Consumer Law

Credit Scores Can Impact Your Job Prospects

Posted on January 18, 2010
StarTribune.com has posted an article about how your credit score can affect your employment prospects. In 1998, a poll conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 25% of employers did credit checks on prospective employees. In 2006 the number rose to 43% of employers...

Medical Issues Linked To Some Foreclosures

Posted on January 18, 2010
The CL&P Blog has posted an article about a study that links medical issues to a large number of foreclosures. The numbers of foreclosures have been on the rise in the past few years; roughly one in every ninety-two households face it. This is partly due to "typical" reasons we often associate with foreclosure such as rising interest rates, irresponsible borrowers, loose lenders and a bad real estate market...

Attorney General's Warning About Haiti Scams

Posted on January 16, 2010
WSFA.com has posted a news article that warns consumers to be cautious when making donations to aid those affected by the recent earthquake in Haiti. Attorney General Troy King gives several good tips to prevent people from accidentally donating to fraudulant organizations and scammers...

Birmingham Home Sales Fall 15%

Posted on January 13, 2010
The Birmingham Business Journal has posted an article about the decline of Birmingham-area home sales in 2009. In 2009, nearly 10,600 homes were sold as opposed to the 12,454 homes sold in 2008. Foreclosures accounted for 31% of December home sales. The 31% is up from 25% in October and 30% in November ...

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Avoid Scammers In The 2010 Census

Posted on January 13, 2010
Our friend Denise Richardson, of givemebackmycredit.com, has posted a helpful article on how to avoid being the victim of identity theft scammers during the upcoming 2010 census. Richardson warns that scammers can use a variety of methods to gain access to your information...

Judges Tired Of Games Mortgage Companies Play With Foreclosures?

Posted on January 13, 2010
Craig D. Robbins writes an interesting article on his blog entitled "Judges Have Had It with Foreclosing Mortgage Companies Who Skirt the Rules" which we strongly suggest you read. We won't quote from his blog post as I really want you to read it - good stuff and the related posts are excellent as well...

Is It Wrong To Walk Away From A Mortgage?

Posted on January 12, 2010
Business and banks and mortgage companies are quick to condemn Americans who decide that they are so upside down (owe more than the house is worth) that they will just walk away from the house and allow the mortgage company to foreclose. This raises two issues...

New Article - Why We Are Consumer Protection Attorneys

Posted on January 11, 2010
We are often asked questions such as "Why are you guys consumer protection lawyers" or "what is a consumer protection attorney" and we wrote an article on our website to help answer these types of questions. We hope it is helpful to you and let us know if you have any questions - either contact us through our website or call us at 205-879-2447...

Free Alabama Tele-Seminar On Wrongful Foreclosures

Posted on January 10, 2010
We are holding a tele-seminar on Tuesday January 19th at 4pm CST to discuss issues related to Alabama foreclosures. We will cover the three stages of foreclosures in Alabama and we will go indepth into the issues we laid out in our article on Wrongful Foreclosures In Alabama...

New Article On The Three Stages Of Foreclosures In Alabama

Posted on January 10, 2010
We hear a lot of discussion about "foreclosures in Alabama" but this can mean different things to different people. Part of the reason is that when someone is "facing foreclosure" this can mean that the mortgage company or servicing company is threatening foreclosure, or has already foreclosed, or has sued the consumer to evict them from their home...

New Article On Wrongful Foreclosures In Alabama

Posted on January 09, 2010
On our main website Alabamaconsumer.com we have a new article that will give you what we trust is a helpful detailed discussion of the law on wrongful foreclosures in Alabama. Here are some of the topic headings from the article: I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE TERMS USED IN FORECLOSURES - CAN YOU DEFINE SOME OF THE WORDS FOR ME? WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF A FORECLOSURE? IS ALABAMA A JUDICIAL OR NON-JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE STATE AND WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? HOW DOES A NON-JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE HAPPEN IN ALABAMA? WHAT IS A MORTGAGE SERVICER? SO A "TRUST" NORMALLY OWNS MY LOAN? WHAT IS SECURITIZATION AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR ME FACING FORECLOSURE? I HAVE HEARD OF THE "SHOW ME THE NOTE" OR "LOST NOTE" APPROACH - WHAT IS THAT AND CAN IT HELP ME? WHAT IS "MERS" AND DOES THIS GIVE ME ANY HELP IN FIGHTING BACK AGAINST A FORECLOSURE? WHAT ABOUT FORECLOSURE RESCUE COMPANIES THAT I HAVE RECEIVED LETTERS ON OR I SEE ON SIGNS ON TELEPHONE POLES OR ON THE INTERNET? OK I UNDERSTAND ALL OF THIS - BUT TALK TO ME ABOUT SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS ITSELF CAN BE FLAWED SO THAT I CAN FIGHT BACK...

Companies that Collect Your Personal Information

Posted on January 06, 2010
The Michigan Collection Law Blog has posted an article, originally from ConsumerReports.org, about how insurance companies, creditors, employers, landlords, insurers and law enforcement agencies (and identity theft criminals) collect more information about consumers than one might expect...

Interesting Site Regarding Super Collection Firm Of Mann Bracken

Posted on January 04, 2010
Mann Bracken is famous (infamous) but it appears to be shutting down and dismissing lawsuits. Keep up to date here - I don't know this blogger but they have a rather wicked sense of humor and obvious joy over the downfall of the giant Mann Bracken. We don't see much of Mann Bracken directly here in Alabama but all of these collectors are scrambling for money which means they are more likely to break the laws than ever before...

"U.S. promises unlimited financial assistance to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac"

Posted on January 04, 2010
The Washington Post.com has posted an article about the Obama administration's pledge to provide "unlimited financial assistance to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, an eleventh-hour move that allows the government to exceed the current $400 billion cap on emergency aid without seeking permission from a bailout-weary Congress...

