Eric Stephenson

Scam Telephone Calls

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It seems that no matter what we do we just can’t prevent all scam telephone calls. Placing your number on the do-not-call list and keeping your telephone number unlisted are old techniques that just don’t work as well as they used to. Telemarketing scams are everywhere and everyone with a phone eventually gets them. The good news is that most calls can be stopped. The bad news is that many scam telephone calls will always be an issue.

Who Called Me

The biggest problem with scam telephone calls is not knowing who is calling. Caller ID information can, and usually is, faked. Callers perpetrating these scams are trained to lie about where and who they are. And telephone numbers are routed through fake or complicit companies making the numbers very difficult to track to their real source.

To compound the problem, telephone companies are not only complicit in allowing these con artists to operate, but in many cases, actively conceal the true identities of these criminals. Indeed, because scam telemarketers pay telephone companies many millions of dollars every year, telephone companies are eager to assist them in ripping off unsuspecting consumers.

FTC Complaints, Attorney General Complaints, and FBI Investigations

The FTC, state attorneys general, and the FBI all advertise ways to file complaints against scam telemarketers. I can’t figure out why, however. These agencies do very little to actually stop scam telemarketing. Sure they occasionally file small lawsuits, pursue minor criminal charges, or take insignificant administrative action against the callers but they rarely, if ever, go after the telephone companies involved in the scams and criminal prosecutions are few and far between. If these agencies were more active we would eventually see a meaningful reduction in scam telephone calls. Cutting off the head of a snake is an effective way to kill it after all.

Telemarketer Lawsuits

For consumers, it is difficult and often impossible to file lawsuits against these scam telemarketers. Identifying the company involved is the key. Once you identify the specific company responsible for calling you illegally you can take legal action but collecting any judgment you get is another barrier you will face. Scam telemarketers are very good at hiding and protecting assets. Yes, these criminals are very rich and they have no problem holding money in offshore accounts, fraudulent companies, and even in the names of spouses or other close relatives. They are also very good at filing bankruptcy and unreasonably encumbering assets to make themselves judgment proof. Legitimate telemarketers like Mortgage Investors Corporation are easier to locate but even they are getting better at escaping accountability for abusive telemarketing practices.

Scam Telephone Calls Conclusion

In a perfect world scam telephone calls would never occur. Unfortunately, our world is far from perfect. Rip-off con artists are getting better at escaping liability for stealing from consumers and they are growing increasingly efficient in doing so. If you are a victim of a scam telephone call, document the calls and contact a consumer law attorney to see if he can help. In many cases a good attorney can track down the source of the calls and seek compensation on your behalf. The FBI, FTC, and state attorneys general can’t effectively stop these calls but, in many cases, you can.

How to Stop Harassment

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Consumers often ask me how to stop harassment from debt collectors, collection attorneys, or telemarketers. My answer may surprise you but often I recommend that you don’t stop the calls. In many cases it may be better to sue the abusive companies that to merely stop the calls.

Stop Harassment from Debt Collectors, Collection Agencies, and Collection Attorneys

The simple way to stop harassment from collection calls is to simply ask the debt collector in writing to stop the calls. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) the collector is then required to stop calling you. Yes, it is that easy to stop collection calls. This applies to any collection agency or collection attorney collecting consumer debt that it obtained from another while that debt was in default. Don’t be hasty, however. It is often preferable to let the calls continue.

One reason you should let collection agencies call you is because if you tell them to stop calling, they might sue you. Being sued is stressful and can result in a bad outcome compared to answering the phone once in a while. Contact an attorney before asking a debt collector to stop calling.

Another circumstance in which you should let collection agencies keep calling you is when you need to sue a debt collector for other abuses. Under the FDCPA you can, and should, sue debt collectors, collection agencies, and collection attorneys when they are abusive, unfair, or treat you in an undignified manner. If such conduct is taking place, allowing the calls to continue while you gather evidence can help bolster your case against the collection agency.

Stop Harassment from Telemarketers

It is easy to stop harassment from most telemarketers. First, put your telephone number on the do not call registry. Not all telemarketing will stop by putting your number on the do not call list but it will certainly help reduce such calls. Next, tell the telemarketer to stop calling and ask for a copy of its do not call policy. Those two steps alone will stop harassment in most cases.

