John Gear Law Office & Salem Consumer Law    503-569-7777
  • Welcome
  • Attorneys and Services
  • Contacts and Directions
  • Law for Real People blog
  • Useful links

Good piece on why you DO NOT want to buy a salvage/reconstructed car

2/23/2021

0 Comments

 

The author of this piece says "almost never" -- I will go further and say that should be "never" for consumers.

That is, unless you are a professional auto rebuilder, stay far away from salvage title/rebuilt title cars and trucks, period. 

They will be nothing but grief for you.

Why You Should Almost Never Buy a Salvage or Rebuilt Title Car
While a salvage or rebuilt title doesn’t necessarily mean the car is a death trap, the bad usually outweighs the good.

It may be tempting to buy a car with a rebuilt title because of its low price point, but what’s tricky is you don’t always know the extent of the damage that gave it a salvage title to begin with. 


“It’s very hard to determine if a car is back to pre-accident condition,” says Jack Gillis, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America. “I recommend just staying away from those types of vehicles.” 

Sometimes a rebuilt car can look shiny and new on the outside, but still have some serious internal problems. Flood damage is a prime example of this. Cars that have been damaged in a flood are especially dangerous to drive because it can take months or even years before the water corrodes the electric and mechanical systems. You should always ask an experienced mechanic to inspect a rebuilt car before deciding to make the purchase, but even then, it’s a risky move. 

“If a vehicle was in a flood, you can’t fix it. It’s not rebuildable. If it was wrecked so badly that it was salvaged, chances are the frame or unit body was compromised,” says Shahan. “So if you’re in a subsequent collision, it’s not going to give you anywhere near the same protection that you would’ve gotten if it was an undamaged car.” . . .

Much more at link here.

0 Comments

Help Consumer Reports Understand Credit Report Error Frequency

2/11/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture

Please Help Consumers Like You --
Check Your Credit Report for Errors and Let Consumer Reports Know What You Find

Dear friends and allies,

The National Consumer Law Center is partnering with Consumer Reports to finally hold powerful credit reporting agencies accountable for errors, and we need your help.


At least one in four of us probably has an error in our credit report. And the COVID-19 financial crisis has made that bad situation even worse. So what’s the big deal about a little mistake on your credit report? It can cost you serious money. Getting a credit card, renting or buying a home — even landing a new job — can all hinge on the accuracy of your credit report.


Can you check your credit report for errors, and let Consumer Reports know what you find? 

You’ll be a key part of a groundbreaking Consumer Reports’ people-powered research project, 
where thousands of consumers like you use their credit report to finally hold these powerful credit agencies accountable!


CLICK HERE TO GO TO Check Your Credit Report


 We’ve made it super easy for you to do. Click the link and you’ll be taken to a page where we show you how to check your credit report for FREE. When you do, be on the lookout for basic mistakes such as a name misspelling or wrong address, to bigger mistakes like late payments that weren’t late, or even someone else’s debt on your account.
Checking your credit report is critical for your financial future. In one case, a couple almost lost out on a home mortgage because the husband’s birth date was off by one digit. Another consumer told us a ticket he got while driving a rental car was sent to the wrong address, causing it to go into collections and knocking 80 points off his excellent credit score.


Checking your report also will help us reform how the major credit reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — do business. Already we know that people with monthly student loans postponed under the COVID-relief package are seeing missed payments on their credit reports, a clear violation of the law. Yet it’s almost impossible for them to get those damaging delinquent payments removed.


Check your credit report for FREE here. It will help you, and help us, make sure no one’s finances are wrecked by the credit agencies mistakes!


The more people who tell us what problems they find, the better armed we are to take on the credit bureaus. Please share this with friends and family so they get the reminder to check their credit reports, too!

Chi Chi Wu
Staff Attorney
National Consumer Law Center
0 Comments

Learn the Two Key Red Flags of Someone Trying to Scam You Remotely

2/3/2021

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

Wage Theft Needs to be Treated as What it Is: Theft

1/26/2021

0 Comments

 
Good article by the Oregon Center for Public Policy on the very real problem of wage theft -- employers not paying workers the wages owed.  If your employer isn't paying you, or isn't paying you all that you are owed, you should consult an attorney.

