| Volume 136 Number 3 |
Subscribe to the Newsletter
Forward this news alert to your family and friends
Helpful Links
Texas Consumer Complaint Center
Credit Reports and Identity Theft
Your Guide to Small Claims Court
Contact Us
1-713-743-2168
The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
A bank may not charge an overdraft fee unless you “opt-in” to pay it. In my opinion, it is better to have your card rejected for your $4.00 latte than pay a $25-35.00 fee. If you don’t want to be charged a fee and would prefer your card be rejected, contact your bank Click here for more.
Operators of Tech Support Scam Settle FTC Charges
Fraudsters used pop-up ads to trick consumers into buying unnecessary tech support services.
As part of its ongoing crackdown against tech support scams, the Federal Trade Commission has obtained settlements with a group of St. Louis-based defendants who used deceptive Internet pop-up ads to trick consumers into buying unnecessary technical support services. In a complaint filed in October 2016, the FTC alleged that the defendants worked with affiliate marketers to place pop-up ads falsely claiming that a consumer’s computer was infected and that the ads originated from legitimate technology companies like Apple or Microsoft. The ads included dire warnings and urged consumers to immediately call a toll-free number for help. When consumers called the number, they were connected to telemarketers based in India who falsely claimed to be affiliated with Microsoft or Apple. The telemarketers claimed they needed remote access to consumers’ computers in order to diagnose the problem. Once given access, the telemarketers showed consumers innocuous screens and directories on the computers, deceiving consumers into believing that these were evidence of problems that required immediate repair.
Click here for more.
Your Money
5 Ways the CFPB Can Help You Save Money. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has returned almost $12 billion to consumers. Here are five ways the bureau has acted on behalf of consumers: (1) Returning Money to Consumers Wrongly Charged; (2) Helping Consumers Find the Best Bank for Their Needs; (3) Providing Tools to Get the Best Loans; (4) Ensuring that Prepaid Cards Are Cheaper and Better; and (5) Protecting Seniors From Scams and Costly Mistakes. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Supreme Court rules debt buyer is not a debt collector under FDCPA. In a major decision dealing with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the United States Supreme Court held that debt buyers collecting the debt they purchase are not debt collectors under the Act. It appears that a debt buyer could still qualify as a debt collector under the FDCPA if debt collection is the "principal purpose" of its business, under 1692a(6), but if collections is not the principal purpose of its business it will not be subject to the FDCPA. Henson v. Santander (2017). Click here for more.