Consumer Rights
 
Fighting to Protect Consumers
Companies have an obligation to treat their consumers fairly and honestly—not just because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it’s the law.  Unfortunately, many companies seek to maximize their profits at the expense of consumers, providing misleading information and misrepresenting their products. Such unfair and deceptive commercial practices directly harm consumers financially.  Some companies even produce and market unsafe products, jeopardizing the health and even the lives of consumers who use them.  Advocates for Justice Chartered Attorneys holds these companies accountable for their behavior in the marketplace, seeking compensation for the victims, and protecting consumers’ rights nationwide.
 
Consumer Fraud
All too often, companies profit by subjecting consumers to deceptive or unfair business practices to the detriment of the consumer.  Consumer fraud may include a number of deceptive tactics, such as: misrepresentation of products; “bait and switch;” applying intense pressure on consumers to purchase a product; using deceptive, fine-print, or incorrect language designed to mislead consumers.  Consumers of financial products are particularly vulnerable to this fraud, and they are often more deeply and permanently affected by the outcome.  For example, Advocates for Justice Chartered Attorneys has joined the fight against unlawful and unfair mortgage foreclosure. We believe that consumers deserve to be treated honestly and fairly, to know and understand what they are agreeing to, and to have the exact same power as the companies.  We represent victims of consumer fraud, pursuing fair recovery for damages due to fraud, demanding that our clients be compensated for their related financial losses and distress.
 
Predatory Lending
In these difficult economic times, businesses have increasingly subjected consumers to unfair lending practices, costing consumers billions of dollars each year. Businesses use countless methods for bilking consumers and seducing them into costly, destructive loans.  Some common types practices include: hidden fees, terms, and conditions; deceptive or confusing paperwork and “fine print;” high-pressure, high-interest loans sold to consumers who need money fast (often called “payday loans”); “bait and switch” loans that with rates that increase over time; building into loan documents nearly impossible timelines and payment plans; and mortgage renegotiation fraud.  Advocates for Justice Chartered Attorneys aggressively advocates on behalf of clients in order to stop predatory lenders’ victimization of consumers and to ensure that businesses meet both legal and ethical standards of fairness.
 
Defective or Unsafe Products
Consumers must be able to trust that companies are safe and responsible when designing and manufacturing products.  Unfortunately, far too often defective or unsafe products injure the consumers who use them.  Problems even arise with products that consumers use and rely upon every day, such as food and automobiles.  In fact, some of the worst cases of product liability result from items that we actually rely on to keep us safe, like seatbelts, airbags, car seats, and pharmaceuticals.  The injuries that result from unsafe products can vary widely, and in the worst cases can cause serious injury or even death.  Through effective representation of its clients, Advocates for Justice Chartered Attorneys seeks to have the victims of these injuries properly compensated and to prevent future injuries by removing defective products from the market.
 
Unlawful Mortgage and Credit Card Collection Practices
In recent years, millions of Americans have had their mortgages and credit cards go into default. Part of the ugly underbelly of the mortgage and credit world is that loans and debts are frequently sold as commodities on the market. Often, by the time a consumer defaults, their loan has been sold from one bank to another and then to other investors. The original loan papers disappear and it becomes impossible to prove what the original terms of the debt were, and there may even be an inadequate record of what has already been paid.  At Advocates for Justice Chartered Attorneys, we will take those who sue to collect or foreclose and require them prove every element of our client’s debt or, if they cannot, to clean up our client’s credit record.​