The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit serves Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. A recent opinion issued by the court in a debt collection case could well have a positive impact on Philadelphia consumers.The court said that a second debt...
Consumer Protection
Will Ford’s credit change make car repossessions rise?
A lot of Philadelphia drivers are looking forward in these last days of summer to the day when the Ford Motor Company releases its 2018 vehicles to dealers. The company is coy about the exact date of the release, saying only that will happen in fall.Here's why it...
Understanding what debt collectors can and cannot do
When your phone rings, you wonder if it's your BFF, your mom or maybe your boss calling. But when you pick your phone up, the number is unfamiliar. The voice on the other end is just as unfamiliar and begins explaining that you owe money. And asking when you are going...
Abusive debt collector: “Get out of my face!”
When the 29-year-old recently walked out of a courthouse, she held an umbrella to try to keep a TV camera crew from getting images of her face. She and her companion repeatedly told the reporter to "get out of my face" and said she would not answer any...
Crackdown on two abusive, phony debt collectors
The Federal Trade Commission is the federal government's consumer protection agency. As such, the FTC recently announced that it has obtained court orders to freeze assets and stop two businesses from posing as legitimate debt collection agencies in pursuit of genuine...
Risks and rewards in used car buying
Over the past several years, the Philadelphia economy has gotten mixed reviews. Some aspects of the economy have been strong while others could use a bit more beefing up. For the average person, the spotty news means that it is often wise to keep the belt tight,...
A man of many disguises and one consumer scam
He was sometimes a government official, sometimes an investigator and sometimes an FBI agent. Sometimes when he called people on the phone, he would tell them that he was sending a police officer to arrest them and sometimes he claimed that he would come and do it...
Even the powerful must contend with abusive debt collectors
It began innocently enough when she changed her cellphone number. The U.S. Senator began to receive calls at her newly acquired number for a man named Gus. Elizabeth Warren didn't know who Gus might be, but she knew that the collection agency that was after him was...
Car dealer fraud: rolling back the miles
They say that numbers don't lie. But recent reports suggest that the mileage numbers on the odometer in the car you buy from a Philadelphia dealer might.There is a reported trend among private auto sellers and small-time car dealers to use an obscure federal...
Advice for avoiding car repossession
As regular readers of our Philadelphia Consumer Protection Law Blog know, our goal is to share information that can help you protect yourself and your finances whenever possible. To that end, we are going to pass along some tips read recently for people who believe...