Jeff Suher is a Pittsburgh attorney dedicated to protecting consumers against the unfair practices of debt collectors and the lenders and creditors that retain them. Jeff makes a positive difference in the lives of clients facing financial turmoil when information about their student loans, mortgage loans, car loans, medical bills, consumer credit cards is incorrectly reported.

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Maxed Out shows how the modern financial industry really works, explains the true definition of "preferred customer" and tells us why the poor are getting poorer and the rich getting richer. By turns hilarious and profoundly disturbing, Maxed Out paints a picture of a national nightmare which is all too real for most of us!!

Fair Credit Reporting Act for Consumers Rights

Consumer Law Attorney Jeffrey L. Suher:

Helping Pennsylvania Consumers Enforce their Rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act

Today, the most essential part of a person’s public record is their credit history. Across every key area of life, credit has become the primary driver of the American dream. If you want to rent an apartment, own a house, qualify for a good job, get insurance, obtain higher education or start a small business, then good credit is the key that unlocks these doors to material security, prosperity and growth.

If you’re like most Americans today, obtaining credit is fairly simple. If you have a steady job, an acceptable debt-to-income ratio, and no history of serious credit delinquency, you can obtain more credit than you’ll probably ever need. As long as you don’t become overextended and make sure that you don’t miss a payment due date by more than thirty days, your credit score will continue to improve, and your buying power will keep on growing.

But many in Pennsylvania face the flip side of this equation, and often through no fault of their own. As fair and impartial as financial institutions purport the credit system to be, the fact is that mistakes in reporting credit information still occur at alarming rates. These mistakes leave affected consumers financially disenfranchised from the rest of us, exposed to long-term financial problems that can limit life’s possibilities and close them off from their shot at the American dream.

Based in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, the Law Office of Jeffrey L. Suher was established in 1995 to protect consumers in Pennsylvania from the extreme financial hardships that erroneous credit reporting can cause for them. Jeff helps consumers in Pennsylvania facing:

• Debt collectors who send false information about them to a Credit Reporting Agency (CRA);

• CRAs who inaccurately post information about consumers in consumer and credit reports;

• Illegal disclosure of medical and private health information;

• Illegal disclosure of information that can lead to identity theft and credit fraud

• The Re-aging of a debt on your credit report. *After seven (7) years of defaulting on a debt, the debt is to be removed from your credit report* However, be aware that if your debt is in default for four (4) years, and you decide to make a payment on the debt, the debt will remain on your credit report for an additional seven (7) years. Essentially, the debt would remain on your report for 11 years.

• Sometimes debt collectors or errors with the CRAs, the date of last activity on the debt could be drastically incorrect, thus causing additional years of default on your credit.

• Companies who, for no reason, or without consent of the consumer run your credit history in order to solicit business to you.

If you are facing the above circumstances or any others as a result of someone mishandling your credit (intentionally or not), Jeff and his consumer law team can help you investigate your case to determine what happened, who is at fault, and what can be done to fully rectify the situation. In many cases, Jeff has obtained financial restitution for his clients. Contact Jeff today for help with your situation.

More about the Fair Credit Reporting Act

In 1970, in recognition of the growing power that lending institutions had over every citizen’s ability to participate in the American economy, Congress enacted the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The FCRA establishes laws that govern the conduct of debt collectors and Consumer Reporting Agencies, ensuring credit activity is reported accurately and that private information remains confidential.

There are three major CRAs – Equifax, Trans Union and Experian – which maintain credit reports on every American who has ever applied for a loan or line of credit with a commercial institution. CRAs generate the credit reports that lenders use to determine if they are willing to make credit available to a consumer, and how much credit they may disburse.

Since 1970, the use of consumer credit in the American economy has grown exponentially. Today, it is estimated that Americans carry more than $850 billion in consumer debt. This expansion of credit has had many positive effects, providing unprecedented opportunities in education, housing, small business growth and the promotion of consumer choice and power for millions of Americans. However, along with these benefits have come many new problems, many of which weren’t imagined when the FCRA was first enacted. Two of the biggest problems with mass credit expansion today are:

Identity Theft:

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the nation, with 19 Americans per minute becoming unwitting victims of this silent crime. Once someone’s social security number, credit card number or other personal information is obtained by a wrongdoer, financial havoc ensues. If a debt collector or CRA mishandles your credit, you have recourse under the law.

