Time to Transition: New Blog and Website!


Thank you to all of you who have followed and visited the Law and Life Blog.  As you see it has been several years since any new posts or activity have loaded on this Blog.  The reason for this is that I have had a new website (www.oneallawoffice.com) which now has its own Blog page.  Therefore, I do not plan to make any more posts or changes to this Law and Life Blog.

To follow me and my office and keep in the know with valuable legal and life information, you will need to visit my new website and subscribe to the Blog page.  To subscribe, click the link and paste the feed into your RSS feed reader.

Don’t have a RSS feed reader? You are missing out.  To learn more about RSS feed readers and why you should get one, click here.  These amazing tools allow you to follow my blog along with thousands of other blogs, news sites, and webpages as the items post.

Once again thank you so much for all your support and I hope to see you over at the O’Neal Law Office blog site….and possibly for a consult if you need my legal services.  Please remain healthy and safe and hang in there.

The People Are Speaking: Reform Payday Lending!


A recent set of reports from the well-known Pew Charitable Trusts indicates Americans have growing concerns about the payday

Payday lending….good for you?

lending industry and its uprightness (if that is even a word).  In essence, there is a desire for reform and further regulation of payday lending.  Nobody can really deny that payday lending fulfills a void in the current lending market but it is also implausible to deny that payday lending is without issues.

Rogue payday lending can lead to repeated loans, illegally high interest rates, wrongful repossession of personal property, lawsuits, and other problems.  If you believe you have been affected by an illegal payday loan contact a consumer lawyer for a consultation.

OMG! IHG Privacy Breach..Does it Affect You?


Good day after a bit of a hiatus.  In the ongoing effort to protect consumers I share the following recent news regarding a data breach involving InterContinental Hotels Group or IHG.  IHG operates 12 hotel brands across the globe including Candlewood Suites, Crowne Plaza, Even, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo, Hualuxe, InterContinental, Kimpton Hotels and Resorts and Staybridge Suites.  Approximately 1,200 franchise hotel locations in the Americas were affected and since the company has a network of more than 5,000 hotels in over 100 countries that could mean more than one-fifth of IHG’s hotels were affected.

Click here for a state-by-state listing of the hotel properties affected.  As the data breach affected customers with hotel stay dates between September 29, 2016 and December 29, 2016 you may want to check the list if you resided at an IHG property during this time frame.   Hope this does not affect you but if it does take the steps set out by IHG and monitor your credit and debit cards for any unusual activity.  If you believe you have sustained monetary losses, identity theft, or other invasion of your privacy arising out of the IHG data breach you should contact an experienced consumer lawyer for a consultation.

Dancing With Debt Collectors


Dealing with debt collectors is rarely fun but often needs to be done. But if you are having to deal with a debt collector be on guard for potential problems and pitfalls such as these:

♦ Contacting you re a debt when you have an attorney handling the debt
♦ Seeking to collect on a debt listed in your bankruptcy petition/plan
♦ Repeated, excessive number of phone calls
♦ Foul and/or threatening language during a phone call re a debt
♦ Sending a letter or other written communication threatening to take action which legally cannot be taken re the debt
♦ Notifying certain third parties about the existence and details re the debt
♦ Posting your name and amount owed in a public place or place frequented by multiple third parties
♦ Failure to heed your written request that the collector validate or prove the debt

This list does not cover all the potential violations of state and federal law. If you have questions about your interactions with a debt collector or a debt settlement company contact an experienced consumer attorney for a consultation and possible representation.

Traffic Tickets


Traffic tickets can be the worst.  They come at the most inopportune times and can lead to angst over the choices for handling and consequences of handling.  Doing it yourself can be disastrous on some occasions….do not let disaster happen to you.  The goal is to resolve the ticket in a manner to keep you driving.  The question is do you know the best course of action in handling your traffic ticket?

