The Illinois Personal Injury Weblog of Schaeffer & Lamere P.C.

Canceling Your AOL Account

Sometimes AOL accounts can be difficult to cancel, especially since the AOL customer service representatives are trained to talk you into staying. Here's more from the Cleveland Plain Dealer: "Parting is such sweet sorrow for AOL."

Update: "Victims and Families United"

Here's more about the rally at the Madison County courthouse on behalf of "Victims and Families United" -- "Rally supports rights of plaintiffs," by Sanford J. Schmidt of the Alton Telegraph.

Payday Loans

Missouri legislators have introduced two bills that would safeguard consumers against payday loans by limiting the interest rates. As explained in "Payday loans -- High demand, high interest," by Bob Miller of the Southeast Missourian:

A bill proposed by state Rep. John Burnett, also of Kansas City, would limit the interest and other charges to a total of $15 per $100 of principal for the first 31 days of the loan and interest of not more than 3 percent per month thereafter. The bill repeals language that permits lenders to issue a new loan to pay off the original loan, which allows the lender once again to charge 75 percent interest.

Employees of payday loan businesses, some of whom spoke only on the condition of anonymity, said the 3 percent language would completely eliminate loan renewals and their customers' choices.

Burnett said he doesn't expect the 3 percent number to stick as the bill moves along. He has been promised a hearing on the matter at the committee level.

[Rep. Vicki Walker of Kansas City] said she has seen the number of payday loan stores increase in the Kansas City area. There are seven in one particular strip mall.

"If we can annoy the heck out of them, hopefully they'll stop," she said. "They go to marginal neighborhoods, and in these economic times it could be the push that sends a marginal neighborhood the wrong way."

"Victims and Families United"

A new grassroots organization calling itself "Victims and Families United" is the subject of an article in the Alton Telegraph : "Victims say suits justified, to offer malpractice fixes," by Sanford J. Schmidt.

Judy Buckles helped form a group Victims and Families United. They say they formed because they are tired of hearing groups funded by Corporate America complain about justice in Madison County.

She said she resents the implication that all lawsuits filed here are frivolous.

"Not all lawsuits are frivolous, and behind every lawsuit is a real victim or family who is seeking justice and democracy," she said.

. . .

"This new Metro East grassroots group is dedicated to telling ‘the other side’ of the lawsuit debate in Madison County.

"Their mission is to bring balance and fairness to the debate and protect access to the courts for victims and their families," a spokesman said.

Buckles said "tort reform" groups such as "Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch" and the national American Tort Reform Association are funded by big companies, including tobacco makers and asbestos manufacturers who are concerned about losing money in the Madison County courts.

A Dating Service that Bilks Consumers?

It's true, according to this: "Dating service sued over alleged bilking," by Paul Wenske of the Kansas City Star (free registration required)--

The [Kansas] attorney general alleges that Great Expectations [dating service] deceived clients by misrepresenting and exaggerating its services. The lawsuit also claims Great Expectations representatives illegally called residents registered on the state's no-call list and induced potential customers to buy dating services while concealing important information about the prices.

According to the article, the dating service allegedly charged exorbitant fees and sometimes billed clients' credit cards without their knowledge. No matter what type of business you're dealing with, you can't be too careful.

Why "Riverbend"?

Why is Alton, Illinois, called the "Riverbend Area"?

Not only does the Mississippi "bend" in the vicinity of Alton, but it's the only place in the United States where the Mississippi flows from west to east. The bend is clearly evident in this map. For more about the Riverbend Area, here is a link to "A Short History of Alton."

More E-mail Scams

An article in the SunTimes News warns "E-Mail Scammers Looking For Bank Account, Personal Info." According to the article:

Attorney General Lisa Madigan issued a consumer warning to Illinoisans regarding a new e-mail scam circulating the Web and aimed at stealing personal information and bank account numbers.

The Illinois Attorney General’s office and other law enforcement agencies across the country recently have received an onslaught of complaints from consumers who have found a fraudulent email disguised as a warning from the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC) in their e-mail inboxes.

. . .

Madigan warned consumers that this e-mail is a scam and advised Illinoisans to delete it without accessing the link provided in the e-mail or responding in any way. This e-mail was not sent by the FDIC, Madigan said, and consumers are urged not to respond to the email.

Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, are investigating the source of the e-mail. Until this issue is resolved, consumers are asked to email complaints to the FDIC at alert@fdic.gov or call the Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Hotline at 1-800-386-5438 or 1-800-964-3013 (TTY) in Chicago and 1-800-243-0618 or 1-877-844-5461 (TTY) in Springfield.

Body Solutions, RIP

For what seemed liked years, people in the St. Louis metropolitan area heard radio announcers tout the benefits of Body Solutions, the "weight-loss formula" that supposedly burned fat while you slept. It seemed too good to be true -- and it was -- but a lot of people bought the stuff anyway.

Now Mark Nutritionals, Inc., the company that made Body Solutions, is in bankruptcy, and has been charged by the Texas Attorney General with false advertising. According to "Body Solutions ordered to pay $1.1 million in refunds," by James Aldridge of the San Antonio Business Journal:

The state successfully obtained a settlement with two of the original owners, Harry Siskind and Edward D'Alessandro, Jr. to prevent the company from further doing business in Texas. They were also ordered to pay $475,000 in penalties and fees to the state.

. . .

A San Antonio federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday ordered Mark Nutritionals Inc., the former makers of Body Solutions, to pay $1.1 million in refunds to thousands of customers who bought the evening weight-loss formula.

When it comes to weight loss, don't believe everything you read.

Missouri Att'y Gen'l Blasts $99 Bankruptcy Firm

If you're seeking help from a bankruptcy firm in St. Louis, you should choose your advisors wisely, according to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch titled"Nixon blasts '$99 bankruptcy' firm," by Michael D. Sorkin. According to the article:

On the radio, Beverly J. Holmes advertises bankruptcies for $99. She calls her company Critique Legal Services and promises debtors "a fresh start."

A lawsuit filed Tuesday by the Missouri attorney general's office claims that Holmes is running a "bankruptcy mill," with a pattern of fraud that sometimes costs her customers their cars and homes and leads to harassment by creditors.

Attorney General Jay Nixon is asking a judge in St. Louis Circuit Court to rule that Critique has violated state consumer protection laws, to bar it from further misrepresentations and to order restitution to consumers.

The article also notes that "only in a footnote in its advertisements does Critique disclose that its $99 fee does not cover a required $200 court filing fee."

More on Hormone Replacement Therapy

From the Associated Press via Findlaw: "FDA Updates Hormone Replacement Warnings," by Lauran Neergaard.

According to the article, "The government told makers of hormone replacement therapies Tuesday to add yet another warning to their labels - that hormones may increase older women's risk of Alzheimer's or other types of dementia."

Products containing estrogen and progestin already bear a warning stating that their combination use increases the risk of breast cancer, heart attacks and stroke.