Review Of Cases Filed In November 2009

Posted on January 01, 2010
We want to let you know about some of the recent cases we have been involved in, particularly where we have filed lawsuits against companies for abusing consumers in Alabama. Let us know if you have any questions - you can call us at 205-879-2447 or fill out our contact form on our website...

Settlement with Debt Collectors

Posted on December 19, 2009
The California Debt Blog has posted an article that serves as a good reminder to everyone about debt collectors. Even though the economy isn't the best right now, because of the holiday season, debt collectors are willing to settle cases. The article gives the example of: Recently, I had two debt collectors agree to dismiss cases they brought against my clients and wipe the debt off of the credit report, along with not selling the debt to anyone else...

3 Mortgage Executives Charged with Fraud

Posted on December 16, 2009
Mortgage News Daily has posted an article about the SEC's charges of fraud against three executives' activities at New Century Mortgage. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Brad Morrice, former Chief Executive; Patti Dodge the former CFO and former Controller David Kenneally of covering up the "rapidly declining financial condition of their firm before it filed for bankruptcy in April, 2007...

"Woman sues debt collector over husband's death"

Posted on December 13, 2009
CNN.com has posted an article about a woman's interesting lawsuit regarding her husband's 2005 death. Dianne McLeod, the widow of Stanley McLeod, is suing Green Tree Servicing, their mortgage company, for contributing to his death. Mr. McLeod had a severe heart condition (and was even airlifted to a hospital because of a heart attack in 2002) and went on disability, thus resulting in the couple falling behind on their mortgage payments...

Washington Post Article By DC Lawyer Writes About Foreclosure Defenses

Posted on December 10, 2009
Attorney Benny Kass has an interesting article in the Washington Post about defenses to foreclosures that we recommend you read. Read the entire article (where he answers a question about foreclosure defenses) but here are some of the highlights: -- Active military duty...

Sidejacking

Posted on December 08, 2009
Our friend Denise Richards, of givemebackmycredit.com, has posted an article about Sidejacking. Sidejacking is a threat that is not really new, but many people still don't know about the risk that can lead to identity theft. Sidejacking occurs when a person hacks into a wireless internet connection and steals your personal information...

A Tragic Tale Of A Mortgage Loan That Should Never Have Been And The Devastation It Caused A Family

Posted on December 07, 2009
Donna St. George of the Washington Post has a tragic story (with a slight happy ending) about a woman who made $15,000 a year being given a loan for a $700,000 house with over $5000 a month payments. The story contains: foreclosure, fraud, ignoring warnings, promises, dreams of wealth, hitting rock bottom, and more...

The Two Reasons Why Abusive Debt Collectors Are Disgustingly Arrogant

Posted on December 06, 2009
Abusive debt collectors operate from a place of intense arrogance toward consumers. They are arrogant because of two reasons: 1. You don't know the law and don't know they are breaking the law; and 2. Even if you know, you won't do anything about it...

Fraud Prevention Tips

Posted on December 06, 2009
The Michigan Collection Law Blog has posted an article that gives consumers some excellent pointers on how to protect yourself from fraud...and avoid identity theft in the process. . 1. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED" or "SEE ID...

Example Of Debt Collectors Suing The Wrong Person And Then Blaming Victim

Posted on December 05, 2009
We have often talked about the outrageous conduct that often occurs when debt collectors start suing Alabama consumers. In general, most of them take a "presumed guilty" position with the Alabama consumers they call or sue. Then when we sue these collectors for suing the wrong person they become outraged at being sued...

Sign Up For Our Free Thursday Email Newsletter "Consumer Power"

Posted on December 05, 2009
We have hundreds of people from all over the country that get our Thursday morning email newsletter. Consumer Power is for Alabama consumers and other consumers who want to learn secrets on dealing with debt collectors, credit reporting agencies, mortgage companies, and other financial institutions...

Cash for Clunkers and Carfax

Posted on December 04, 2009
The Indiana Consumer Lawyer Blog has posted an article about a recent development with Carfax. Carfax has put all the vehicle identification numbers (VINs) available on its website to be searched for free. However, Robert Duff, the author of the blog post, suspects that Carfax might be intentionally making it difficult for consumers to locate the free reports...

10 Steps to Financial Recovery

Posted on December 03, 2009
The Bankruptcy Law Network has posted an article, originally from USAA Magazine, that outlines ten easy steps for financial recovery. 1. Budget And Save 2. Cut Spending 3. Track Daily Expenses 4. Set Goals-Specific ? no vagueness ? Hannon?s debtor made a definite timeline and a definite amount...

Debt Buyers Of Mortgages Are Convincing The Government To Insure The Loans Again.....

Posted on December 03, 2009
The New York Times discusses a trend that is helpful to individual consumers but perhaps not so helpful to the rest of us: Debt buyers buy up blocks of defaulted mortgages, offer to reduce the amount owed by individual consumers, and then get the government to back the loans...

Interesting Article On Debt Buyers Who Buy Mortgage Loans From Defunct Banks

Posted on December 01, 2009
A question that is starting to be asked in the mortgage context (and one that has been often asked in the credit card arena) is whether a debt buyer who buys a mortgage loan from a defunct mortgage company can collect the entire amount of the loan or is the debt buyer limited to the amount paid...

Why Mortgage Servicers Love Foreclosures - They Make More Money!

Posted on November 29, 2009
Here's a great quote from the Federal Reserve that sums it all up: ?The rules by which servicers are reimbursed for expenses may provide a perverse incentive to foreclose rather than modify,? concluded a recent paper published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston...

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