Legal Ease Newsletter: 1998 Winter

Get Serious?
Many people have expressed how much they have enjoyed receiving our newsletter, Legal Ease. One person, in particular, summed up what I hope we have achieved. She said, “ You obviously take your clients seriously and you take the law seriously, but I like the fact you don’t take yourselves too seriously. It is refreshing.”

Hopefully, this is the message that you, too, have received. Many of you have called or written with serious questions on various legal issues. While we definitely do not want to change the whimsical tone of Legal Ease, we will aim to provide some helpful information on these universal subjects.

And with the holiday season one credit card statement behind us, a review of the mountain of bills you might have amassed seems appropriate (see related story below).

Give Me Some Credit, Will You?
Using credit cards can be very convenient, especially during the holiday season (read “the spending season”). Here’s a piece of money-saving advice: Review your monthly credit card billing statements—you might find something charged to your account you didn’t actually purchase. Errors do occur and are simple to resolve if you know how to use the “Fair Credit Billing Act” (FCBA). Under this law, you must send written notice of the problem to the credit card company to avoid paying the charges you dispute. You can call, but calling alone does not trigger the safeguards under the FCBA.

Here’s what to do:

1. Write the credit card issuer (preferably by certified mail) within 60 days after the issuer mailed you the first bill containing the error. Include your name, account number, date, type and dollar amount of disputed charge, and why you think there is a mistake. Ask for proof of the charges.
   
   
2. Be sure to send the letter to the special address for billing inquiries. It is usually printed on your bill under a heading such as “Send inquiries to.”
   
   
3. Do not send your letter with your payment.
   
   If you follow these instructions, this is what the creditor is required to do:
   
   
   • Acknowledge your letter in writing within 30 days after it is received, unless the problem is resolved within that time.
     
     
   • Conduct a reasonable investigation within 90 days, and either explain why the bill is correct or correct the error.
     
     
   • Provide you with documents showing the charge was correct, if the creditor claims the bill is correct and if you asked for proof in your letter.
     
     By the way, the card issuer cannot close your account just because you disputed a bill. After reading this, you probably won’t need a lawyer!
     
     
   Whatever Happened To Asking Politely?
   “Bill collectors have every incentive to beat the crap out of you over the phone. Probably 60% of their tactics are illegal,” says Benjamin Dover, author of Life after Debt.
   
   Take, for instance, the creep who threatened Marianne Driscoll of Texas. Not only did he claim to have planted a bomb in Driscoll’s office, but he also said a hit man had been hired—all this over a $2,000 Visa bill. Driscoll later won an $11 million judgment against Household Credit Services.
   
   Beware of such scams as impersonating an insurance agent with a claim check to get a return call, tacking on additional fees, falsely implying that an arrest or property seizure is impending. There are strict federal and NH state regulations governing when, where and how a bill collector can contact you.
   
   Don’t let anyone threaten or intimidate you over a bill. Call your lawyer immediately.

   Hmmmm...
   In his book, Bizarre World, noted ex-patriate Bill Bryson writes about a Memphis, Tennessee, woman who was charged by police for setting fire to her hotel bed. The woman resolutely denied the allegation, claiming that the bed was already on fire when she got into it. She was fined $50.

   Here’s another bizarre story:
   A thief who tried to take a cash register from a store in Paterson, New Jersey, was found beneath it, pinned to the floor, when employees arrived for work the next morning.

   Give Him The Boot!
   According to the Chicago tribune, a Kansas Judge was flabbergasted when the defendant placed his feet on a courtroom table. Said the Judge, “ I leaned over and stared. Surely nobody would be so stupid as to wear the boots he stole at trial.”

   A Case of Sinking Your Teeth Into The Law
   A telemarketing company hired a man for a three-day trial period but let him go because he mumbled and was not a “good match.” The man was missing 18 teeth.
   
   The man claimed his speech was fine and said the real reason he was fired was because the company perceived his missing teeth as a disability.
   
   A word of warning to employers, the Court said “if for no reason whatsoever an employer regards a person as disabled” and takes adverse action, it has violated the statute. It added, “unlike the Plaintiff, the Americans With Disabilities Act has teeth.”

   Picture This!
   Behind that austere and imposing demeanor of every law enforcement officer beats the heart of a comedian.
   
   From Funny Times.
   A motorist was caught in an automated speed trap that photographed his car. He later received, in the mail, a ticket for $40 and a photo of his car. Instead of payment, he sent the police department a photograph of $40. A few days later he received a letter from the police that contained another photo...of handcuffs. Dum Da Dum Dum!

   Lightning Strikes!
   A golfer who was struck by lightning can sue the golf course for negligence, so says a New Jersey Court.
   
   Although a golf course doesn’t have a general duty to protect golfers from lightning, if it does take precautions, it must do so reasonably. In this instance, the Club had an evacuation plan where the club pro would pick up golfers in a cart. The golfer was injured walking back to the clubhouse and the Court speculated that perhaps the Club should have put shelters on the course or used sirens to warn players.