The practice areas of consumer fraud can include individual cases as well as call actions. Consumer fraud can affect a person physically, emotionally, and financially. The malpractice related to a company’s products and services leads to most of the consumer fraud instances. However, there are consumer protection laws that can safeguard consumer rights. Anyone suffering from consumer fraud should be aware of these laws and consult a lawyer at the earliest. To find local consumer fraud attorneys, one can search for consumer fraud attorneys near me on Google.
It requires extensive knowledge and experience to deal with consumer fraud cases, which are likely to get complex and difficult in each step. Only a consumer fraud lawyer can help the victims as they know ins and outs of consumer fraud lawsuits. Be it defective products or unfair trade practices, a consumer fraud lawyer investigates every case to support the clients.
- What is Consumer Fraud?
According to law, any deceptive business practice that causes its customers to suffer physically, emotionally, or financially can be consumer fraud. From illegal bank fees to construction disputes, there are numerous types of consumer fraud practice areas.
When a person complains about harmful products or business malpractices, the consumer fraud lawyers investigate the case to see its eligibility. If found true, the lawyers can provide a complete analysis and bring it to the court. Consumer fraud cases are so prevalent today that all customers need to stay alert.
- What is Consumer Protection Law?
To safeguard a consumer’s right, the Federal Trade Commission Act works as a consumer protection law. A Bureau of Consumer Protection produced by FTC collects all complaints, conducts investigations, and sues companies that break the law. The FTC also ensures public protection in specialized areas.
- Who Can Be a Victim of Consumer Fraud?
Any person purchasing a product or a service can be a victim of consumer fraud. However, the scammers target specific demographics such as older people, novice entrepreneurs, or those who are in debt. These people are more likely to fall into the trap of bank scams, insurance scams, and other types of consumer fraud.
Many people get fraudulent calls from people, who claim that they are calling from banks and insurance companies. Most of the time, they inform the receivers about credit card repair policy and ask them to disclose their account details. If a customer discloses the account detail, the scammer immediately hacks the account and debits money.
Scams through telemarketing and email are common but today, numerous scamming techniques take the help of the internet. When it comes to consumer goods or defective medicines, anyone can be the victim. There are legal charges against companies who sell defective products that lead to consumer injuries or death.
In such cases, a person can search online for consumer fraud attorneys near me to ensure legal help at the earliest.
- Consumer Fraud Attorney:
As a legal professional, a consumer fraud attorney practices and specializes in consumer fraud cases. The practice area of a consumer support attorney can be vast. When a person is harmed by any product or service, it is essential to consult a consumer fraud lawyer, who can help the person get compensation for the loss. Safeguarding the clients from further disputes with the company is also the responsibility of a consumer fraud lawyer.
- Types of Consumer Fraud:
There are numerous types of consumer fraud cases. Some common areas that the lawyers mostly deal in are below.
- Advanced-Fee Loans
- Automobile Fraud
- Breach of Contract
- Buyers’ Club Membership Fraud
- Construction Disputes
- Credit Card Insurance Fraud
- Credit Repair Fraud
- Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act Violations
- Defective Product Fraud
- Illegal Bank Fees
- Insurance Fraud
- Investor Fraud
- Multi-Level Marketing
- Prize Promotion Fraud
- Pyramid Schemes
- Truth in Lending Act Violations
- Unauthorized Contract Auto Renewals and Cancellation Fees
- Unauthorized Purchases on Credit and Debit Cards
- Unfair Repair Practices
- National Fraud Statistics:
The third FTC Consumer Fraud Survey was released on April 19, 2013. The report was devastating. It showed that almost 10.8 percent of the U.S. Adult populations were victims of fraud. Within these people, the ratio of African Americans and Hispanics was high. Some of the common reports found were weight loss products, prize promotions, buyers’ club memberships, work-at-home programs, credit repair schemes- to name a few.
In recent times, one of the most common issues has been fraudulent fees by banking institutions. These issues usually constitute multi-jurisdictional class action lawsuits. Shockingly, some of the eminent bank names like TD Bank, Bank of America, Citizens Bank, and PNC Bank have been associated with the cases. In 2012, PNC settled an overdraft fee lawsuit for 90 million dollars.
- How to Find a Customer Fraud Lawyer?
Finding a customer fraud lawyer is not as difficult as it seems. A person searching for a customer fraud attorney can search online by typing consumer fraud attorneys near me. The result will show the most popular names of attorneys and law firms that deal with consumer fraud cases. Secondly, one can find the lawyers from a lawyer directory. Thirdly, recommendations from friends and colleagues are also valuable when it comes to finding a good lawyer.
If a person has collected and shortlisted four to five names, fixing a meeting with all of them is the best choice. Most lawyers provide free-of-cost first consultation for a short period. The person can discuss the loss and ask the lawyers how to suggest the best solution. Once a person has met all the lawyers, choosing the best won’t be that difficult anymore.
- Conclusion:
Anyone can search online for consumer fraud attorneys near me and find the best lawyers in town. They can search online from Google or any other search engine. However, it’s important to ask valid questions to the lawyer and understand how the lawyer can help in this particular case. Knowing the budget is also important as it will help the person to be financially prepared. Many people have been successful in claiming compensation from big companies with the help of consumer fraud lawyers.
