There should be a law against that!  This is the reaction many people have when they first see how some become victims to unfair debt collection practices, yo-yo sales, predatory lending, home improvement scams, etc. Many times there is a law against the act in question.  Federal law provides numerous protections and North Carolina leads the South in providing its citizens with protection.  Alan M. Roughton has the knowledge and experience to assert those protections for you at the negotiating table or in a courtroom.

Most business provide valuable goods and services to their customers honestly and in compliance with the law.  This fact is the bedrock of the free market system.  Consumer protection laws ensure that "bad actors" do not distort this system by engaging in dishonest, abusive, unfair, and deceptive acts.  These laws protect consumers and the broader economy.

Alan M. Roughton represents clients in several ways:

1. He sues abusive debt collectors.

2. He defends clients being sued by abusive debt collectors.

3. He sues predatory and abusive landlords.

4. He sues deceptive businesses that ripoff their customers.

5. He defends his clients when abusive businesses take them to court.

6. He listens to his clients and works with them to build a strategy.

Call Alan M. Roughton for a free consultation regarding your situation.  He represents his clients in the following substantive areas:

-Home Improvement Scams: Usually low-income home owners are the victims of these scams in which a seller puts the homeowner under a lot of pressure to buy a good or service.  Sometimes they will not even leave the residence until the homeowner signs the contract.  They then charge more for their work than agreed to and often provide less-than-quality work.  These artists often push financing onto homeowners (often at very high interest rates) who then become at risk for foreclosure.  Many legal issues arise here: fraud, unfair and deceptive acts and practices, duress, many times there are Truth-in-Lending Act violations, etc.  Often there are legal bases to hold the scam artist accountable and save your home and your finances.  Call Alan M. Roughton if this has happened to you.

-Mobile Home and Manufactured Home Issues: Mobile homes provide an affordable housing option for many low-income North Carollina residents.  Unfortunately, there are many problems that arise in the process of purchasing, living in, and placing a mobile home.  Often, there are misrepresentations made by dealers related to the quality of a particular unit.  In eastern North Carolina people are still having issues with people trying to sell mobile homes that were flooded by Hurricane Floyd in 1999.  There are other problems that take place with delivery and placement of a home.  Predatory lending often is an issue.  Finally, many mobile home owners are subjected to landlords who exercise a great deal of power over their tenants because of the costs involved in moving to another location.  The problems that mobile home owners have often implicate legal issues such as fraud, warranties, Truth-in-Lending violations, violation of the North Carolina Landlord-Tenant Act.  Call Alan M. Roughton if you are having problems related to your mobile home.

-Predatory Lending: The current recession was brought on by, or at least made worse by, the real estate crash of 2008.  That crash took place by and large because of widespread predatory lending practices that left millions of victims in its wake.  There has been some government action to take on predatory lenders, but greed remains a powerful motive so predatory lending is likely to continue and there will be more victims.  Unfortunately, some predatory acts are perfectly legal.  Others, however, are not.  Predatory lending robs people of their homes, equity, and pride.  Alan M. Roughton can evaluate your situation to determine whether the law has been broken and then put together a strategy to achieve undo the wrong.  Call Alan M. Roughton if you have been the victim of predatory lending.

-Abusive Collection Practices: Most people pay their debts on time.  The vast majority of people who get late do not do so willfully.  Of course, people do have an obligation to pay their just debts  This does not mean they are not deserving of dignity and freedom from harassment.  Yet collection agencies often harass, coerce, and threaten debtors in order to get paid.  Debt collectors are prohibited from engaging in many activities under both federal and North Carolina law-which they often violate.  Many file lawsuits; when that happens you need to act quickly.  If you have been a victim of debt collector harassment, contact Alan M. Roughton to learn about your rights.

-Automobile Fraud: Driving is nearly a necessity in eastern North Carolina.  Without access to a car, getting a job, going to school or obtaining the necessities of life becomes nearly impossible.  With that necessity, some people are taken advantage of at every step of the process of purchasing and owning a vehicle.  Sometimes, a dealer hides a defect, rolls back an odomter, or sells the customer a lemon.  Other times, the buyer runs into problems related to the financing, such as a yo-yo sale (you drive off the lot and you get a call several days later telling you that your financing was not approved) designed to bring you back to negotiate a better deal for the seller.  Victims of these tactics have several recourses based on warranty and other consumer protection laws.  Contact Alan M. Roughton to find out how your rights are protected.

-Other Consumer Issues: the number of ways to take advantage of consumers is only limited by the human imagination.  Just because your consumer issue is not listed here does not mean that there is not a solution.  Contact Alan M. Roughton to explore your options.

The Law Office of Alan M. Roughton, PLLC
P.O. Box 454
155 N. Market St., Suite 219
Washington, NC 27889
(252) 940-1300
Fax: (252) 946-5800
alanr@amr-law.com