In more extreme situations you may need to sue to stop harassment from telemarketers. In that case your first priority is keep a call log of the date, time, and caller of every call. Answer every telemarketing call and tell the telemarketer to stop calling you and make a note that you did so in your log. Take pictures of the caller ID for every call to later prove who called and what number they called from. You can also compare the caller ID information to call records to determine whether or not the telemarketer altered the caller ID information. You should also get copies of your telephone records to bolster the information from your caller ID pictures and call log.

Conclusion

When consumers ask me how to stop harassment from debt collectors, collection agencies, or collection attorneys my answer is often don’t stop the calls. Instead, use the calls to gather evidence. For telemarketing calls, the same advice rings true. Tell the caller to stop calling but keep good records in case they don’t. In any event, stopping these annoying calls is easy to do in most cases. If the calls don’t stop after your repeated efforts, contact a consumer rights attorney. In many cases, we can stop the calls and make these abusive companies pay you for their harassment and abuse.

Credit Repair Dispute Mistakes

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Many credit repair companies fail to understand even the most basic concepts of ethical and legitimate credit repair. For them, credit repair dispute mistakes are common. Unfortunately, even many of the industry leaders lack the knowledge required to ethically and competently repair credit on behalf of consumers.

Ordering Credit Reports

Ordering credit reports is an important component of credit repair. Obviously, without the reports a consumer cannot make an informed assessment of whether or not there is any inaccurate information to dispute. Unfortunately, however, the proper procedure for obtaining credit reports is often grossly misunderstood by many credit repair organizations. Indeed, some credit repair organizations are so ignorant as to the proper method for obtaining credit reports that they actually provide the reports to their clients or even create fake reports based on information provided from other credit bureaus.

The proper method for obtaining a consumer credit report is for the consumer to order the report by mail. The reasons for this are critical yet simple. First, ordering reports from the credit bureaus online requires consumers to waive their consumer rights by agreeing to mandatory arbitration. Doing so essentially precludes consumers from suing the credit bureaus no matter how egregious the legal violations or damages. Mandatory arbitration is the antithesis of true consumer advocacy.

Obtaining reports online from third party sources can sometimes avoid the issue of subjecting the consumer to mandatory arbitration against the credit bureaus but introduces inaccuracies in the reports if you use the wrong source. Indeed, it is common in the industry for third party providers to merge information from different credit reports and some even omit important information. For credit repair purposes, third party credit reports are inherently unreliable and virtually useless if fair credit litigation ever becomes necessary.

Credit Repair Dispute Letters

Credit repair dispute letters are a critical component of competent credit repair. Most credit repair organizations fail miserably in this regard. The reason is focus. Credit repair organizations focus more on repairing credit than in protecting the legal rights of consumers. Accordingly, they send out letters that fail to adequately preserve, and in many cases, actually waive, consumers’ rights.

In addition to waiving the legal rights of consumers, credit dispute letters from credit repair organizations also often misconstrue, misquote, or ignore the legal statutes and precedents that govern credit reporting. Sending a letter that demonstrates a failure to comprehend the law is a clear sign to the credit bureaus, creditors, and debt collectors that they should not take the dispute seriously. Why would they? If the consumer demonstrates a lack of understanding about the applicable legal concepts, that consumer is no real legal threat and can therefore be ignored. This is also another indicator that the credit repair organization is sending generic form letters rather than the well-researched competent authority used by true consumer advocacy attorneys.

Electronic Disputes

Some credit repair organizations actually forgo a written letter altogether choosing instead to send disputes electronically. This is a catastrophic error for several reasons. Primarily, sending the disputes electronically not only waives the consumers’ right to sue the credit bureaus but also often results in failing to provide the credit bureaus information critical to the credit dispute process. A well-written dispute letter should provide the credit bureaus with enough information to actually investigate the dispute. Unfortunately, however, electronic disputes often do not allow consumers to satisfactorily provide the essential details.