Lack of True Penalties Exacerbates Wage Theft in Oregon
January 20, 2021
By Janet Bauer
 
Oregon employers face almost no downside to stealing the wages of workers, given that the boss rarely pays a penalty when caught. Although the state may compel employers to pay the wages owed, in only 1 percent of wage claims found to be valid by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) do employers wind up paying a penalty for their wrongdoing.[1] The fact that employers risk little when they violate labor law exacerbates the problem of wage theft in Oregon.

BOLI rarely penalizes employers for wage violations; employers rarely payWage theft is a persistent and widespread problem.[2] Wage theft is a catchall term for the many ways employers fail to pay workers the wages they have earned, such as failing to pay overtime, requiring people to work off the clock, and stealing tips. By one estimate, it costs low-paid workers nationwide over $50 billion annually.[3] In Oregon since 2006, workers have submitted claims for unpaid wages worth more than $50 million.[4]

Despite the pervasive problem that is wage theft, BOLI rarely imposes penalties on employers as a way to deter misconduct. When a worker suffers a wage violation, they may file a claim with BOLI. Of the wage claims filed over the period 2013-19, the Bureau found most of them — 3,703 in total — to be valid. Even though the agency has the authority to impose penalties in addition to requiring payment of wages, it does so rarely. BOLI levied penalties on just 16 percent of valid claims over the six-year period.

(Read the rest at link: https://www.ocpp.org/2021/01/20/lack-true-penalties-exacerbates-wage-theft-oregon/?blm_aid=28620)

Download PDF

0 Comments

Don't Fall for the Anti-Lawsuit Propaganda - Lawsuits can be lifesavers

1/19/2021

0 Comments

 
There is a serious, well-funded push by many business organizations and chambers to demonize lawsuits and the lawyers who bring them. This is because a lot of lawsuits are brought against businesses who harm ordinary people -- and those are the businesses that make up these organizations and they hate the parts of the legal system that mean that a regular person can force a business to account and be responsible for harms it causes, no matter how much more power and money the business has.  They especially hate class actions because class actions are the only practical way for ordinary folks ripped off for small amounts of money can make the business answer for doing so.

The war on lawsuits and class actions, campaigns for immunity laws, and the relentless media propaganda against the jury system is fundamentally anti-American -- the Founders thought that access to the jury for civil trials was so important that it's the 7th Amendment to the Bill of Rights.

Nice to see someone doing a serious study that shows the other side of the story, about the lawsuits that protect us all.

The Center for Justice & Democracy at New York Law School (CJ&D) released today Lifesavers 2021: CJ&D’s Guide to Lawsuits that Protect Us All. The study describes over 125 lawsuits that have led to major safety improvements benefiting large numbers of people, spanning well over 50 years. According to co-author Emily Gottlieb, CJ&D’s Deputy Director for Law & Policy:

“Lifesavers shows how lawsuits serve an invaluable purpose by causing manufacturers, employers, polluters, hospitals, law enforcement and other entities to stop their dangerous or negligent behavior, and gives them the proper economic incentive to become more safe and responsible. These cases protect us all, whether or not we ever go to court.” 


Said co-author Joanne Doroshow, CJ&D Executive Director, “The report’s release coincides with several national crises: the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of violent hate groups and the use of excessive force by some law enforcement. It shows how civil lawsuits have helped mitigate each one of these crises by holding wrongdoers legally and financially accountable. Its release also comes as a time when special interest lobbyists are pushing for legal immunity laws in states around the country. Lifesavers stands as irrefutable evidence that immunity laws are dangerous. Lawsuits save lives, and we as a society would suffer tremendously if our civil justice system were weakened in any significant respect.”


According to the report, “The study includes some cases recently brought against COVID-19 super-spreader establishments,” which led to safer workplaces. Other cases have resulted in “the redesign or recall of a product, a changed hospital procedure, safer law enforcement, a more secure public area, the bankruptcy of a hate group, the protection of sexually-abused children or a cleaner environment.” 


