Consumer Protection

Far too often, we have heard of abusive debt collection practices here in Philadelphia. Collectors can issue threats, use profanities, make false or misleading statements and harass people at their jobs.The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently submitted a...

"A stitch in time saves nine." So goes the old cliché. We suspect many Philadelphia readers are familiar with the phrase. Another one goes, forewarned is forearmed. The idea being that by taking preventive action it is possible to keep bad situations from...

We read recently a letter to the editor of a suburban Philadelphia newspaper. The letter-writer complained that corruption in Pennsylvania has reached epic proportions, from people in state government down to fraud perpetrated on everyday citizens.The writer cites as...

It was more than 50 years ago when a virtually unknown political aide took the automobile industry by storm. Ralph Nader's 1965 book "Unsafe at Any Speed" was a best-seller that turned the consumer protection advocate into a household name.More than half a century...

One financial problem can set off a chain reaction of complications that can make a person miserable. The initial problem can be something as simple as a car in need of repairs. The owner then gets a payday loan cover an expected bill of $200. When the repairs are...

For most Philadelphia residents, a car purchase is one of the largest transactions they will ever take part in. A lot of money is involved, and for many people, a vehicle is absolutely crucial to holding a job and performing essential household tasks. So it is...

A consumer lawyer colleague, Mark Chalos, authored a wonderful expose on the dirty, dirty world of Forced Arbitration and the dirty, dirty corporate powers who push it. It was recently published in The Tennessean.Mark tells the story of one of his clients, who was...

Everyone you know has at one time or another has struggled financially. For some, the struggles come when they are young. For others, the difficulties arrive when they are older. Regardless of the circumstances of the struggle, it should never be accompanied by...

Debt tagging. It sounds a bit like a childhood game, but there is no fun involved for the person who has been tagged by a debt collector.Debt tagging often occurs because of a similarity in your name and another person's name. But once a bill collector is after you,...

For some consumers, the prospect of getting a short-term, small loan by putting up the title of their vehicle as collateral can be an attractive prospect. They might have poor credit or a low income or other circumstances that make borrowing from a reputable lender...