Consumer Protection



Our attorneys represent consumers whose rights have been violated by fraudulent, unfair or deceptive business practices. We represent consumers individually and on a class action basis, in state and federal court.

The cases we prosecute typically involve unfair and deceptive debt collection practices, inaccurate or unverified credit reporting by furnishers of credit information and credit reporting agencies, identity theft and the credit harm that results, predatory lending such as "bait and switch" mortgage or auto loan fraud, overcharges and improper financing schemes, illegal or improper car repossessions, defective products or warranties, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and other instances of unfair or fraudulent business conduct.

Contact us if you think you have a consumer protection matter involving:

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") protects consumers from deceptive, unfair and abusive debt collection tactics on the part of debt collectors and debt collection agencies. Consumers can sue for actual and punitive damages against debt collectors who violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Under the FDCPA, debt collectors may not - either over the phone or through the mail:

  • harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact
  • continue collection efforts after you write them to stop
  • continue collecting after you write to tell them you're represented by an attorney
  • use any false or misleading statements when collecting a debt
  • imply that they are attorneys or government representatives
  • imply that you have committed a crime
  • represent that they operate or work for a credit bureau
  • misrepresent or inflate the amount of your debt
  • indicate that papers being sent to you are legal forms when they are not
  • threaten to garnish your wages (in Pennsylvania)
  • threaten to take an action they can't take legally or don't intend to take
  • fail to disclose that they're a debt collector
  • give false credit information about you to anyone, including a credit bureau
  • collect any amount greater than your debt, unless permitted by law
  • call you after 9:00 p.m. or before 8:00 a.m., without your consent
  • engage in any other false, deceptive or abusive conduct

Fair Credit Reporting Act
Consumers can insist that their credit report completely and accurately reflect their credit history and that their credit report be viewed only by those who are authorized to do so.Negative information on a credit report can severely damage your credit score and your ability to obtain credit to buy things like a home or car - it's vitally important that your credit report be accurate.The Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA") provides a civil remedy for consumers who have been harmed by incorrect information placed on their credit reports by the credit bureaus or those who report credit information to the credit bureaus.

The FCRA may provide a remedy for you if you notice:

  • someone viewed your credit report without your permission
  • inaccurate information on your credit report
  • unfamiliar accounts
  • indicators of identity theft
  • someone else's credit data on your report
  • incorrect entries by creditors / credit furnishers
  • the presence of obsolete information, old addresses, etc.
  • or any other inaccurate or incorrect entry on your credit report

Identity Theft
We have experience helping consumers whose identities have been stolen and suffered damages as a result. It is vitally important that key personal identifiers - especially Social Security numbers, bank account or credit card numbers, addresses and telephone numbers, and other valuable identifying data - stays out of the hands of crooks looking to run up bills on your good name.

Some symptoms of identity theft include:

  • unauthorized charges on your credit card or bank accounts
  • a collection agency contacts you regarding a debt you did not incur
  • receiving bills from a credit account you did not open
  • being turned down for a job because of credit information
  • billing statements don't arrive on time
  • being turned down for a auto/student loan, mortgage, credit card, or other form of credit due to unauthorized debts on your credit report
  • accounts you did not authorize appear on your credit report

Robo-calls or Junk Faxes
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA") and other related laws regulate unwanted telemarketing calls, junk faxes, and unwanted text messages to cell phones at the recipient's cost. Specifically, the TCPA and other regulations make it illegal for advertisers to make calls using automatic telephone dialing systems or artificial or prerecorded voice systems to cell phones or to residential phone lines without consent of the called parties.The TCPA allows private actions by persons subjected to the prohibited conduct to recover up to $500 per violation, or $1500 if the violation was willful.

Predatory Lending
The federal Truth in Lending Act ("TILA") protects consumers from overcharges and other undisclosed "costs of credit".Other federal lending laws such as the Equal Credit Opportunity Act ("ECOA"), which protects against credit discrimination, and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA"), which prevents kickbacks and bait-and-switch lending, exist to help borrowers in the often complex area of loans and consumer lending.Several state laws also provide protection for borrowers.

Car Repossessions
State laws provide detailed rules for lenders who wish to repossess a vehicle - rules relating to who can repossess and when, the timing and content of the notice of repossession, the commercial reasonability of a post-repossession sale, and the calculation of any delinquency.Often, these rules are overlooked.Further, an improper repossession can be the basis of a lawsuit under state and federal credit reporting, debt collection, or unfair trade practice laws.

Product Defects and Warranties
Consumers have the right to insist that the products we buy for ourselves and for our families are safe and live-up to the manufacturer's promise of quality.As evidenced by the thousands of product recalls each year, the products we buy often have problems that make them unsafe or otherwise inadequate. The most common defects in a product are design, manufacturing, and inadequate warnings or instructions. Also, consumers have the right to insist that a manufacturer lives up to the promises it makes in its warranties.Warranties are often a big factor in the purchasing decisions we make.

Other Consumer Matters
If your problem doesn't fit neatly into one of the above categories, we still may be able to help.A variety of consumer protection laws exist to cover almost every unfair or deceptive business practice imaginable.For example, courts have held that both Pennsylvania's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law ("UTPCPL") and the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act ("CFA") can be "invoked . . . to cover a wide variety of practices" to "root out fraud in its myriad, nefarious manifestations."