Becoming an authorized user to a credit card account can be a good way to begin to establish a credit history without being liable for any charges or balances. However, you also take on some risk as an authorized user. Your credit report will show both the good and the bad credit habits of the primary user,
Did you know that as many as 1,000 people are mistakenly included on the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File each month? Because of errors like this, credit reporting agencies can easily mark a living person as deceased. Most often, this happens if a creditor reports an account or accounts as being associated with a
On May 2nd, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a government agency that protects American consumers, filed a complaint against Lexington Law and CreditRepair.com, two of the largest credit repair companies. The suit alleges that the companies violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) by requesting and receiving upfront payment for their credit repair services. The TSR stipulates
Original article by Mike Curley – Law360 (April 1, 2019, 3:58 PM EDT) A California magistrate judge has kept alive a suit alleging Whole Foods affiliates have been selling foods containing allergens under a false hypoallergenic label, ruling that the court has jurisdiction because one affiliate runs Whole Foods’ website, which serves the state. In
Jim Francis of Francis Mailman Soumilas, P.C. argued his case Kidd v. Thomson Reuters Corporation to the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals at a session held at the UConn School of Law on February 4, 2019. In Kidd v. Thomson Reuters, plaintiff Lindsay A. Kidd brought a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) putative
Consumer protection attorney Jim Francis, of Francis Mailman Soumilas, P.C., appeared in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to argue an appeal of the Sergio Ramirez v. Trans Union LLC class action settlement. In 2017, Francis Mailman Soumilas, P.C. PC represented the plaintiff Ramirez, whom TransUnion mistakenly confused with someone
An investigative news report for Philadelphia exposed the story of Nicole Landen, whom the Social Security Administration falsely declared dead and mistakenly placed her on the Death Master File. Consumer Protection Attorney Jim Francis explained that Social Security errors are not easy to fix, especially once the credit reporting agencies are notified. Once someone is
Are you a victim of identity theft? Or do you suspect you may be? With historic data breaches making headlines in recent years, such as at Equifax and Marriott International, millions of consumers around the world are at risk of their information being exposed. Fortunately, you can take extra steps to protect your information and
Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida (CLSMF) provides civil legal aid to help low-income people access information, receive legal assistance and representation, and to know and understand their rights. Because of this mission, CLSMF receives Cy Pres and court settlement funds. These funds come from the settlements of class-action suits and are distributed to organizations that
Marriott International experienced a breach of its Starwood guest reservation database that exposed the personal information of up to 500 million people. This incident is considered one of the largest data breaches in the hotel industry. If your information was exposed in the Marriott Starwood data breach, or you suspect it was exposed, learn what