Electronic disputes also fail to provide the consumer with adequate proof of exactly what was disputed, when it was disputed, and on what grounds the information was disputed. Written letters avoid this problem altogether. And as any competent consumer advocacy attorney can tell you evidentiary issues are greatly simplified with a written letter as opposed to an electronic dispute.

Reasons for Dispute

Perhaps the most egregious problem with most credit repair organizations is a lack of understanding on what constitutes a proper dispute. For example, it is common for credit repair organizations to dispute certain trade lines on the grounds that the underlying account was supposed to be paid by a divorced spouse. Since divorce decrees are not binding on the credit bureaus, creditors, or debt collectors, arguing that someone else was supposed to pay a debt listed in your name is not, by itself, a proper basis for dispute. The same argument is often also incorrectly used to dispute medical trade lines on the basis that medical bills were supposed to be paid by an insurance company. Disputes formulated on similar misunderstandings of student loan laws, truth-in-lending regulations, the federal tax code, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the bankruptcy code are also commonly misused by credit repair organizations.

The problem with sending disputes of this nature is threefold. First, the unsupported dispute demonstrates to the credit bureaus a genuine lack of competence on the part of the credit repair organization. The response is typically for the credit bureaus to stall or ignore the dispute. Another problem is that the reason for the dispute is often false. In addition to potentially giving rise to criminal liability under state and federal laws, making any false representation to the credit bureaus is a violation of the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) and can result in an award for substantial damages against the credit repair organization. The third issue that arises when disputing without proper legal support is that doing so can trigger a loss of legal claims and defenses the consumer may have if litigation ever occurs.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, incompetent credit repair organizations are the industry norm not the exception. If you need knowledgeable and ethical credit repair partner, a consumer protection attorney is your only reasonable choice. An ethical and competent credit repair lawyer will protect your interests, preserve your legal rights, and assert only those legal arguments that have merit; a credit repair organization usually won’t.

Debt Collectors Most Common FDCPA Violations

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Debt collectors frequently violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) when attempting to collect consumer debts. Here are some of the most of their most common FDCPA violations.

Calling your Cell Phone without Permission

In certain circumstances it is illegal for a debt collector to call your cell phone without your permission. Nonetheless, debt collectors often call consumer cell phones to collect debt. The reason for this common FDCPA violation is twofold. First, calling a consumer on their cell phone is an effective method of contact. Many consumers are hard to reach by any other method and debt collectors normally don’t collect if they cannot communicate with consumers. Second, debt collectors may have, or think they have, permission to call your cell phone.

To stop collection calls to your cell phone answer every collection call and instruct the caller that they are calling a cell phone and do not have your permission to do so. Even if you initially provided the original creditor with your cell phone number, once you tell the collection agency it doesn’t have permission to call they are in violation of the FDCPA and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) if they call again. You should also send a follow-up letter to advise the collection agency in writing that it is calling your cell phone and you do not give any further consent to do so.

Discussing Debt with your Family, Friends, or Employer

Another common FDCPA violation occurs when a debt collector discusses the debt with your family, friends, employer, or any other third party. Under the FDCPA debt collectors may speak only with you or your spouse about the debt. They are allowed to contact one third party to verify or update your contact information but they are strictly prohibited from discussing, or even disclosing the existence of, the debt to that third party. Debt collectors use these illegal third party contacts to effectively embarrass and pressure consumers into paying debt even though doing so is a common FDCPA violation and an invasion of your privacy.

Threatening Arrest or Criminal Charges

Another common but unlawful tactic is for debt collectors to threaten to have consumers arrested or criminally charged for failing to pay a debt. Collection agencies use these threats to bully consumers into paying even when they do not legitimately owe the debt. The fear of arrest, incarceration, or having a criminal record is an illegal, yet powerful collection tool. This common FDCPA violation generates substantial emotional harm to completely innocent consumers in many cases.

Using Profanity, Lies, or False Threats to Collect Debt

Some debt collectors resort to the common FDCPA violation of using lies, false threats, or even profanity to collect debt. Such aggression effectively manipulates consumers into paying the debt in many cases. Others go so far as to file bankruptcy to avoid the extreme stress caused by such antagonism. It is certainly overwhelming to many consumers to have a debt they cannot pay but that stress is needlessly and exponentially compounded when a debt collector is yelling, threatening, swearing, and lying to you.

