Consumer Fraud
Potential Claims You May Have
Most people do not realize that they have consumer rights under the law which are designed to allow you to fight back against unfair and deceptive practices of business that operate in the state of Florida. If any of the following types of claims apply to you, we invite you to contact us for a free review of your case. We may be able to help you recover money and take the case on contingency so that you don’t have to come up with any money out of pocket to hire us.
Car Dealers
It is not uncommon to see car dealers in Florida engage in unfair and deceptive tactics when selling you a car. If you are a victim of any of the following, please contact us for a free consultation.
- You purchased a new vehicle that is still under warranty and which keeps having the same repair problem repeatedly.
- You purchased an used vehicle with a rolled back odometer or other undisclosed damage
- The auto dealer was unable to obtain financing on the original terms offered and refuses to return your down payment or tries to sell you a different vehicle, known as a “yo-yo” scam.
- You signed one financial contract and then were asked to sign a second, different contract.
- You signed a motor vehicle retail installment contract with a wage assignment
- A car dealer decided to extend credit to fewer than all persons that applied for it, and failed to give a written notice of credit denial (This often occurs when a car dealer first requests a cosigner on a transaction and then decides to extend credit only to the consigner.)
- An insurance premium was added to your balance because the lender claimed you didn’t have insurance.
Bank Account Fraud
Contact the law offices of Militzok & Associates if you have been the victim of an unauthorized withdrawal from your bank account, including an unauthorized ATM withdrawal. Banks are required to conduct a reasonable investigation after you file a written report with them. The failure to conduct an investigation and refund your money when a reasonable investigation would have revealed that the withdrawal was not authorized by you, is a violation of Federal law. If you have been the victim of bank account fraud, contact us today for a free consultation.
Collection Letters and Practices
Contact the law offices of Militzok & Associates, P.A. if you are the target of harassing debt collectors. We will review any letters or phone calls you have received from debt collectors at no charge to see if they have violated the law. Federal law states that you may be awarded up to $1,000 for any of the following violations:
- Contacting family members, neighbors and employers when unnecessary to locate debtor.
- Making threatening, false or abusive comments when attempting to collect a debt
- Adding unauthorized collection charges to the balance
- Threatening to report a debtor to a law enforcement agency or government agency if you refuse to pay the debt
- Threatening criminal prosecution
- Initial collection letters which require payment within less than 30 days or don’t clearly state the exact amount of the debt
- Sending letters from attorneys or collection agencies which are not licensed in the State of Florida.
- Demands for attorney’s fees prior to suit when contracts provide for fees only if suit is filed
Credit Reporting Problems
Any type of inaccurate information on your credit report, whether resulting from identity theft, commingling of files, inaccurate reports by creditors, re-aging of debts in order to keep them on your credit report longer, retention of obsolete information, etc. If TransUnion, Experian, Equifax, has refused to remove inaccurate information from your credit report, we may be able to help.
Mortgages
The attorneys at Militzok & Associates handle cases involving the charging of excessive or unnecessary mortgage fees in connection with the closing of a new mortgage. We invite you to contact us for a free consultation if you have experienced any of the following:
- You were charged for forced placed insurance when you already had insurance in place or you pre-paid the first year insurance premium at closing of your mortgage loan
- Your mortgage servicer has made mistakes with your escrow account such as failing to pay your taxes or demanding too much money from you
- You are paying a higher private mortgage insurance premium than initially quoted
- You have an adjustable rate mortgage (Rate adjustments are often erroneous. You are particularly likely to have adjustment errors if you were involved in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy or not current when an adjustment was required to be made.)
- Your loan was transferred from one company to another and the new company began allocating more of your payment to interest if it was received within the grace period but after the first payment
- Your mortgage company failed to post a payment the same day it was received, and imposed a late charge
- Your lender attempted to charge prepayment penalties or monthly late charges after they placed your loan in foreclosure
- Your mortgage company did not respond to a complaint or a request for an explanation related to problems on your account.
- You were charged recording fees in excess of the amounts disbursed to the Recorder, or overnight delivery fees of $50-60
- You obtained a loan modification and the lender is refusing to honor it or making mistakes with your payment or credit reporting
Credit Cards
Contact us consumer protection attorneys for cases in which a credit card company attempted to transfer an account to a relative upon death or bankruptcy of the cardholder, without consent of that relative. In addition, we handle credit reporting violations against credit card companies for improperly reporting the current status of the account on your credit report.
Medical Bills
Many people have experienced receiving collection notices for medical bills that were either paid or should have been covered by insurance. We invite you to contact us for a free consultation if you have any of the following issues: a medical provider arranged financing for your debt; you are receiving collection letters for a balance allegedly remaining after a health insurance plan paid the reasonable and customary charge and the collection is more than your deductible or co-payment amount; a medical bill that should have been paid by workers’ compensation is sent to collections or reported on your credit.
Tenant Security Deposits
Militzok & Associates, P.A. handles cases involving the failure to promptly return tenant security deposits with interest (if applicable), the failure to provide the tenant with a certified letter explaining any damage which the landlord intends to withhold from the deposit, the failure to properly hold a tenant security deposit in a separate account, or failing to inform you in which bank the landlord is holding your security deposit. Contact us for a free consultation if you have experienced any of these issues.