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.
When you owe money to a debt collection agency, its employees have the right to contact you and try to recoup that debt.
But those rights only go so far. The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act regulates what debt collectors, or law firms acting as collectors, can do when contacting Pennsylvania consumers, and bars them from engaging in deception while trying to recover money that is owed.
Continue reading How Debt Collection Laws Help Pennsylvanians →
Car repossession can feel like the end of the world. Instantly, your daily life comes to a halt. You realize that you won’t be able to get to work, take your kids to school, or make it to your appointments.
Continue reading What Happens When Your Car is Repossessed in PA? →
When payments on your account go unpaid, the creditor may stop you from making additional charges and list your account as a charge-off. But even if the creditor stops trying to collect on your account, you still could be responsible for the debt.
Continue reading How does a “Charge-Off” affect the consumer? →
“Abuse.” “Dishonest.” “Fraud.” “Racketeering“.
These are the type of words you’d expect to see used to describe an organized crime family, not a company claiming to provide clean, renewable energy.
Nevertheless, this was the language New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas used in filing a civil complaint against Vivint Solar, accusing the company of deceptive business practices.
We’d like to tell you this is an isolated incident. But sadly, there are a growing number of scams coming out of the world of solar panel sales. Forged signatures and unlawful access to credit reports may just be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to solar panel scams.
You’re at home one day when a salesman knocks on your door. But he claims that what he’s selling – solar panels – won’t actually cost you any money.
Solar panels, he says, will pay for themselves. In fact, you might even make money. All you have to do is sign his tablet. And while it may not seem like it, you’ve become the target of a solar panel scam.
It might be that he’s signed you up for a contract you don’t need or want or added a neighbor or relative’s name to the contract.
And with your forged signature, solar companies will sometimes pull your credit report without your consent, a violation of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.
In New Mexico, the state accused Vivint Solar of using deceptive business practices by tying consumers into 20-year contracts that forced them to buy the electricity produced by the panels at exorbitant rates.
The attorney general said the company’s sale model allowed its workers to overstate how much consumers could save by going solar. Some people were told they could see their energy bills cut in half by going with Vivint Solar.
And it’s not just Vivint. The Better Business Bureau processed dozens of complaints in New Jersey alone over the past few years. They came from customers who say they were misled by solar companies about things like their ability to cancel contracts and the amount of money they could save.
Flitter Milz, P.C. is a 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 your permission, we can provide a legal evaluation at no cost. Contact us today to learn more.
“A Record 7 Million Behind on Car Loans”, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2/13/19
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that, “A record seven million Americans are 90 days or more behind on their auto loan payments. Despite a strong economy, economists are warning that Americans are struggling. Although a car loan is the first payment people make because a vehicle is critical to getting to work, when car loan delinquencies rise, it is a sign that many American are under duress.”
BEFORE a Repossession: Continue reading Repossessions: Know What to Expect – Before, During and After →
When you default on a car loan, your lender can repossess your vehicle. Most defaults come from someone failing to make their monthly payments. If you’re up to date on your payments and your car was repossessed, then clearly, a wrongful car repossession has occurred.
But even if you have missed payments, lenders and repo agents need to follow the law. If your vehicle has been unlawfully repossessed, you may be able to sue your lender and the repo agent.
Here’s what lenders and repossession companies need to do to stay within the bounds of the law: Continue reading What Can I Do If My Car Was Repossessed by Mistake? →
In our increasingly paperless society, more and more companies are requiring consumers to sign contracts electronically, called “e-signing.” You may have encountered this yourself. A door-to-door salesperson promises you a deal that sounds almost too good to be true, but only if you sign their electronic tablet on the spot. An online lender guarantees to get you money now, but only after you check the boxes on the website. The convenience seems hard to pass on. You don’t even have to deal with the finicky fine print! Instead, you get what you want, and you can get it now.
Continue reading E-Signing Your Rights Away →
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 →
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? →
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