Calling Consumers at Inconvenient Times

Under the FDCPA debt collectors may not call consumers at times that it knows to be inconvenient. Generally, this includes before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. but also includes any other time the collection agency knows is not convenient. For example, if the debt collector knows when the consumer is driving home from work and purposely calls during that time to catch the consumer in traffic, the debt collector could be found to have violated the FDCPA. Similarly, if a debt collector calls a consumer after the consumer requests all calls to stop, the collection agency would be liable under the FDCPA. To avoid this common FDCPA violation tell the collector when it is inconvenient to call you and send a follow-up letter to assure the matter is memorialized in writing.

Conclusion

Debt collectors commonly violate the FDCPA by abusing, threatening, embarrassing, and coercing consumers into paying debt. Don’t be a victim of these tactics. Take detailed notes of all collection calls including who called you, what they said or did, and what you told them. Send a follow-up letter to further memorialize the call and what took place and save a copy for your records. Once you have gathered evidence of these common FDCPA violations contact an experienced consumer protection attorney as quickly as possible. An experienced lawyer can help stop the calls and any abuse that may be occurring and in many cases can make debt collectors, collection agencies, and collection attorneys pay you damages for that abuse. You do not have to accept any abuse from a debt collector. The law requires collection agencies to treat you with fairness, truth, dignity, and respect.

Credit Repair Dispute Letters

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Well-written credit repair dispute letters are crucial to effectively repairing your credit. Here are some tips on how to write an effective credit repair dispute letter.

Form Credit Repair Dispute Letters

Traditional credit repair organizations typically send form letters to dispute credit information. Those form credit repair dispute letters are problematic for several reasons. First, because the credit bureaus get the same letter over and over again, the credit bureaus easily recognize form letters and respond by stalling the credit correction process and refusing to re-investigate challenges. Another problem with form credit repair dispute letters is that they are typically detrimental to any litigation that occurs as a result of the challenge. Many form letters acknowledge the debt or promise to pay the underlying debt even when the consumer does not actually owe the debt or has a legal defense to repayment of the debt. Such form credit repair dispute letters will fail to protect, and sometimes even completely waive, consumers’ rights. Without doubt, taking a form credit repair dispute letter into a lawsuit is one sure fire way to weaken your claim. Credit repair organizations typically don’t care about consumers’ rights but certainly the consumers themselves do. The simple fact is that if you want to preserve your rights do not send a form dispute letter.

Free Credit Repair Dispute Letters

Free credit repair letters consumers download from the Internet have the same issues as form disputes. The credit bureaus often recognize the letters and stall or ignore disputes, the letters are detrimental to litigation efforts, and the letters fail to preserve consumers’ rights. Free credit repair letters also leave consumers with a false expectation that credit repair is easy.

Credit Repair Dispute Letters for Litigation

One way to be sure your credit repair efforts are effective is to hire an experienced credit repair attorney. Only then can you be sure your dispute letters preserve your legal rights and set an appropriate stage for litigation if needed. Credit repair organizations do not sue and do not comprehend the intricacies of drafting litigation-ready credit repair dispute letters. Indeed, most credit repair organizations focus more on their marketing efforts and preventing consumers from suing them than they do on being effective consumer advocates. On the other hand, a good consumer protection attorney will always put your interests ahead of his own and he will have the legal training and experience necessary to protect your legal rights.

Do It Yourself Credit Repair

Do it yourself credit repair is another excellent way to protect your rights and achieve the desired results. It does take a little effort to carefully and correctly draft credit repair dispute letters but the results are well worth the effort. Just remember to be polite and truthful in your self-help letters for best results. It is also important that you do not acknowledge the debt, pay the debt, or promise to pay the debt since doing so can reset the statute of limitations to collect the debt or even result in waiving viable legal defenses to repayment of the debt. For best results always consult a consumer rights lawyer before taking any action to repair your own credit.

