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Consumer Law

Alabama Consumer Blog

Covers news and events dealing with consumer law in Alabama.
By M. Stan Herring

Post Frequency: 2.8/day

Last Entry: March 29, 2011 at 19:05:21

Foreclosure Case - Judge Strikes Debt Completely In NY

Posted on November 27, 2009
Here is a fascinating story about an outraged judge who sanctioned a mortgage company by destroying the note and ruling that the homeowners do not owe any more money. [Judge] Spinner excoriated OneWest for repeatedly refusing to work out a deal, for misleading him about the dollar amounts at stake in the case, and for its treatment of the couple over months of hearings...

Trade Ins Can Destroy Your Credit Score

Posted on November 26, 2009
The Michigan Collection Law Blog has posted an article that warns consumers about a lesser known danger to your credit score. The article discusses a couple who traded in their RV, unaware that it would cripple their credit score.When the happy couple trade in their old RV that had a lien on it from the prior lender, for a new RV, they counted on the Walt Michals to pay off the loan balance of about $180,000...

Rise In Mortgage Delinquencies

Posted on November 23, 2009
MSNBC.com has posted an article about the rise in delinquent mortgages from fixed rate home loans "rather than the high-risk subprime loans with adjustable rates that triggered the mortgage crisis." There is also a record high number of homeowners who are behind on their mortgages...

Securitization In Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Context - Excellent Article By Max Gardner

Posted on November 17, 2009
Max Garnder, III, has an excellent article on some of the abuses that servicers inflict upon consumers who are in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy that we suggest you carefully read. This is an entertaining and informative article by Max and you can get a taste of it from the first paragraph: Wayne Gretzky once said that his success was due to the fact that he focused on where the puck was going to be, not where it was...

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Mortgage Securitization - What Is It?

Posted on November 16, 2009
One issue that comes up in almost all Alabama foreclosures is whether the loan (the note) has been held by the original bank or mortgage company or instead if it has entered the somewhat mysterious world of mortgage back securitization? We begin a series on this issue today and will add original posts and also newsworthy items to this "category" on our blog...

Common Example Of Fraud Related To Foreclosures And Loan Modifications

Posted on November 15, 2009
We wanted to give Alabama consumers who are facing foreclosure some examples of typical fraud in the context of foreclosures and loan modifications. We'll start with loan modifications. A loan modification is typically defined as a permanent change to your note - normally the interest rate, length of the loan, the movement of arrearage (missed payments) to the end of the loan, etc...

Free Tele-Seminar On Fighting Back Against Abusive Debt Collectors

Posted on November 05, 2009
Due to a great amount of interest, we have decided to hold a free teleseminar on Tuesday, November 24, 2009, at 7 pm CST. This will be the first in a series of seminars that you can attend from the comfort of your home, office, or car (be safe if driving...

Legal Uses of a Credit Report

Posted on November 03, 2009
The Consumerist has posted an article that highlights what your credit report can be (legally) used for. Some things your credit report can be used to determine are: -Applications for credit, insurance, and rentals for personal, family or household purposes...

What Is A Qualified Written Request (QWR) And What Does That Do For You Related To Your Mortgage?

Posted on November 02, 2009
A Qualified Written Request (QWR) is a powerful tool when dealing with abusive mortgage servicing companies (Litton Loan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, etc). This is a right under RESPA - Real Estate Settlement Practices Act - to gain information and to dispute false bills or charges...

An Example Of Mortgage Servicing Abuse - Tammy

Posted on October 30, 2009
My friend Denise Richardson has a heartbreaking story on her website about a woman named Tammy who is dealing with the realities of common place mortgage servicer abuses. Read the entire article but here is a taste: EMC Mortgage Servicing placed an escrow account on our non-escrowed mortgage...

Who Or What Is The "Servicer" Of My Mortgage?

Posted on October 29, 2009
Often we see clients who are facing foreclosure and the reason is, at least in part, misconduct on the part of the mortgage servicer. We often assume the company we make our payments to - Litton Loan, Bank of America, Wachovia, Wells Fargo, etc. actually owns the note...

Bankruptcy Discharges

Posted on September 30, 2009
The Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog has posted an article about what a bankruptcy discharge is and what it includes. The "discharge" of a debt means that it no longer exists and can't be held against the debtor. However, debt discharge "has its limits" and doesn't include every financial responsibility...

Announcing Alabama Foreclosure Seminar October 6, 2009, At 6 PM In Birmingham, Alabama

Posted on September 29, 2009
We are holding a free Foreclosure Seminar at our office in Birmingham. In this seminar on October 6, 2009, at 6 pm we will address topics that Alabama consumers are facing when foreclosure is either threatened or has already happened: 1. What is the foreclosure process in Alabama? 2...

"Dealing With Debt Collectors, the Easy Way"

Posted on September 28, 2009
The Michigan Collection Law Blog has posted an article about an easy way to deal with debt collectors and creditor harassment. The article was originally written by Kat Sanders, who blogs for Court Reporter Schools. We don't agree with all of these points but you should consider these...

