Consumer Protection Cases

The Firm is currently accepting new consumer protection cases as follows:

Debt Collector Harassment

Both Federal and Florida law provide strong legal protection to people against harassment by debt collectors.

Many of our clients report to us that they receive harassing telephone calls from debt collectors on a daily basis. However, many of them didn’t know that there are very strict rules that debt collectors must follow or else they violate the law. These rules are designed to protect you against harassing debt collectors, even if you owe the debt.

When debt collectors violate the law, you can fight back to get them to stop the harassment and you can be awarded between $100 and $1,000 per violation.

For example, debt collectors are not allowed to:

Call your cell phone using a pre-recorded or automated message;
Call you before 8:00 AM or after 9:00 PM;
Use foul or abusive language;
Threaten to arrest you for not paying the debt;
Call you at work;
Pretend the debt collector is an attorney, when they are not;
Contact or threaten to contact friends, relatives or employers regarding your debt;
Threaten to take legal action when they have no intention of doing so;
Continue to contact you after you have requested that they stop or after you have instructed them that you have an attorney;

Militzok & Associates is able to handle these cases and stop the harassment for no cost to you. Not only is the representation at no cost to you, but you can also be awarded money for each time the debt collector violates the law. Contact us today to discuss your case with an attorney.

For additional information on debt collector harassment, please visit our companion website at www.FLdebtHELP.com.

Unauthorized Debit Card (ATM Card) or Bank Account Activity

Under the law, when a customer reports fraud or unauthorized transactions on his or her bank account or debit/ATM card, all banks are required to fully investigate and comply with specific guidelines under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA). If you have been the victim of unauthorized bank account activity, and you have lost money in which the bank has refused to reimburse you for, contact us for a free evaluation of your case. We handle these cases on a contingency basis which means we are able to take on these cases at no cost to you.

Identity Theft

Florida is ranked first in the United States for the number of identity theft and fraud complaints per capita. If you are the victim of identity theft and you have negative marks on your credit report from the unauthorized use of your credit, contact us for a no-cost consultation. By law, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report one time each year. To obtain a free copy of your credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com. We are able to take these types of cases on a contingency basis which means we are able to take on these cases at no cost to you.

Credit and debit card receipts

The Firm is accepting new cases for electronically printed credit or debit card receipts provided in Florida after December 4, 2006 which show any digits of your credit or debit card number other than the last five, and receipts provided after June 3, 2008 which display your credit or debit card’s expiration date. You may be entitled to statutory damages of $100-$1,000 per violation.

ATMs

Most banks charges non-customers fees who use their ATMs without posting the proper notice on the outside of the ATM that you will be charged these fees. The banks are required to notify you on the outside of the ATM in addition to a notice appearing on the screen. The failure to provide such notices may entitle you to statutory damages of $100-$1,000 per violation.

Class Actions

Militzok & Associates has the resources and experience to take on class-action lawsuits of any size and against any opponent. In the past, our lawyers have participated in several large-scale class and mass joinder actions and have secured millions of dollars for our clients. Class-action lawsuits are an efficient and calculated way to take on large, well-represented organizations, and also to help the maximum number of people. Class action lawsuits offer a number of advantages because they are able to aggregate a large number of what are often smaller individualized claims into one lawsuit. The ability to aggregate smaller claims can increase the efficiency of the legal process, and lower the costs of litigation. Further, it allows cases that are too small to be economically prosecuted individually to be joined together into a powerful group. Our goal is to collect all damages collectively suffered by those individuals who are similarly situated. Our attorneys’ main mission is to bring powerful representation and justice to the individual or small businesses.

Consumer Protection Class Actions

Our Firm has represented consumers in class actions against several large multi-national corporations. Consumer fraud includes a wide variety of improper practices involved in the advertising, marketing, sale, or lease of goods or services. Many consumer fraud cases involve allegations that sellers of a product misrepresented the product’s features, quality, or other characteristics, while others claim that products do not perform as advertised. Consumer fraud also take place when companies overcharge customers for products or services, mislead consumers about the terms of sales agreements or the existence and duration of warranties, illegal charges on bills, illegal penalties for late-payments, or illegal dissemination of personal information. Most states have consumer protection statutes that provide remedies for individuals that have been defrauded by unscrupulous business practices.

Our firm has represented consumers in many consumer-related cases, including the areas of consumer litigation listed below:

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA)
Unfair Debt Collection Practices (FDCPA)
Fair Credit Reporting Act Violations (FCRA)
Florida’s Consumer Collection Practices Act Violations
Truth in Lending Act Violations (TILA)
Consumer Leasing Act Violations
Florida’s Motor Vehicle Repair Act Claims
Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act Claims

If you believe that you are a victim and are covered by a consumer protection statute, you should contact us immediately. The Firm is currently accepting cases involving receipts given to you at the point of sale which prints more than the last 5 digits of your credit card number and/or the expiration date. The Firm is also accepting cases where you were charged a fee at an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and the fee was clearly not displayed on both a notice on the outside of the machine and wasn’t displayed on the screen of the ATM. If you have a case, you may be entitled to receive between $100 to $1,000 per incident.

Class Actions Involving Antitrust and Unfair Competition

Militzok & Associates also represents businesses and individuals in class actions in which competitors conspired to set prices or used illegal or improper business practices. There are a number of instances in which a company can break anti-trust or unfair business laws. Business owners will sometimes observe that they cannot find anyone to offer a competitive bid for a good or service or that prices continue to increase even though costs have not risen nearly enough to justify it. Vendors may be agreeing upon prices or dividing up a geographic territory and agreeing not to compete against each other to keep prices artificially high. Other unfair business practices include monopolization, tying the purchase of one item to another or setting unreasonable restrictions on resale prices. Our lawyers can also handle treble damage cases for clients arising under the RICO statute.

Preconstruction Condominium Deposit Recovery

Most recently, our attorneys have and continue to represent plaintiffs in mass joinder and individual cases in the field of preconstruction condominium deposit recovery.