I have been practicing law for over 20 years and have significant experience in handling traffic citations in counties across North Carolina.  I focus my traffic ticket/citation practice in Guilford, Forsyth, Randolph, Chatham, Alamance, and Rockingham Counties.  In many cases I am able to handle the ticket without the person ever appearing in court.  If you have received a ticket in any of these counties please contact me for a free consultation.

My Advice on Buying a Vehicle


From time to time folks ask for my thoughts on buying vehicles.  What to buy….where to buy….how to prepare….what to say……what to sign (and not to sign)..and the list goes on.  I could talk for hours on this topic but none of you would want me to do so.  Trust me….a few notes and a little patience could save you a lot of headache.

Vehicle buying tips….before you buy!

Here is a quick outline of my thoughts on buying vehicles.  It has been developed based on my own personal buying experiences as well as talking with hundreds of people who purchased or leased vehicles.  Hope it serves you well and feel free to share with those in your social media and other spheres of influence. Continue reading

Is Your Car a Lemon?


“Lemon law” seems to be a generic term for the body of law relating to mechanic problems and defects relating to vehicles.  However, in its strictest sense, the term “lemon law” only applies to brand new vehicles.  The North Carolina lemon law statute (N.C.G.S. § 20-351. et seq.) only covers new vehicles.  This means you must be the first registered owner of the vehicle in question.  North Carolina’s lemon law statute can be a bit difficult to decipher and determine how to

Is Your Vehicle a Lemon?

apply.  Generally speaking, North Carolina law states if your new vehicle has been in for warranty-related repairs on at least 4 separate occasions for the same issue/defect or for at least 20 business days in any 12-month warranty period, your vehicle is deemed a lemon.  The problems with your vehicle must be material or major—no cosmetic defects or things that do not seriously affect the operation of your vehicle—and the problems must begin within the first 24 months or 24,000 miles of your ownership of the vehicle.

The frustrated vehicle owner who has met the required number of service attempts or days without use of the vehicle may be able to obtain either a refund or a replacement vehicle.  Along the way there is documentation to be obtained/retained and notices required to be provided and negotiation will likely come into play.  Possibly even arbitration.  But if all that fails and the vehicle owner has a legitimate case, litigation (a/k/a filing a lawsuit) would be required.

Used vehicles

Now let’s chat for a minute regarding the situation with used vehicles in North Carolina.  We already established that they do not qualify for protection under the lemon law statute.  There are, however, some claims potentially available to the aggrieved vehicle owner.  First and foremost, if the seller of the vehicle provided a warranty this is a first line of defense.  Let us be clear—all warranties are not warranties.  Often when people purchase vehicles they pay additional money for a product that dealers often refer to as “an extended warranty” or “third party warranty”.  These products are not warranties in the strict legal sense of the word.  These products are more appropriately called vehicle service contracts because they look and work more like insurance policies.  The cost of vehicle service contracts is usually included in the vehicle payments made by the consumer.  With a vehicle service contract the vehicle owner may or may not have to take the vehicle back to the selling dealer for mechanical problems or defects—depends on the terms of the contract.  And with vehicle service contracts the vehicle owner often has to pay a deductible each time the vehicle goes in for repairs.  One of the major complaints about vehicle service contracts is that they are riddled with exceptions and exclusions such that some repairs or problems are not even covered.  This leaves the vehicle owner frustrated with the vehicle and their vehicle service contract.  Now back to our discussion of true warranties….

Preferably the warranty from the seller is in writing because oral warranties are always hard to prove and may not be sufficient enough to merit spending the time and money to enforce.  If the seller provides a written warranty this is called an express warranty.  An express warranty is merely a promise to pay for or otherwise be responsible for issues that may arise with certain components of a vehicle.  Most express warranties have a duration or time limitation after which they expire.  It is important that a used vehicle owner notify the seller of any vehicle problems as soon as possible after they occur.

