A Bay Area native, Alegra Howard’s policy interests are in the areas of technology and internet privacy. Before working as a EMILY's List campaign consultant on Annise Parker’s city controller race in Houston, Texas, Howard received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Villanova University. From there she went to Ohio to join the team at America Coming Together (ACT), where she worked on state-wide field and GOTV strategy in its state headquarters office during the 2004 Presidential election. Howard then returned to California and joined the labor movement, working with International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, Local 21 (AFL-CIO), on several organizing campaigns around the Bay Area.

As a senior development associate with the youth-sports non-profit, Positive Coaching Alliance, Howard worked with corporate and private donors in the Bay Area and New York City. Most recently, she worked with the Silicon Valley-based technology company, Cisco Systems, supporting its global marketing organization as a project specialist.

Howard moved to DC last fall to attend the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland in College Park. She is a Masters of Public Policy candidate specializing in Management Finance and Leadership.

Web spotlight: Consumer Action’s Consumer Service Guide

One of Consumer Action’s most valuable websites is its Consumer Services Guide (CSG). One of a number of subsites run by the organization, the CSG is a comprehensive database of organizations and agencies dedicated to helping individuals resolve a wide range of consumer issues. From attorneys general to workplace issues, the CSG features 44 comprehensive subject categories. The user simply logs onto www.consumerservicesguide.org and selects from one of several ways to display the growing list of resources, including a convenient search by one’s location.

The CSG has become a valuable tool for consumers seeking help with complaints. All too often, consumers aren’t able to resolve disputes because they do not know where to turn or what questions to ask. The CSG provides a solution to this problem. A person who has fallen victim to deceptive television and Internet ads can click on “Fraud” and pinpoint the agency responsible for handling specific cases. Consumers concerned about tainted food, can click on “Food Safety” to find the right agency who can answer direct questions about meats and other food products.

The CSG also serves as a resource repository for non-consumer issues. A spouse who suffers abuse can click on Legal Assistance and find free and culturally sensitive assistance for battered women. Persons with disabilities who have experienced discrimination will find a Disability Services page as well as a Discrimination page with over 90 listings to help the consumer take action against the offending entity.

In the age of the World Wide Web, the problem is not a lack of information but how easy it is to find appropriate resources. Consumer Action has eliminated the need to scour individual websites by providing a centralized directory of helpful resources. The CSG, coupled with Consumer Action's free national hotline, puts a solid advocate on the side of the consumer.

Amicus briefing: Maintaining the democracy of the Internet

In March, Consumer Action submitted an amicus brief with the National Consumers League, Consumers Union and the U.S. Student Association in the case of Viacom v. YouTube, in support of TouTube/Google, the defendants. A lower court had ruled that that YouTube (owned by Google) is protected against claims of copyright infringement by the safe harbor of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The decision held that online services like YouTube are protected when they work cooperatively and quickly with copyright holders to help manage their rights.

Viacom filed an appeal, bringing the case to the Second Circuit appeals court.

Filed with the Second Circuit, the amicus brief prepared by Anthony P. Schoenberg of the San Francisco law firm Farella Braun + Martel LLP states: “Websites like YouTube have revolutionized the media by democratizing it. There is no doubt that this revolution has benefited independent authors, filmmakers and musicians whose success is now determined more by talent and popularity than by the whim of media-outlet gatekeepers. But this democratization of the media has also directly and undoubtedly benefited their audience—the workers, consumers, and students that amici represent. [...] It is not an overstatement to suggest that this case has the potential to decide whether the internet continues to be the transformational forum for the exchange of ideas and the conduct of commerce that it is today.

User-generated content websites may cease to exist without the Safe Harbor provisions of the DMCA, which allow copyright owners to monitor user-generated content websites and identify material subject to copyright for take-down. The safe harbor gives cooperating companies an opportunity to avoid liability for copyrighted content uploaded by their users because they agree to remove the material when they are notified of a copyright infringement.

Billions of people around the world use the web to communicate and share information on user-generated sites. Without the DMCA safe harbor, such sites could not exist, as it would be impossible for site owners to police the hundreds of thousands of items uploaded to popular sites like YouTube.

Consumer Action has added a new section of its website to list amicus briefs. Click here. This section also can be located under the About section on our home page.

Hotline Chronicles: Foreclosure rescue scams

Carla* from Northern California wrote to Consumer Action’s hotline recently to ask how she could get a mortgage modification without falling victim to fraud. Like Carla, cash-strapped homeowners often seek a loan modification in the hope of avoiding foreclosure. (Foreclosure is the legal process that your mortgage lender uses to take your home when you fall behind on your mortgage payments.)

Carla is smart because she knows that mortgage “mod” scams exist and she wants to avoid falling prey to them. Many times fraudsters may come knocking because they target at-risk homeowners after finding their names and addresses in foreclosure notices in newspapers, on the Internet and in public filings. They also advertise with catchy messages designed to attract desperate homeowners.

“Unfortunately, many companies use half-truths and even outright lies to sell their services,” said Ruth Susswein of Consumer Action. “They promise relief, but don't deliver. In fact, many of these companies leave homeowners in worse financial shape than before.”

Sometimes troubled homeowners believe they can quickly sell their homes and get out from under the burden of their mortgages. Scammers capitalize on this by offering to take over your mortgage payments if you transfer your home's deed to them. Most lenders don't allow you to transfer the deed while you still owe money on your mortgage, and if you do, the lender can demand that you pay the mortgage in full, immediately.