The study explains that when it comes to the recent rise of violent hate groups, “it is everyone’s hope that the criminal justice system will function properly to hold accountable those responsible for current violence and insurrection. However, it should be noted that in the past, more was needed than criminal prosecutions to weaken hate groups. Particularly in the 1980s and 1990s, civil lawsuits by hate crime victims were used effectively to bankrupt several white supremacists and Nazi organizations, while also directly responding to the financial needs of victims. These cases demonstrate that civil lawsuits can sometimes provide the only effective means to put dangerous hate groups out of business.”


Said Doroshow, “The civil justice system is one of the great achievements of American democracy and an important safeguard of freedom. Unlike other, weaker democracies which have abolished the civil jury, our system, thus far, has largely withstood the assaults. The jury’s roots are deeper here. The American colonists fought the Revolutionary War in significant part over England’s repeated attempts to restrict jury trials. Over the last 40 years, the civil justice system has been battered. But as Lifesavers shows, after 245 years and just as the nation’s founders had hoped, the system still works.”


A copy of the study can be found here: http://centerjd.org/content/lifesavers-2021

lifesavers2021f2.pdf
File Size: 1934 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

0 Comments

Don't Throw Away Your Second COVID Relief Payment with Your Junk Mail

1/6/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
0 Comments

Great Idea -- a public credit bureau

12/13/2020

0 Comments

 
thehill.com/opinion/finance/529675-after-5-decades-of-private-credit-reporting-its-time-for-a-change?rnd=1607626407

After 5 decades of private credit reporting, it's time for a change | The Hill
Amy Traub and Chi Chi Wu, Opinion Contributors

* * *

Credit reports contain far too many errors for something so vital to our economic well-being, with one in five consumers having an error, and one in 20 having a serious error that would affect their ability to obtain credit or its pricing. Consumers are frustrated by the Kafka-esque system devised by the credit bureaus to process disputes, which often blocks them from getting relief. Credit reports and scores are used for inappropriate purposes, such as employment, insurance, and even immigration (their use is required as part of the Public Charge Rule.) Most critically, credit scores reflect and perpetuate thorny racial disparities, playing a role in financially entrenching America’s original sin.
* * * 
Many of the problems with credit reporting stem from its very nature. An oligopoly of three private companies governs our financial reputations, trading in and profiting from our data. We are captives because we cannot opt out of the system. Instead, creditors and other companies are the credit bureaus’ customers and constituency. There’s not much incentive for credit bureaus to create a system that works better for consumers, including disadvantaged communities. We can see the upshot of this dysfunction where credit reporting issues are often the number one source of complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, including during this pandemic.

But there is a way forward. Among President-elect Biden’s economic proposals is an innovative plan to establish a public credit reporting agency, based on policy developed by Demos. This solution recognizes that access to consumer credit is a public good and would promote that public good by establishing a public institution to replace the private companies that now control credit reporting. A public credit reporting agency or registry would also be an effective way to build economic power for Black and Brown households by putting equity at the center of its decisionmaking and enabling them to exercise greater control over their economic lives. . . .

0 Comments

You can apply for food, cash and other assistance from home during Oregon two-week freeze

11/19/2020

0 Comments

 
All Oregonians can apply for food, cash and child care assistance provided through the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) from home without having to visit an office in person.

To apply from home, visit

                                  govstatus.egov.com/or-dhs-benefits

for information on how to apply for assistance using an online application, email, mail, telephone or application drop off.

Oregonians who need urgent and ongoing food assistance can visit needfood.oregon.gov.

For more ways to connect with ODHS or to find other types of assistance, contact 211info:
  • By dialing 2-1-1 from any phone
  • Text your zip code to 898211
  • By email at help@211info.org
  • 211info.org
  • covid19.211info.org
0 Comments

Reminder of why we must remain in COVID mode for the long haul

10/21/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
0 Comments

Do you know any adult who didn't get the $1200 COVID Impact Check?