Conclusion

If you want to get the best results and preserve your rights, don’t use form disputes, free disputes, or a credit repair mill. Instead, hire an experienced credit repair attorney to help you dispute credit report errors. Only then can you be sure your letters are properly drafted in such a way as to preserve your legal rights and avoid the earmarks of a credit repair organization that will get your disputes stalled, ignored, or rejected. Attorney-drafted credit dispute letters will also provide you with litigation-ready letters; a must if you have damages due to a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

How to Choose a Credit Repair Company

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60 Minutes Report: FTC Chairman on How to Choose a Credit Repair Company

In the above video, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, offers consumers two tips for how to choose a credit repair company. The tips are generally pretty good but continue reading for a few of my own tips on how to choose a credit repair company or credit attorney.

FTC Recommendations

First of all, I agree with the FTC recommendations that if you hire a company for credit correction always look for two red flags to weed out many of the scams from legitimate credit repair. The first is to avoid a credit correction company that requires any payment before fully performing the services. Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) it is illegal to accept payment before fully performing the services so you know if a company requires an upfront payment they are a scam. The second warning sign of a scam credit repair company is when the company guarantees they will get a specific result. Credit repair is uncertain. Even the creditors themselves occasionally have difficulty removing information that they reported so how could an independent company promise to do better? The simple fact is that no company can legitimately guarantee a specific result.

Required CROA Disclosures

In addition to these two tips from the FTC, consumers seeking to hire a credit repair company or credit attorney should also avoid any company that refuses to provide consumers with the legally required disclosure statements and cancellation forms. Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) both are required and even attorneys are not exempt from the CROA requirements.

Credit Repair Company Registration

You should also avoid hiring a credit repair company if it is not properly registered and bonded in your state. Many states require credit repair companies to register but some states do not require attorneys to register as long as the credit repair services are an incidental part of their legal practice. Check your state consumer protection and corporations websites to determine what registration is required and whether or not the particular company has those registrations. If not, go elsewhere.

Conclusion

If you need to hire someone to help you repair your credit, do your homework on the companies you are considering and watch carefully for the warning signs listed above. The Internet is full of credit repair scams. Watch for the warning signs and don’t be a victim.

Consumer Fraud of the Century: Mandatory Arbitration

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Mandatory arbitration is a consumer fraud of epic proportions. Unscrupulous businesses have discovered this powerful secret to legally defraud consumers. Car dealers, credit repair organizations, medical providers, and credit card companies are perhaps the worst abusers of mandatory arbitration of consumer claims but many other companies are jumping on board.

The worst part of the mandatory arbitration consumer fraud is that the courts, including our beloved Supreme Court, have overwhelmingly supported the fraud. Thousands of court decisions have held that mandatory arbitration is cheaper, faster, and easier and therefore better for consumers than litigation. Those decisions are lies. Arbitration is demonstrably more expensive for consumers, less favorable to consumers, and far more likely to crush a consumer’s claims than to redress them. Indeed, why else would companies who defraud consumers use arbitration agreements if not to continue the fraud?

Cost of Arbitration

One of the main concerns about mandatory arbitration is the cost. For example, filing a federal lawsuit costs less than $500.00 but the cost just to file an arbitration claim can run upwards of $3000.00 or more. Because arbitrators are paid hourly, the costs to arbitrate can quickly exceed five figures even in small value consumer cases.

No Right to Trial by Jury

Another problem with mandatory arbitration is that it deprives a consumer of his constitutional right to a trial by jury. Since most cases settle prior to trial this is not a problem for many consumers but for those who do end up litigating their cases, having one or more arbitrators hearing their claims instead of a jury can be a serious problem. Arbitrators are mostly former attorneys and judges with pronounced biases toward business interests and look on consumer claims as nuisances and barriers to conducting business.

Arbitrators Stake in Outcomes

More importantly however, is that businesses are the driving force behind arbitration. Indeed, arbitrators are typically selected and paid by the businesses that ripped you off. That places the arbitrators in the untenable position of potentially preventing them from hearing future cases they rule in the consumer’s favor. The bias in these situations is obvious. The simple fact of life is that it is better to litigate consumer claims to an unbiased jury of other consumers rather than to an arbitrator whose living depends on the company that abused you hiring him in the future.

