary Flitter and Andy Milz.
To learn more about this case, Robert A. Schultz, Jr & Donna Schultz v Midland Credit Management, click here . Consumers with questions about collection contact, calls or letters, from Midland Credit Management, contact us.
Midland Credit Management is a billion dollar purchaser of consumer debt, who collects and files collection lawsuits in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and across the country.
Are you a Victim of a Solar Panel Scam?
Were you visited by a solar panel salesman, only to find that your credit report was pulled without your permission? Were you put in to a forged contract for solar energy? If so, you may be the victim of a solar energy scam and your consumer rights may have been violated.
Door-to-door solar power sales is high pressure. Solar panel salesmen are usually trained to engage unsuspecting homeowners in conversation and employ tactics to sell items that they may not be ready to buy.
Fraudulent Sales Tactics
Often, the consumer may be misled in to believing that the salesman works for his or her electric company. During the sales pitch, the consumer may be asked to allow an inspection of the roof for a “roof survey”, or told that a review of energy bills is required. The salesman may try to convince the consumer that energy costs will be lowered because solar energy is free, and with the installation of solar panels the consumer will make money.
Signing an iPad without seeing the Contract
To gain access to your property, the salesman may request your signature on a tablet or iPad. Your signature may be used to commit you to a long term contract. Or, unknowingly, your signature may provide permission for the solar panel company to obtain a copy of your credit report.
Credit Reports Obtained without Consent
The law requires that a company have a permissible purpose to obtain your credit report. A consumer that seeks credit will be asked for permission to have his or her credit file reviewed.
Unless the consumer provides written consent for access to his or her credit file, the company is not permitted to obtain a copy of the credit report. The Fair Credit Reporting Act, offers protections to consumers whose reports were pulled without permission.
Whether a salesman comes to your door to sell solar panels or another product, the consumer must knowingly provide permission for credit reports to be pulled. Obtaining access to credit reports under false pretenses could be a violation to your consumer rights.
Free Legal Evaluation for Solar Panel Fraud Victims
Flitter Milz is a nationally recognized consumer protection law firm that has pursued matters for consumers around the country against solar panel companies fraudulent sales tactics. Whether a solar panel company has forged your signature, wasn’t upfront about the terms of its contract, or obtained your credit report without permission, we can provide a legal evaluation of your matter at no cost. Contact us today to learn more.
7 Ways Millennials can boost their Credit Scores
Millennials may be aware of the harmful effects of bad credit. The difficulty is in determining ways to change habits and establish financial discipline that will improve their financial outlook and their credit scores. The following steps may show useful ways to carve a path to a brighter financial future.
Continue reading 7 Ways Millennials can boost their Credit Scores →
Who Can See Your Credit Report?
Your credit report contains quite a bit of information about your financial history. It includes personal information, all of your open credit accounts and whether or not they are in good standing, and any negative marks, such as accounts in default or vehicle repossessions. Due to the sensitive nature of this information, not just anyone can see a copy of your credit report.
Continue reading Who Can See Your Credit Report? →
What do Auto Lenders check on your Credit Report?
When you apply for an auto loan, lenders will perform a credit check on you. Your credit affects whether or not you’ll be approved for the loan, and the interest rate for the loan. The interest rate and terms of the loan have a major impact on how much you will end up paying overall, so it’s important that you know where your credit stands BEFORE you apply for an auto loan. When you apply, lenders will look at the following components of your credit file.
Continue reading What do Auto Lenders check on your Credit Report? →
Get to Know Your Credit Report
Checking your credit report regularly helps you understand where you stand when it comes to your finances. Many organizations, especially lenders, use credit reports as a way to get to know a consumer’s spending habits. They can be used to determine whether or not to approve someone for a new line of credit, a home loan, or a rental property. Although credit reports include a significant amount of information about you, there are certain things that will not be included.
What’s On Your Report
Credit reports contain the following information:
- Identifying information, including your name, address, social security number, employment information, and birthdate.
- All credit accounts you’ve opened, such as credit cards and loans. This section includes both open and closed accounts and provides details on each account, such as the type of account, date it was opened, credit limit, account balance, and all past payments made.
