Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Identifying And Preventing Predatory Lending As A Homeowner
You as a consumer have laws in place protecting you when it comes to protecting you from predatory lending. Still, it is important to remain vigilant, especially when it comes to mortgage loan modification practices that may or may not be legal. Seeing the Signs Some of the signs of predatory lending can include… Read More »
Illegal Consumer Collection Practices For Discharged Debt
In March, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a bulletin warning consumers that they have specific rights with respect to private student loans that have been discharged in bankruptcy court. As a result, loan servicers returning loans to collections after this discharge constitutes a violation of consumer law, and any consumers who have experienced… Read More »
Combatting HOA Liens & Foreclosures
As attorneys who work in foreclosure defense, including homeowners association (HOA) foreclosure defense, specifically, we have seen our fair share of arguably corrupt HOA boards of directors who engage in unethical behavior, including, at times, misusing homeowner funds. In these instances, it is critical that homeowners are empowered to fight back and take action… Read More »
Consumer Wire Fraud Cases: What You Can Do
Sadly, consumer fraud is on the rise, with Americans reportedly losing close to $9 billion every year to scammers, and imposter scams being the most common among them. These imposter scams involve scammers fraudulently tricking consumers into sending them money by posing as bank employees. They will often call from what appears to be… Read More »
Suing Companies For DNC & TCPA Consumer Protection Violations
Companies that violate the National Do Not Call law under the authority granted by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which protects consumers against receiving unsolicited telemarketing calls once they have registered themselves under the “Do Not Call” list, can be sued. It is also important to note that companies can face potentially significant… Read More »
Kohl & Cook Sponsors Two Awards at Ohio State FCCLA Conference
Kohl & Cook is a supporter of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) is a national Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) for students in Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) education in public and private schools through grade 12. The organization’s mission is to… Read More »
Unfinished Pool Projects & Consumer Law Violations
It is unfortunately a story familiar to far too many: A family that is out thousands of dollars after paying a pool company to build their dream backyards, and who are then left with unfinished projects. In a number of cases, consumers report that the work was never even started, and they hit nothing… Read More »
Mortgage Lending Rules, Protecting Consumers, & Preventing Foreclosure
Lenders refusing to accept mortgage payments from legal heirs, and rejecting them for loan modifications, and as a result, placing properties into foreclosure due to the heirs being left with significantly delinquent unpaid balances, where the bank finds it more beneficial to sell the properties. This has become a very real consumer protection issue,… Read More »
Breach Of Contract Claims with Government Parties
What happens when a breach of contract has occurred, but the party responsible for the breach is the government? And what if the breaching party claims that there is no breach because there was never any authority for that entity to enter into the contract? Authority The general rule is that when you enter… Read More »
Consumer Laws & Tip-Over Accidents
Furniture tip-over accidents are every parent’s worst nightmare: Thousands of children – most of them under the age of six – have been injured or killed due to falling furniture and TVs around the country, including here in Ohio. In fact, by 2022, the issue had become such a consumer protection problem that the… Read More »