Lack of a Public Record

Another reason mandatory arbitration is a consumer fraud is that generally arbitration is privately conducted. There is no public record of the proceedings or outcome making it very difficult to determine the extent of abuse a company is perpetrating on consumers. In court, there is typically a public record of the claims, defenses, and even discovery documents making it relatively easy to assess whether or not a company is consumer friendly.

Discovery Limitations in Arbitration

Arbitration also strictly limits the consumer’s ability to obtain documentation and other information to support his claims. In court on the other hand, businesses are required to disclose information to assist in assessing the truth and strength of the consumers’ claims. This discovery process is required in courts and generally runs in favor of the consumer and makes it far harder for businesses to hide information. In arbitration, the discovery process is easily limited or even thwarted altogether by unscrupulous companies seeking to conceal their wrongdoing.

Conclusion

Arbitration has grown into a powerful alternative to litigating cases in the court system; for businesses. Consumers, on the other hand, quickly find that mandatory arbitration is expensive, complicated, and decidedly consumer-unfriendly. Losing your right to a jury, having your claims heard by an arbitrator who is paid by the opposing side, and limiting discovery of important documents are just a few reasons why consumers should avoid the mandatory arbitration fraud like a plague. The simple fact is that businesses have been forcing the mandatory arbitration fraud on consumers for decades because it favors businesses. Why else would so many businesses force arbitration on consumers, if not to gain an advantage?

Utah Credit Repair Do It Yourself Tips

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Consumers often ask me about the best way to dispute errors on their credit reports. Because some Utah credit repair organizations do not protect consumers’ rights, and in some cases actually waive those rights, I recommend consumers hire an experienced credit repair attorney to help. Ambitious consumers can also choose to do it yourself. Here are a few steps needed to repair your own credit.

Utah Credit Repair – Step One

The first step in do it yourself credit repair is to obtain and review your credit reports. There are several ways to order your credit reports but there are some cautions here. Don’t order a three-in-one report. Get individual reports from the individual credit bureaus and do so by mail if possible. Three-in-one reports merge information from each bureau into one report causing numerous discrepancies between the report you receive and the actual reports kept with each credit bureau.

You can get a free annual credit report through www.annualcreditreport.com if mail is too slow for your situation but be cautioned that if there is any chance you will need to sue the credit bureaus, ordering the credit reports online will require you to waive your right to sue the credit bureaus by forcing you to agree to mandatory arbitration of your claims. Arbitration can be a bad idea from a consumer law perspective so if there is any chance at all you will need to sue the credit bureaus, preserve your legal rights and order your reports by mail.

Once you obtain your reports, closely review them for inaccuracies of any kind. Don’t fall into the trap of disputing everything that is negative regardless of accuracy. Ethical credit repair is about correcting inaccurate credit information, not deleting everything negative. If there are inaccuracies you should mark each one and make a quick note of why the information listed is inaccurate. If you have a listing that you are not sure is 100% accurate you certainly have the right to request the credit bureaus verify the data they are reporting so mark that information as an uncertainty for later use.

Utah Credit Repair – Step Two

Your next step in do it yourself credit repair is to create dispute letters challenging the accuracy and completeness of the information listed. This is where most consumers should seriously consider hiring an experienced credit repair attorney. In any event, do not use a form letter you find in the Internet. Instead, write each credit bureau and identify in the letter exactly what information is inaccurate and what you want the credit bureaus to do with the information. In some cases the credit bureaus will delete the information while in other cases they will update and correct it. In some cases the credit bureaus may either stall the process or ignore you altogether but be persistent and don’t get frustrated. If the bureaus stall you, ignore you, or refuse to process your dispute, then it is time to consult a credit repair attorney. The credit bureaus will usually be more responsive to an attorney drafted credit repair dispute letter.

Some consumer advocates will tell you to write credit dispute letters in a threatening tone to intimidate the credit bureaus into deleting your information. That advice is absolute garbage. The credit bureaus are not afraid of you or anything you can do. Threaten them, they don’t care. Sue them, they don’t care. In most small consumer lawsuits, the credit bureaus will win without batting an eye and frankly, even if they lose, they still don’t care. Instead, write the letter politely using plain and simple terms without legal jargon or threats. You will get better results that way.

