Posts Tagged ‘ Consumer Fraud ’

Movie Madness: Lawsuit Says “Drive” didn’t Drive Enough

October 13th, 2011. By AbiK

Been to a movie lately that you thought, quite frankly, sucked?

Did you file a lawsuit over it? Or even request a refund at the box office? Probably not. But Sarah Deming from Michigan did.

Seems she saw the trailer for the movie, Drive, and subsequently put it on her “must see” list. Deming’s apparently a Fast and Furious (the movie, not the federal gun-running op), hit-the-accelerator type of gal. For most, Hollywood darling Ryan Gosling would’ve been reason enough to hit the box office. But Deming sought the action aspect, and well, unfortunately, when she saw the full movie, she was less than wowed.

Deming’s beef—there are actually a couple—was that the Drive trailer promoted a race action film—i.e., one that would have a lot of fast driving in it—but in reality, Drive had “very little driving” in it. Deming’s complaint actually stated that Drive was promoted as being like Fast and Furious but in reality it was not.

The second part of her lawsuit—which somehow seems completely off-topic from what she’s seeking damages for (i.e., allegedly misleading trailer)–states that there was “extreme gratuitous defamatory dehumanizing racism directed against members of the Jewish faith.” Something tells me the likes of Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman wouldn’t be associated with such a movie—but what do I know?

If you’ve seen the Drive trailer, it doesn’t, IMHO, make you think the movie is just going to be driving a-go-go. There’s actually this little thing called a storyline going on—and you get that from the trailer. Thinking about it now, in fact, most car action movies I recall have a bit more than the driving going on. Heck, even Speed Racer has a plot that puts the cars in “park” for large chunks of the movie.

But my perception does not equate Ms. Deming’s perception. And therein lies the crux of the matter here. Was the trailer for Drive misleading? Was it false advertising?

One has to imagine that Deming could’ve just gotten a refund (reports don’t mention whether Deming sat the whole movie out or if she got up midway through it and left the theater). But Deming is on a rant here so she’s suing. She wants her ticket refunded, and apparently an end to misleading movie trailers—whatever that really means. And, according to kcra.com, she’ll be seeking class action status on this one.

Hard to imagine that this one will really go anywhere—if it does, what’s to stop an onslaught of copycat lawsuits? And, what’s next? Read some cover notes at Barnes & Noble, buy the book, read the book, and…?

Next time, perhaps Ms. Deming should just stay home, grab her remote, and watch some NASCAR.

Tags: Class Action Lawsuit, Consumer Fraud, Drive, Drive Trailer, false advertising, Fast and Furious, Movie Trailers, Ryan Gosling, Sarah Deming
Posted in Class Action, Consumer Fraud, lawsuits | No Comments »

Great Tips to Avoid Being a Fraud Victim

November 1st, 2010. By admin

The US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) is sending out flyers with some great tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of mail fraud—a type of consumer fraud. For those of you who may not have received it, I’ve shared some of the tips below.

The video above is from the USPIS website, deliveringtrust.com, where you can find further information about fraud—specifically cross-border fraud which is happening more frequently. It is a longer video—12 minutes—but there are some good tips at the end, and quite frankly, the USPIS did a pretty good job of channeling some sort of CSI episode to make the subject matter here more entertaining (if it’s possible to even make fraud “entertaining”).

You’ll also find a quiz over at deliveringtrust.com to test your scam radar savvy, and also information about fake checks, cross-border fraud, internet fraud, foreign lottery scams, work-at-home scams, identity theft, telemarketing fraud, and what to do if you’re a victim of fraud. Of course it’s a good idea to contact a consumer fraud attorney if you’ve been a fraud victim as well.