Release of Medical Information:

If there is any personal information that can still be considered sacred in modern society, it is our medical history. Numerous laws exist that protect Americans from being linked to the medical services, products and pharmaceuticals that they may need to treat a medical condition.

If this information falls into the wrong hands, it can be used for all manner of sinister motives – including blackmail, denial of employment, denial of insurance and other situations that can adversely affect you.

Through the FCRA, Jeff Can Help You Protect the Accuracy of Your Credit…

Are you struggling with credit problems that you know weren’t of your own making? Has a lender or debt collector made erroneous claims about how you pay your bills and honor your financial obligations? Is a bankruptcy, charge off, or foreclosure showing up on your credit report that never occurred? Does your credit report claim that you have a criminal record? Are these misrepresentations causing long-term problems for you in obtaining or sustaining a good credit standing? If so, then you may have rights that a skilled consumer law attorney can help you exercise under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to ensure that your credit is reported fully and accurately.

And Protect Your Privacy….

In an effort to obtain pinpoint results from their marketing efforts, businesses across every sector of the economy pay top dollar for information about the income, spending habits and other key economic data of millions of Americans. These efforts aren’t confined to just finding out whether you prefer Big Macs to Whoppers. Insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and other health-related organizations want to know about your health, and will spend millions of dollars to capture any and every detail about your physical and mental well being. Banks and credit card companies want to know how much money you make, how much your house is worth, and other information that is none of their business.

Under the FCRA, debt collectors and Credit Reporting Agencies cannot help third parties in their efforts to mine data about information considered private under the law. Along with taking steps to prevent the proliferation of false information about you, debt collectors and CRAs have an obligation to ensure that what is true about your credit stays confidential, and is not released to any party without your express permission.

Unfortunately, the financial temptation to make private information about individuals available is often too strong for many debt collectors to resist. Especially in recent years, as the federal government has bent over backwards to keep big business happy, the enforcement of laws posited to protect the consumer have been a low priority. As a result, consumers must increasingly turn to attorneys committed to upholding laws that defend the important balance between commercial profits and the vital interests of consumers.

Jeffrey L. Suher is proud to be one of those attorneys. If you believe your credit and financial record has been willfully tarnished by a debt collector or discredited through a mistake by a CRA, Jeff will be the first to tell you that your credit is too important not to take action. Contact Jeff today for help with your credit situation.

Library for Fair Credit Reporting Act for Consumers Rights:

  • Debt Reduction Defendant Settles FTC Charges   
    Description: According to a complaint filed by the FTC in March 2007, Debt-Set, Resolve Credit Counseling, Inc., and their principals sold debt reduction services through Web sites and television and radio advertisements with claims such as “Reduce Debt Now” and “Eliminate Harassing Calls.” When consumers called a toll-free number, the complaint alleged, they were encouraged to enroll in a “debt consolidation program” if their unsecured consumer debt was up to one month overdue, or a “debt settlement program” if overdue longer.
  • 5 Ways to DESTROY your credit score   
    Description: Your credit score, or your FICO score, ranges from the worst possible score of a 300 to a perfect 850, and is determined by such factors as paying your bills on-time, the amount of money you owe as well as the length of your credit history, according to the company Fair Isaac, which runs the scoring system.

    But even if you are one of those individuals who is diligent about maintaining your good credit standing, it is still possible that with a few simple missteps you could send your credit score into a tailspin faster than you can say delinquency.

    So while closing out those credit card accounts you don't use or rolling over all your outstanding debt to one card may seem like sensible moves, you might actually be killing your credit rating.
  • How Does the Fair Credit Reporting Act Affect You and Your Credit Score?   
    Description: The Fair Credit Reporting Act was established to protect Pittsburgh consumer rights. Knowing these rights can be a huge asset if you ever find yourself in deep water financially.

    If you have credit then you have a right to know what your credit report says. This is enforced by the terms of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This act guarantees you certain rights that were not enforced so strictly previously.

Frequent Questions for Fair Credit Reporting Act for Consumers Rights:

Web Resources for Fair Credit Reporting Act for Consumers Rights:

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