What is consumer law? I've never heard of it.
Consumer law is an area of law that broadly deals with marketplace fairness for regular people. So, for example, when a person goes out to buy a product for personal use, consumer laws apply to that purchase. Two of the biggest ticket items that regular people purchase are cars and houses, and as a result there are many laws, on both state and federal levels, that apply to ensure fairness in those types of transactions.
Consumer laws also apply to loans that people take out for personal use; both credit cards (“revolving debt”) and loans of fixed amounts (“closed-end credit”). You may not ordinarily think of a loan as a transaction, but it is. A whole sub-specialty of consumer law addresses credit in one way or another – what kind of information has to be disclosed by the lender, how much interest is allowed to be charged, how information can be reported on a person’s credit report, and what kinds of practices are allowed when trying to collect a debt.
What kinds of cases do you accept?
Within the practice of consumer law, I focus on debt collection issues, credit issues, deceptive trade practices issues, and home improvement/mortgage fraud issues. Depending on the circumstances, this may involve suing debt collectors, disputing items on credit reports, suing the credit bureaus, suing unscrupulous contractors, and/or suing mortgage companies, among other actions.
How can I afford your services? Do you do contingency work?
Depending on the facts of a particular case, it is sometimes possible for us to represent clients for minimal costs thanks to what are called “fee-shifting statutes.” Many of the laws that apply to consumer transactions, such as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), and Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (“UTPCPL”) contain fee-shifting provisions. These laws (and certain others) state that, in the event of a successful lawsuit, a consumer plaintiff is entitled to recover the costs of bringing the case. This means that if your case is a strong one, we may be able to represent you and have the other side pay our fees.
If no fee-shifting statute applies to your matter, then we are limited to representing clients at our regular hourly rate.
