Recent Articles
My Thoughts on the Grand Jury System in Indiana
The recent failure to indict the police officers involved in the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner got me thinking about the grand jury system in Indiana. In Indiana, a prosecuting attorney can bring any criminal case through the filing of information (a criminal complaint) or through a grand jury indictment. In Indiana, 5 […]
News Reporter Wants Information on Unfair Collection Practices.
It has been passed along to me that a news reporter is looking to talk to consumers with the following stories: 1. Anyone who’s been harassed or mistreated by a debt collector (especially any cases that are particularly extreme or unusual.) 2. Anyone who’s been collected on twice for the same debt, by different collection […]
Driver Solutions LLC and Marion County Small Claims Court
Back in 2011, the common practice of creditors forum shopping in Marion County Small Claims Court made national news in the Wall Street Journal. We’ve made some headway thanks to the efforts of attorneys like Daniel Edelman (who successfully got a Court of Appeals ruling that debtors must be sued in the township where the […]
Student Loans Got You Feeling Hopeless? 1. You’re not alone. 2. The CFPB is paying attention
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is examining the problems people are having with student loans. The most pressing problem is that student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy most of the time. This can leave desperate borrowers with no workable solutions. The worst problems are with private student loans. Often the private student loans have […]
Does Your Credit Card Insurance REALLY Cover Damage to Your Rental Car?
I actually read the rental car coverage provided with my business American Express Card, and I was somewhat surprised by the exclusions. I wasn’t surprised that off-road use wasn’t covered, but I was surprised that any rental vehicle with an MSRP over $50,000 was excluded. All “exotic” cars were excluded including Toyota Supra. (How many […]
CONSUMER LAW OFFICE OF STEVE HOFER OFFERS FREE ATTORNEY CONSULTATIONS FOR WAL-MART WORKERS
If you read the post below, you will see that I’m really angry at Wal-Mart for effectively cutting the pay and worsening the working conditions of already put-upon workers. I thought about it, and the best think I can do is offer my time to Wal-Mart workers for free. If you are a Wal-Mart worker […]
SCUMBAG WAL-MART STRIKES AGAIN! Eliminates insurance for 30,000 employees, raises the cost on the rest
Just when you think Wal-Mart can’t treat their workers any worse, they manage to find a way. Yesterday, Wal-Mart announced that it was eliminating the health insurance option for workers who worked less than 30 hours per week. About 30,000 workers are afffected. That’s roughly 2 NBA arenas worth. Wal-Mart says it is taking this […]
Beware of Pension Factoring Ripoffs
I’ve been a lawyer for 27 years, more than half my live. I’ve handled over 100,000 intakes in that time. Recently I was approached regarding a a type of transaction that I had never seen before. It involved pension factoring and a company called Voyager Financial Group, LLC. Voyager approaches people who need money and […]
The FTC SUES MULTIPLE FIRMS FOR FAKE PAYDAY LOANS
What’s worse than a payday loan? Not much, but one thing that is worse is a fake payday loan. The FTC has taken action against a group of firms they say bilked consumers out of tens of millions of dollars by putting through electronic funds transfer requests for payments on loans that never existed. The […]
UAW Legal Services Plans – Not Dead Yet
For many years, I was a staff attorney with UAW Legal Services Plans (UAWLSP) in Indianapolis. The legal services benefit was a casualty of the bargaining process in the last contract between the automakers and the UAW. UAWLSP stopped taking new cases at the end of 2013 and has been closing cases and phasing out […]