Even worse, you gave the scammer a deed to your home, allowing him to "skim" your equity by taking out a home equity loan or line of credit tied to the property. But once the crook gets the proceeds of the home equity loan he disappears and lets the property go into foreclosure. Because you are still the named mortgage holder, you will be named in the foreclosure proceeding and the bank will report the default on your credit. In some states you could still owe money even after a foreclosure because the bank sold the home for less than the mortgage amount.

Don’t:

• Sign anything that you do not fully understand. If you are unsure, have all documents reviewed by an attorney, a trusted real estate professional, or a counselor at a HUD-approved non-profit housing counseling agency.
• Deed your property over to anyone. Signing your home over to someone else does not relieve you of your mortgage obligation.
• Let someone assume the loan without the lender’s permission and without their formally releasing you from liability for the mortgage.
• Move out of your house because someone promises to make the mortgage payments for you.
• Pay money for any foreclosure prevention help.

Do:

• Be suspicious of anyone, other than your lender, who contacts you with a loan or service they promise will solve your money troubles and save your home.
• Avoid high-pressure lenders, or those who encourage you to pay an upfront fee for any service or loan, borrow more than the value of the home, or take on a loan without considering your ability to make the payments.
• Get all terms and promises in writing.
• Be on the lookout for terms that change or are not disclosed at the beginning of the loan process.
• Avoid any refinancing loan with exorbitant fees, a stiff prepayment penalty, an excessively high interest rate, or a balloon payment. (If you’re not sure whether the loan you’re being offered includes any of these abusive terms, have someone you trust review them for you.)
• Check for complaints about any company that offers to buy your home. Contact your state’s consumer protection office (click here to find your office) or your state’s real estate regulator (click here to find your regulator).
• If you do fall prey to a mortgage related scam, report it to the Federal Trade Commission online (www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov) or by phone (877-FTC-HELP (382-4357) and submit a complaint to your state’s Attorney General. Find your state AG’s contact information at National Association of Attorneys General website (www.naag.org).

Consumer Action believes the best defense against being scammed is to contact a reputable consumer assistance agency to learn what help is available to struggling homeowners. We recommend the following resources for advice and assistance:

• Non-profit counselors approved by the U.S. Dept of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). To find a counselor, call 800-569-4287 or visit www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm.
• Affordable Housing Centers of America. Call 888-409-3557 or visit www.ahcoa.org. Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
• Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) Home Save program.
• Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline or by phone at 888-995-HOPE (4673). Free foreclosure prevention counseling in more than 170 languages.
• The National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s Housing Counseling Network. NCRC assists struggling homeowners negotiate with their lenders to bring their mortgages current. Call 800-475-6272 or visit www.ncrc.org/programs-issues/housing-counseling.
• Making Home Affordable offers a web-based assessment tool that can help you determine if you are eligible to refinance or modify your home loan. Visit www.makinghomeaffordable.gov.
• Money Management International’s PHASES (Preserving Home Ownership And Savings Education Strategy) program provides qualified homeowners with grants to pay outstanding debts and one-on-one financial counseling sessions to help keep families in their homes. Participants must take part in housing counseling and Internet-based education sessions. Call 888-589-6959 or visit www.mmiphases.com.
• To find attorneys who represent consumers, visit the National Association of Consumer Advocates (www.naca.net) to use its Find An Attorney search engine.

These are some of the large lenders that offer specific assistance for their existing mortgage customers facing trouble:

• Bank of America: 800-846-2222 or visit its website.
• Chase: Call 866–550-5705 or visit its website.
• Citi: Call 866-915-9417 or visit its website.

Click here to submit a complaint to Consumer Action’s hotline: [url=http://www.consumer-action.org/hotline/complaint_form/]http://www.consumer-action.org/hotline/complaint_form/[/url]

*Not this consumer’s real name.

About Consumer Action

Consumer Action is a nonprofit organization that has championed the rights of underrepresented consumers nationwide since 1971. Throughout its history, the organization has dedicated its resources to promoting financial literacy and advocating for consumer rights in both the media and before lawmakers to promote economic justice for all. With the resources and infrastructure to reach millions of consumers, Consumer Action is one of the most recognized, effective, and trusted consumer organizations in the nation.

Financial Education. To empower consumers to assert their rights in the marketplace, Consumer Action provides a range of education resources. The organization’s extensive library of free publications offers in-depth financial information, while its hotline provides non-legal advice and referrals. Consumer Action also publishes an unbiased Annual Credit Card Survey that exposes excessive prices and anti-consumer practices to help consumers make informed buying choices and elicit change from big business.

Community Outreach. With a special focus on serving low to moderate income and limited-English-speaking consumers, Consumer Action maintains strong ties to a national network of more than 8,000 community-based organizations. Outreach services include training and free mailings of financial education materials in many languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and others. Consumer Action’s rapidly expanding network is the largest and most diverse of its kind.

Advocacy. Consumer Action is deeply committed to ensuring that underrepresented consumers are represented in the national media and in front of lawmakers. The organization promotes pro-consumer policy, regulations, and legislation by taking positions on almost 200 bills per legislative session and testifying at least three times per year. Additionally, its diverse staff provides the media with expert commentary on key consumer issues supported by solid data and victim testimony.

Click here to learn more about our staff.