American consumers swim in a seemingly boundless sea of prescription drug advertising. These advertisements appear on television and radio, in print, and through increasingly sophisticated targeted digital marketing. While much of this advertising is permissible under the laws and regulations governing prescription drug promotion, there are limits. One such limit is the Telephone Consumer Protection
If you have a DFAS debt or a Military Star card on your credit report, the information may be wrong. Debts collected by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) and Military Star accounts run through several government systems before they reach Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Every hand-off is a chance for errors in your
If someone stole your identity to open an account, make a purchase, obtain credit, or conduct another transaction, you may be trying to figure out exactly what happened. One of the biggest obstacles identity theft victims face is getting information from the business where the fraud occurred. Federal law gives identity theft victims an important
You call the electric company to turn the power on at your new place. You have paid every bill you have ever received. Your credit score is fine. And then the representative tells you that your application has been declined, or that you will need to put down a deposit of several hundred dollars before
No one enjoys receiving unsolicited telemarketing text messages, but can consumers sue organizations for sending them? Increasingly, the answer depends on whether the federal courts in which consumers bring their lawsuits will defer to the agencies Congress charged with protecting them in the wake of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions holding that those courts need
Millions of Americans have criminal records that continue to appear on background check reports long after they have paid their debt to society. These records can make it difficult to find employment, secure housing, obtain professional licenses, and move forward with life. In response, a growing number of states have enacted “Clean Slate” laws that
Most people assume that once an employer sees something on a background check, the hiring decision is already made. But employers who use background checks for employment purposes are generally required to follow specific steps before taking adverse action based on the information in a report. Those protections exist for a reason. Background checks are
PHILADELPHIA, June 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Four attorneys from Francis Mailman Soumilas, P.C., a nationally recognized consumer protection law firm based in Philadelphia, have been selected to the 2026 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list for their exceptional work representing consumers in complex litigation matters. James A. Francis, Mark D. Mailman, John J. Soumilas, and Joseph L.
Most consumers know that their credit report affects whether they can get a mortgage, a car loan, or a credit card. Far fewer know that a separate consumer report follows them through the insurance market, quietly shaping what they pay for auto and homeowners coverage, and in some cases whether they can get coverage at
You found a place. You applied. Everything seemed to be moving forward. Then the answer came back: Denied. And the reason? A background check. For many people, that moment brings more than just confusion; it brings stress, urgency, and a lot of unanswered questions. What was in the report? Was it accurate? And did it