One caution here is to always be truthful. Lying can get you into legal trouble and will certainly hurt any legal claims you may have against the credit bureaus, creditors, or debt collectors. Lying may also result in the bureaus ignoring or rejecting your disputes. It is always better to be truthful in these situations. The goal in legitimate credit repair is to correct inaccurate information, not to use deception to delete accurate information.

Utah Credit Repair – Step Three

The next step in do it yourself credit repair is to create challenge letters to send to your creditors who are reporting inaccurately. Only send this letter after you send a dispute for the same trade line to the credit bureaus. You want to preserve your right to sue the creditor for falsely reporting and under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) you can only do so if you dispute the item with the credit bureaus first.

Challenge letters to your creditors are trickier that other letters. Like the credit bureau dispute letters you want to challenge the inaccurate information and you want to be truthful, but it is critical that you do not make any admissions in these letters. You are simply asking for a specific adjustment, correction, or deletion to occur. If you admit anything or otherwise acknowledge the debt you could reset the applicable statutes of limitations available to the creditors to collect the debt and the admission could be used against you to collect the debt.

This mistake is most commonly made by credit repair organizations and self-proclaimed credit repair experts in online forums and occurs when a credit repair organization sends letters to the creditors requesting so-called “goodwill” adjustments. In doing so, they invariably acknowledge the debt on behalf of the consumer and effectively waive the consumer’s legal rights. The easy way to avoid this issue is to never make any promises, admissions, or acknowledgments in your challenge letters.

Utah Credit Repair – Step Four

Your final step in the do it yourself credit repair process is to simply repeat steps two and three above as needed. Send additional dispute and challenge letters for each inaccurate trade line and carefully track your progress. Be certain you don’t send letters to the same company too often and wait a few months between disputes if possible; time may improve your results. Keep good records of each letter you send and each result you achieve. You may need to order additional credit reports after a few months but in some cases the credit bureaus will send automatic updates when they change information you dispute so be patient.

Utah Credit Repair – Conclusion

The FTC recommends consumers dispute credit bureau inaccuracies without hiring a Utah credit repair organization. In case where consumers are capable of drafting effective dispute letters on their own we agree. Most consumers need help however. Credit repair is filling with tricks, traps, and secrets that an experienced credit attorney can use to get better results.

Do it yourself credit repair can be tricky. To preserve your rights, it is best to order credit reports by mail and don’t admit to anything in your letters. It is also critical to always be truthful in your communications and keep good records. In any event, be patient and diligent and you should be able to get good results. If you have any reservations about do it yourself credit repair, read more of my articles on credit repair and contact us for assistance. We have over ten years of experience in credit repair and we can give you a good road map on how best to approach the credit repair process.

Digis Reviews and Complaints

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Negative Digis Reviews and Complaints

Digis reviews and complaints are taking a nasty turn since the company took over for Wireless Beehive in Tooele County a few months ago. I can attest from personal experience that the service frequently goes completely down and is extremely slow; especially when compared to when Wireless Beehive was operating the wireless service.

Digis Service Outages and Slow Speeds

Frankly, it initially seemed inconceivable to me that the wireless network would be somehow slower when Digis took over from Wireless Beehive but that is exactly what happened. I have noticed a slowdown and several of my neighbors have expressed negative Digis reviews and complaints based on slower speeds and frequent outages since the transition. Indeed, many of us have left this company or are currently seeking an alternative company as a result of the poor performance.

The problem is not just anecdotal, however. The company has confirmed to me that the service is slower now than what customers were receiving under Wireless Beehive. The reason is simple. According to one of its customer service agents, Wireless Beehive was feeding its wireless transmission towers with fiber optic cable and when they transitioned to the new company stopped doing so. That change slowed speeds considerably. According to Digis the loss of the fiber optic feeds combined with outdated towers are the reasons for the slower speeds. He said the company now has only half the available bandwidth that Wireless Beehive had available. Digis is trying to replace the towers now which accounts for the frequent outages but that is little consolation for customers who need service now. Indeed, I had to write this blog entry offline and post it later since the service was down when I wrote this consumer article.