10/8/2020

0 Comments

 
Deadline to get your payment has been extended until 21 November 2020 -- so if you are an adult who didn't receive the $1,200 check or direct deposit, make sure you don't miss out!  Free money doesn't come along often, this is one time when it sounds too good to be true but it really is true -- $1,200 per adult, but you have to make sure they know how to get your money to you.
Picture
Picture
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    John Gear Law Office -
    Since 2010, a values-based Oregon law practice serving Oregon consumers, elders, employees, and nonprofits.

    Categories

    All
    Advertising
    All
    Arbitration
    Autofraud
    Bankruptcy
    Borrowing
    Class Actions
    Consumer Law
    Consumer Protection
    Consumer Protection Class Actions
    Credit
    Credit Reports
    Debt
    Debt Collection
    Elder Abuse
    Elders
    Employment
    End Of Life
    Fairness
    Fdcpa
    Foreclosures
    Fundraising
    Funeral
    Games Car Dealers Play
    Garnishments
    Great Stuff
    Health Care/Insurance
    I (heart) Liz Warren
    Insurance
    Lawyer Referral Service
    Legal Resources
    Lemon Law
    Life Planning
    Long-term Care Facilities
    Media
    Military Assistance Panel
    Modifications
    Mortgages
    N.A.O.
    Nonprofits
    Oregonadminrules
    OregonLaws.org
    Plain English
    Preparing For Departure
    Privacy
    Pro Bono
    Resources
    Right To Repair
    Safety
    Scam
    Scams
    Strategic Planning
    Student Loans
    Tort Reform
    Training
    Used Cars
    Veterans
    Wage Garnishment
    Warnings
    Warranties
    Watchdogs
    Workplace

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011

    RSS Feed

Picture

LAWYERLY FINE PRINT:

John Gear Law Office LLC and Salem Consumer Law.  John Gear Law Office is in Suite 208B of the Security Building in downtown Salem at 161 High St. SE, across from the Elsinore Theater, a half-block south of Marion County Courthouse, just south of State Street. There is abundant, free 3-hour on-street parking throughout downtown Salem, and three multi-story parking ramps that offer free customer parking in downtown Salem too.

Our attorneys are only licensed to practice law in Oregon. This site may be considered advertising under Oregon State Bar rules. There is no legal advice on this site so you should not interpret anything you read here as intended for your particular situation. Besides, we are not representing you and we are not your attorneys unless you have hired us by entering into a representation agreement with me. While we do want you to consider us when you seek an attorney, you should not hire any attorney based on brochures, websites, advertising, or other promotional materials.  All original content on this site is Copyright John Gear, 2010-2020.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Tony Webster, brand0con, eirikso, Fibonacci Blue, Jirka Matousek, Rd. Vortex, rcbrazier - Brazier Creative, cogdogblog, marfis75, marcoverch, GWP Photography, byzantiumbooks, Mic V., notacrime, emrank, Family Art Studio, dotpolka, respres, Mark Cummins, a little tune, Insulinde, Bill Wards Brickpile, Roger Chang, AnthonyMendezVO, jonrawlinson, Andres Rueda, Franco Folini, inman news, Pictures by Ann, ph-stop, crabchick, Jilligan86, Elvert Barnes, p.Gordon, CarbonNYC, Digital Sextant, darkpatator, Neil T, rictic, Mr. Mystery, SeanC90, richardmasoner, www.metaphoricalplatypus.com, lindsayloveshermac, Santacreu, =Nahemoth=, ReinventedWheel, LadyDragonflyCC - On Vacation, See you all soon!, Mr. T in DC, Nisha A, markcbrennan, Celestine Chua, Furryscaly, smkybear, CarbonNYC, radioedit, Don Hankins, Henrik Hovhannisyan, CoreBurn, Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, David Masters, SeeMidTN.com (aka Brent), SoulRider.222, amboo who?, robwest, Rob Ellis', floeschie, Key Foster, TechCocktail, That Other Paper, marcoverch, oskay, Muffet, rodaniel, Alan Cleaver, Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, Horia Varlan, xJasonRogersx, billaday, BasicGov, One Way Stock, mikebaird, Nevado, shalf