The Consumer Corner
Welcome to The Consumer Corner. This is a podcast that focuses on protecting the consumer from Corporate America. One of the things we are going to talk about is different companies that have harmed consumers. Sometimes these stories will be newsworthy, other times they might fly under the radar so to speak.
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Mediation
11/24/2022
Mediation
Alternative Dispute Resolution - Mediation What is Mediation Mediation is where parties come together and discuss their cases with a third party known as the mediator. Ideally the mediator is neutral. The goal is to get the parties to agree on a resolution. Hopefully, the parties eventually come to an agreement. Sometimes the parties will come back together to memorialize it, but they may not. And the mediator may draft some language up so the parties can sign. This will depend on the mediator and the parties. When do you Mediate, Who pays for it, and How much does it cost? Usually, the parties split the cost of mediation. Sometimes a Court will order it and it might be paid for under a local alternative dispute resolution service. In Federal Court, we have had Magistrate judges that will do the mediation. These would obviously be ones not assigned to our case. These are also free, at least for the cost of the mediator. Success rate Maybe not surprisingly, the mediations that were not free have been the most effective. I can think of only one time I was truly disappointed in a mediation. Why would I mediate and when should I do it? Litigation often takes years to fully resolve if there is no settlement. We have had quite a bit of luck once both parties appreciate the position they are in as far as winning versus losing. Consumer Pro Tip My Consumer tip for this week is to stop paying people for taking advantage of you. We have to stop rewarding these big businesses that are taking advantage of us and usually their employees as well. RESOURCES Watch the . to the Cliff Carlson Law YouTube Channel Follow us on Follow us on Follow the Follow the Find me on the web at www.theconsumercorner.com and www.cliffcarlsonlaw.com. WHAT IS NEXT…. In the next episode we will talk about another alternative dispute resolution option - Arbitration.
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Portfolio Recovery Associates
11/17/2022
Portfolio Recovery Associates
PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES Portfolio Recovery Associates is a company that buys collection accounts from credit card issuers, student loan lenders, retailers (i.e. department stores and other retail stores), hospital or other medical providers, utility companies, consumer finance companies, auto finance companies, and cellphone providers for 4 to 10 cents on the dollar. Portfolio Recovery Associates have a patten of aggressive debt collection practices. In 2011, according to the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER), PRA was sued over 700 times for harassing consumers under the FDCPA. According to the CFPB, more than 11,000 complaints were filed between July 2013 and January 2014 against various debt collection companies, including Portfolio Recovery Associates. PRA ranked third for having the most complaints” (Weston Legal). On September 9, 2015, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against Portfolio Recovery Associates and found Portfolio Recovery Associates: used affidavits that misrepresented that the affiants had reviewed original account-level documentation confirming the consumers’ debts when they had not, submitted affidavits with documents attached that they claimed were the consumers’ specific account contracts or records when they weren’t. To right the Portfolio Recovery Associates’ wrongdoing, the company was asked to pay $19 million in consumer refunds and an $8 million penalties. The company was prohibited from: collecting on over $3 million worth of debts, were required to stop collecting unsubstantiated debt and filing lawsuits that are unenforceable and incorrect, were prohibited to use affidavits to collect debts unless the statements contained within the affidavits specifically and accurately describe the signer’s own personal knowledge of the facts and the documents referenced in the affidavit are attached, and were forced to provide consumers with credible information and original documents to file a lawsuit or collect a debt. The latest scandal occurred in 2020, when Portfolio Recovery Associates were found to have violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act when 200 employees were laid off via email without any prior notice. REFERENCES Bills.com website- https://www.bills.com/learn/debt/portfolio-recovery-associates CFBP website-consumer financial protection bureau- John Skiba, Esq. | Sep 9, 2015 Midland Funding and Portfolio Recovery Associates Slammed by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by | Collection Law Suits, Debt Collection Lawsuits, Fair Debt Collection, FDCPA Claims, Newsletter- https://skibalaw.com/midland-funding-and-portfolio-recovery-associates-slammed-by-consumer-financial-protection-bureau/ RESOURCES Watch the . to the Cliff Carlson Law YouTube Channel Follow us on Follow us on Follow the Follow the Find me on the web at www.theconsumercorner.com and www.cliffcarlsonlaw.com. WHAT IS NEXT…. In the next episode we will talk about Alternative Dispute Resolutions and Mediation
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Wells Fargo
11/08/2022
Wells Fargo
WELLS FARGO In today's episode, we will talk about Wells Fargo Bank and the scandals that hurt its reputation over the years. We will also talk about some of the things they are doing today….right this minute to harm you, the consumer. In 1852, Wells Fargo began banking activates and quickly evolved from a cross-county express service into one of the biggest banks in the world. To date, Wells Fargo is America’s fourth largest bank. The success of the company has been built on a cultural and economic platform that merges deep customer relations and an engaged sales culture. The company's philosophy is to satisfy the customers' needs and help them excel financially, with emphasis on doing things the right way and do it in the customers' interest. The company claims to take its vision very seriously as it is the center of its culture and important to its success and places customers at top priority. However, recent scandals suggest otherwise. In 2013, Wells Fargo was caught performing cross selling acts, where roughly 30 employees were found to have engaged in fraudulent activity by opening accounts and issuing debit or credit cards to people without their knowledge and consent. The employees were fired, but explained they were pressured into performing the fraudulent actions to meet the daily sale quota. Wells Fargo provided incentives to its employees by dangling additional money on their paychecks if daily sale quotas were met. If the quota was not met, it rolled over into the next day and snow balled from there. After it was all said and done, Wells Fargo was ordered to pay $185 million to settle lawsuits filed by regulations and the city of Los Angeles, California. In 2018, Wells Fargo was caught in the “auto and mortgage lending” scandal, where the bank agreed to pay $1 billion in settlement to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to resolve auto and mortgage violations. After settling the mortgage violations, Wells Fargo agreed to pay an additional $480 million to settle a securities class action lawsuit over cross selling. In 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a report regarding Wells Fargo’s business model. It was discovered that between 2004 and 2009 Wells Fargo engaged in discriminatory activates by charging Black and Latino home buying customers a higher interest rate than White customers. The U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division brought suit against Wells Fargo and it was announced that Wells Fargo would pay $175 million as a settlement for the discrimination suit. Today Wells Fargo unilaterally enforces the arbitration agreement within the contract between the customer and Wells Fargo. For example, if arbitration would benefit Wells Fargo, Wells Fargo will demand the arbitration clause to be enforced. However, if the arbitration clause is not beneficial to Wells Fargo, Wells Fargo suddenly becomes blind to the clause. Wells Fargo has since targeted a new class of people to pick on, the elderly. Wells Fargo harasses the elderly by suing elder individuals who they know do not have money, or money to garnish, for alleged debts owed. REFERENCE LINKS RESOURCES Watch the . to the Cliff Carlson Law YouTube Channel Follow us on Follow us on Follow the Follow the Find me on the web at www.theconsumercorner.com and www.cliffcarlsonlaw.com. WHAT IS NEXT…. In the next episode we will talk about Portfolio Recovery Associates a well-known junk debt buyer.
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