Warning Signs that may indicate a scam:

1. It sounds too good to be true.

2. You’re being pressured to act “right away”.

3. It guarantees success.

4. It promises unusually high returns.

5. It requires an upfront investment—even for a “free” prize.

6. It doesn’t have the look of a real business.

7. Something about it just doesn’t feel right.

Tags: Consumer Fraud, Cross Border Fraud, Mail Fraud, scam, US Postal Service, USPIS
Posted in Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues | No Comments »

Applying for College? Take Notes on Westwood College Lawsuit

August 24th, 2010. By AbiK

Here’s a little tale of a consumer fraud class action lawsuit for you…

Girl finishes high school.

Girl wants to go to college.

Girl wants to be first in family to go to college.

Girl visits Westwood College in Denver, Colorado.

Girl wowed by representative at Westwood College.

Girl really wowed when told she’d be making $65k in fashion career upon graduation.

Girl signs on.

Girl takes out loans.

Girl graduates. In debt.

Girl makes $12 an hour as a bank teller.

Girl not happy.

Actually, girl pissed.

Ahh, the joys of the college go-see. The pre-admissions promises made. The distinguished alumni stories told. The bullshit, quite frankly. Not that you don’t leave most colleges with an education and a diploma in the end—and let’s face it, try getting a higher paying job without that little slip of paper. But my heart goes out to this girl—who happens to be Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Class Action, College Recruiting, Consumer Fraud, Krystle Bernal, Westwood College
Posted in Class Action, Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues | 2 Comments »

MoneyGram Scammed Us

November 6th, 2009. By janem

Back in July Pleading Ignorance looked at Moneygram and its involvement, if any, to consumer fraud. We really did plead ignorance because it turns out that Moneygram isn’t the reputable company we believed it to be. Although we weren’t scammed financially as   countless unfortunate US consumers were, “The wool got pulled over our eyes”, as the old saying goes.

The FTC recently charged that the second-largest money transfer service in the US allowed its money transfer system to be used by fraudulent telemarketers to bilk consumers out of tens of millions of dollars. And it has to pay the FTC a hefty $18 million to compensate consumers.

That sounds like a lot of dough, but it’s a measly amount to pay back, considering that many consumers likely didn’t report a loss. And a recent FTC survey reported almost 80 percent of all MoneyGram transfers of $1,000 or more from the US to Canada over a four-month period in 2007 were fraud-induced.

And if that’s not enough to make you shake your head, MoneyGram itself received more than 20,600 fraud complaints that cost consumers more than $44 million to cross-border money-transfer frauds between 2004 and 2008 alone. Combine that with losses reported by U.S. consumers on money transfers within the US and that number almost doubles to a whopping $84 million! Cha-ching!

According to the FTC, MoneyGram knew that its network has been used over the last few years by telemarketing scammers to prey on US consumers. And worse, some MoneyGram agents were also scam artists but the money transfer service more or less turned a blind eye. Big mistake: the FTC had MoneyGram in its eagle eye.

This is how the scam works. Con artists prefer to use money transfer services because they can pick up transferred money immediately, the payments are often untraceable, and unknowing consumers can’t do anything about it. Until now, that is.

The FTC has a new Consumer Alert, available on its website, titled “Money Transfers Can Be Risky Business.” And consumers interested in the process of redress administration should call 1-202-326-3755.

Tags: Consumer Fraud, moneygram class action, Moneygram Scam
Posted in Class Action | 4 Comments »

Fake Money Orders…How to tell a real one from a fake

July 23rd, 2009. By AbiK

At first glance, many of the counterfeit postal money orders now in circulation are hard to spot, but two security features are hard to fake.

Security Thread: A microfiber security strip will reveal the letters USPS in alternating directions when held up to the light. Fake versions may only show a printed bar. 

Watermark: When held up to the light, a genuine postal money order will display a watermark of Benjamin Franklin. Fake postal money orders often have no watermark or a crude outline.

(Source: US Postal Inspection Service and lookstoogoodtobetrue.com)

Tags: Consumer Fraud, Money Order Scam
Posted in Emerging Issues | No Comments »