Digis Customer Service

The most astounding thing to me however, is the attitude the company has toward its customers. The service went down today and when I called to find out when service would be restored the response I got was quite surprising. The customer service agents I spoke with simply did not care that I wanted to use the service for which I pay nor did they care that I was planning to cancel and go to another provider. They did not offer me a refund or even bother to encourage me to stay with Digis. Even more astounding than their apathy, however, was their admission that they were not providing the service for which I was paying. One agent even stated that once the new towers are up their customers will “start getting the speeds they are paying for.” Seriously, he actually confirmed that Digis customers have been paying for bandwidth that the company was not even capable of providing. It should surprise no one for such poor customer service to give rise to a negative Digis review and complaint from me.

Cancelling Digis

The bottom line for me is that I am cancelling my service with this company. Frequent outages and half the speeds for which I pay equals a rip off. Digis wants to blame these problems on equipment failures but, in my book, such problems are simply poor management. The transition from Wireless Beehive was poorly executed and grossly mismanaged. Digis executives should have foreseen and planned for the loss of bandwidth before ever making the transition and should have negotiated with Wireless Beehive to keep the fiber feeds open for at least a few months while they replace the towers. Moreover, if Digis reviews are to improve, they should be offering refunds to their customers that have been charged for service they have not received.

Conclusion

If you are a former customer of Wireless Beehive in Tooele County with service now performed by Digis and have been plagued by the frequent outages and slowdowns, please contact me immediately. I can help you resolve your Digis complaint in a favorable and reasonable manner.

Mortgage Investors Corporation Lawsuits

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Mortgage Investors Corporation lawsuits seem like an extreme measure to take but if Mortgage Investors Corporation is harassing you with repeated unwanted telemarketing calls, a Mortgage Investors Corporation lawsuit may be the best way to stop the harassment. Indeed, Mortgage Investors Corporation was recently fined by the FTC for harassing and deceiving consumers.

Stop the Calls: Step One

If Mortgage Investors Corporation (MIC) is harassing you with repeated telemarketing calls your first step is to ask it to stop calling. If they truly want to uphold the law and respect your rights no other steps will be needed, including a Mortgage Investors Corporation lawsuit.

If MIC is calling your cell phone be sure to tell it so. It is important for Mortgage Investors Corporation to understand what it is doing and just how stressful it can be to get repeated calls to your cell phone at inconvenient times.

It is equally important for you to answer every call, tell MIC to stop calling, take clear notes of the date, time, caller, and what you said to each other, and to also be sure to take a picture or screenshot of the caller ID for future proof in case a Mortgage Investors Corporation lawsuit ever becomes necessary.

Stop the Calls: Step Two

Your next step should be to place your telephone number on the do not call list. Again, MIC needs to understand how serious you are about stopping telemarketing calls and the do not call list is a good way to let them know.

Stop the Calls: Step Three

The first step alone should stop the calls, if MIC cares about your privacy and the law. Unfortunately, however, Mortgage Investors Corporation seems to be generating enough online complaints that they may keep calling you even after you repeatedly request they stop. If they do, a Mortgage Investors Corporation lawsuit is an excellent way to stop the calls and make MIC pay you damages.

Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) Mortgage Investors Corporation, like other telemarketers, can be liable to you for between $500 and $1500 per call after you tell it to stop calling. Hire an attorney for his however. Yes, you can take a Mortgage Investors Corporation lawsuit to small claims court but you will almost certainly get better results hiring a consumer protection attorney and taking a Mortgage Investors Corporation lawsuit to federal court.

Conclusion

Consumers across the country are being harassed by Mortgage Investors Corporation. MIC seems to be engaging in a concerted campaign of heavily telemarketing to consumers who want the calls to stop but Mortgage Investors Corporation just won’t listen. There are numerous online complaints about Mortgage Investors Corporation with stories of consumers receiving dozens of unwanted calls, even after telling MIC to stop calling. Those consumers should consider suing Mortgage Investors instead. A lawsuit stops the calls but an online complaint does not.

Mortgage Investors Corporation lawsuits can be an effective way to stop the annoying telemarketing calls made by Mortgage Investors Corporation. The truth is you don’t have to be a victim. You can stop the calls and make MIC pay you damages.

Call us now for a free case evaluation if you are getting unwanted calls from Mortgage Investors Corporation.


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