When a seller provides an express written warranty it automatically means the used vehicle owner also has the benefit of implied warranty protection.  Implied warranties cannot be excluded—but can be limited—-if you are provided a warranty or a vehicle service contract.  Implied warranties can only be excluded if the vehicle is sold “as is” with no warranty AND a clear written disclaimer of implied warranties is provided to the customer at the time of the transaction.  The primary purpose of the Buyer’s Guide sticker found in the windows of many vehicles is to make clear if the seller is offering a warranty on the vehicle.

There are two implied warranties—the warranty of merchantability and the warranty of fitness for particular purpose.  The warranty of merchantability essentially says that the used vehicle will do what vehicles are supposed to do—operate safely on the roads and highways—but this is not an absolute guarantee that the vehicle will experience no problems whatsoever.  The implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is a promise a seller makes when a customer specifically relies on the seller’s advice that the vehicle can be used for some specific purpose—ex: a person needing a truck with certain hauling power or payload capacity.  The implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is established in rare situations so the implied warranty of merchantability, which is much broader in scope and far more commonly created, is more advantageous to the consumer.

When the used vehicle owner has a written warranty and the vehicle has exhibited problems, the owner has a duty to present the problems to the seller’s attention and offer the vehicle to the seller for the necessary repairs.  One key is documentation:  obtaining and keeping copies of all repair estimates and receipts, sending written notice to the seller of the vehicle problems.  Sometimes there may be a need to send a written demand to the seller to repair the vehicle.  The handling of used vehicle issues can be a bit murky to navigate as the relevant principles are a combination of warranty law, contract law, and various federal and state consumer statutes.  So used vehicle owners who are frustrated with their vehicles definitely benefit from consulting an experienced consumer lawyer.

This article is a very broad overview and there is far too much information to summarize here or to provide a “how to guide” for consumers.  Know that there tools in place to help owners of true lemons to recover damages and even used vehicle owners may have options for recovery.  Trying to save money and self-manage your vehicle problem/defect case will likely result in more frustration and more money spent in the long run.  Now that’s pretty sour. Trust me when I say that if you or someone you know is having a problem with a vehicle it really does pay to consult with an experienced lemon law or consumer law attorney.

Free Lawyer Friday! This Friday, March 3rd…All Day!


Good day my friend.  It’s back.  The annual NC Bar Association service project and community outreach event that has lawyers Statewide Free Lawyer Friday!manning phones at locations across North Carolina to take calls and questions.  And it is all free!

The NC Bar Association’s “4ALL Statewide Service Day” will take place on Friday, March 3, at call centers in Asheville, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Greenville, Raleigh and Wilmington. On that day, North Carolinians will be able to talk to an NC lawyer by phone for free!   Attorney volunteers from the North Carolina Bar Association will take calls from members of the public with law-related questions. Last year, more than 10,000 North Carolinians called in and talked to a volunteer lawyer at no charge.   This is the Bar Association’s 10th year in a row of providing this service to people all across North Carolina.

Anyone in N.C. can call one of the toll-free numbers between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m (the call center in Wilmington will be available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)  Callers will not be asked for their name or any contact information– they can just ask their questions!   Here is a list of phone numbers across North Carolina:

Asheville | 1.800.289.0013
Charlotte | 1.866.616.4255
Fayetteville | 910.884.3907
Greensboro | 1.855.899.9037
Greenville | 1.888.616.0614
Raleigh | 919.744.3861
Wilmington | 910.386.5540

If the number for your area is busy that day, try one of the other above-listed phone numbers.   Areas of practice will include criminal law, real estate, wills and probate, powers of attorney, landlord-tenant, immigration, child custody and support, divorce, business, debt collection and more.

Please spread the word to your family, friends, colleagues, and social networks.  Some may have legal questions and want to take advantage of this opportunity to talk to a North Carolina lawyer at no charge.   Again, it’s this Friday, March 3, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Thanks for helping me spread the word!  Best wishes and thanks for your support.

 

Tips for Buying a Used Vehicle


Follow the link: http://carconsumers.org/usedcarbuyingtips.htm. If you have been burned on a used vehicle you have purchased contact me so we can discuss. Best wishes and do share this blog post.