- All inquiries regarding your report from the past two years. Inquiries often come from lenders checking your credit before approving you for a loan or line of credit.
- Negative information, such as late payments, car repossessions, foreclosures, defaults, tax liens, collection accounts, judgments and bankruptcies.
What’s Not On Your Report
While credit reports have a majority of your financial information included, there are certain items that will not appear.
For example, credit reports list your employers but do not contain further information regarding your employment status or salary.
While information regarding lines of credit are listed, bank account balances, retirement accounts, 401k, and investment or brokerage account information is not included.
Also, your credit report will not be affected by marriage. After you’re married, your credit report and credit score remains independent of your spouse’s. Marriage will only affect your credit for accounts you and your spouse open together.
How to Obtain Your Credit Report
The three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) are each required to provide one free credit report to consumers every 12 months. In order to obtain these reports, write a letter to the bureaus and request your report. Be sure to include two forms of identification, such as a current driver’s license and utility bill, with your letter. You should receive your report within approximately two weeks.
Monitor Your Report Regularly
Credit reports are an effective way to determine if you’ve been a victim of fraud or if any mistakes have been made regarding your credit history. You should carefully review your credit file and report any suspicious listings. If you believe that you are a victim of identity theft, you should take steps by notifying the police, the credit bureaus and the creditors. If you have disputed errors and the credit bureau has not corrected your report, you can contact an attorney to discuss whether your consumer rights have been violated. Checking your report regularly is a good idea so that you can dispute errors as soon as possible.
Why It Matters
Credit reports are essentially a compilation of your credit activity. They allow lenders and other organizations to get to know you. When you learn how to read and interpret your credit reports, you will become confident to dispute any inaccuracies, and handle the errors in a timely fashion. Viewing your reports regularly, helps to eliminate any surprises when you apply for loans or other lines of credit, apply for a job, or attempt to rent an apartment.
Seek Legal Advice
Flitter Milz is a nationally recognized consumer protection law firm based in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that represents consumers in cases involving credit reporting accuracy and privacy violations. Contact us for a free consultation to discuss problems with your credit reports.
Want a Better Credit Score?
Credit reports don’t just exist to provide lenders with an overview of your credit history. They also provide a means for you to assess your own financial health and determine where you can make improvements. Finances can be a significant contributor to stress if you don’t know how to manage them, and knowing what’s on your credit report is the first step to staying on track.
Learn how to read your credit report
Your credit report will list all of your open accounts and show you where they stand – whether you are up to date with payments or if you’ve fallen behind. Late payments will hurt your credit while consistent, on time payments will help you.
Learn how to check and understand your credit report the information on your reports.
Review your report for accuracy
Credit reports also aren’t always accurate with a number of factors contributing to errors, such as fraud, someone else’s information on your report, or errors reported by credit furnishers.
Regardless of the cause, these errors may negatively affect your credit. You should always review your report and dispute any errors with the reporting bureau – including the listing of personal information. Checking your report regularly is a great way to make sure you aren’t a victim of identity theft or fraud.
Set Budget Goals
When you check your reports regularly, you gain insight into some of your financial habits. If you regularly max out credit cards, it’s a sign that you need to create stricter budgets to avoid overspending. If you’re forgetful when it comes to making timely bill payments, look into automatic payments or set reminders to keep you on track. Knowing exactly what’s on your credit report allows you to set responsible goals to improve your financial health.
Take action now, but be patient
Good things come to those who wait. Unfortunately, your credit score won’t skyrocket overnight once you start taking steps to improve it. The amount of time it takes to improve your score will depend on the factors that are bringing it down.
Negative listings, such as a loan default or car repossession, remain on your report for up to 7 1/2 years. Improving your report after events like these will require some patience and discipline. If an error is negatively affecting your credit, you’ll likely see an improvement to your score once it’s resolved.
The bottom line is, check your credit reports regularly. You may request one free report from each bureau every twelve months. Make sure the information on your report is accurate. And if it’s not, take steps to correct it.
Seek Legal Help
Flitter Milz, P.C. is a nationally recognized consumer protection law firm representing consumers who’ve had errors on their credit reports. After disputing with the credit bureaus, if the errors remain, there could be a violation of your consumer rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Contact us for a free evaluation of your reports.