Tips on Fixing Credit Report Errors

Posted on September 17, 2009
Allison Young of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has written an article about credit report errors. Equifax mixed Robyn Mueller's credit information with her twin brother's, merging the two individual's debts and bringing Ms. Mueller's score down. Her Equifax report differed greatly from her score from two other credit reports...

3-10% of Health Care Funding Goes to Fraudulent Claims

Posted on September 15, 2009
The Health Care Lawyer Blog has posted an article about the amount of health care funding that could be saved from fraud every year. There is about $75-$250 billion "floating about in the health care system." Around 3-10% of that is lost to fraudsters annually...

Drastic Decrease in Consumer Debt

Posted on September 12, 2009
Associated Press has posted an article about a record decrease in consumer borrowing for the month of July. Economic uncertainty and job losses have "prompted Americans to rein in their debt" by collectively cutting debt by $21.6 billion. Economists expected it to only drop about $4 billion...

Video On Credit Card Changes - Alabama Live Interview

Posted on September 12, 2009
A couple of weeks ago I was invited by Alabama Live to appear on the morning show to discuss the new changes to credit card laws that went into effect recently. Keep in mind that more changes are coming at the first of the year and then next summer. If you would like more information about this or if you are dealing with abusive debt collectors or false credit reporting, feel free to contact us.

Brooklyn Judge Rejects Foreclosures

Posted on September 09, 2009
The Consumerist.com has posted an article that discusses how a Brooklyn judge has tossed out roughly half of the foreclosure suits brought to him over the last two years because the lending companies and banks had such disorganized paper trails...to the extent of not being able to prove ownership...

Mortgage Foreclosures - What Are Tranches?

Posted on September 08, 2009
We are often asked by Alabama consumers who are facing foreclosures "What is all of this talk about securitization and tranches and trusts actually owning my house?" Nicole Perlroth of Forbes has a fascinating article that lays out how the process works using a lady named Adama Kromah as the subject of her story...

Morgtage Servicers - Story Of Repeated Abuses In Foreclosure Context

Posted on September 07, 2009
Daniel Wagner of the Huffington Post recently wrote an excellent article about mortgage servicers that harass borrowers. You should read this interesting post by Daniel. Here's part of the problem: Without government aid, servicers don't have enough financial incentive to modify mortgages...

Wall Street Magic Has Moved To Bundling Life Insurance Settlements

Posted on September 06, 2009
Wall Street played a huge role in creating the economic mess we are in through the securitization of sub prime mortgages and through other ill advised financial products. Now, the NY Times reports that the banks have turned their attention to buying up life insurance settlements and then applying some of the same principles to them that were used on the sub prime mortgages...

New Law Prompts Cigarette Companies to Sue

Posted on September 04, 2009
Associated Press has posted an article about two of the three major cigarette companies filing lawsuits in response to a new law. The new law gives the Food and Drug Administration authority over the tobacco industry, which tobacco companies say violates their right of free speech...

Traffic Stops Can Be Beneficial

Posted on September 02, 2009
Slate.com has posted an article that discusses how traffic stops can be more beneficial than you might expect. For example, according to the article: What do Timothy McVeigh, Ted Bundy, David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz, and 9/11 ring-leader Mohammed Atta have in common? They're all murderers, yes, but another curious detail uniting them is that they were all also brought to police attention by "routine" traffic violations...

Warranty Claims and a Bankrupt Company

Posted on August 31, 2009
Bankruptcy Law Network has posted an article that discusses if a company going bankrupt is obligated to honor a warranty. It depends on the type of bankruptcy that was filed for. If it was Chapter 11, there's more of a chance that the company will honor your warranty that was purchased prior to filing for bankruptcy...

Debt Settlement Industry Remains Busy, but Grows Anxious

Posted on August 28, 2009
The New York Times has posted an article that discusses the growing unrest in the debt settlement industry. David Streitfeld, author of the article, says that the industry is preoccupied worrying about its future. A formidable array of forces is concerned about the way the settlement companies solicit consumers and negotiate lower payments on their debts...

Man Tries to Steal 130 Million Credit Card Numbers

Posted on August 23, 2009
The Associated Press has posted an article about a man from Miami, Albert Gonzalez, who has reportedly tried to steal 130 million credit card numbers. "The one-time government informant" is being charged with the largest case of credit and debit card data theft in the nation's history...

Medical Identity Theft

Posted on August 21, 2009
Our friend Denise Richardson has posted an article about the growing concern of medical identity theft. In 2007 more than 250,000 people reported being victims of medical identity theft, which is even harder to correct than kinds of financial identity theft...

Video About Bankruptcy Myths

Posted on August 19, 2009
Getoutofdebt.org has posted an article and a video that sheds light on the "five myths of bankruptcy" and why they're not necessarily true. The myths are: You should be dead broke until you file for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy ruins your credit score. You lose your home if you go bankrupt...

Carfax Reports Can Be Unreliable

Posted on August 17, 2009
The Indiana Consumer Law Blog has posted an article reminding consumers that Carfax Vehicle History Reports cannot be trusted for total reliability. The blog post agrees that certainly it is worthwhile to purchase a report from Carfax, or a similar company, when considering purchasing a used vehicle...

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