Florda PIRG

Citizen Agenda: An Update For Members Of Florida PIRG

Fall 2006

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Fighting For Strong Identity Theft Protections


	PROTECTING CONSUMERS FROM IDENTITY THEFT—The number one cause of identity theft in Florida is credit card fraud. During the 2006 legislative session, Florida PIRG helped pass a strong identity theft protection bill that will allow a consumer to freeze their credit report and stop thieves from creating new credit card accounts under a victim’s name.

Earlier this year, Florida PIRG worked with allied groups and Florida legislators to ensure the passage of a strong identity theft protection law.

The security freeze bill, recently signed into law by the governor, will allow Floridians to freeze access to their credit reports when they feel that their personal information has been compromised.

Allowing consumers to place a padlock on their credit reports will help prevent would-be thieves from opening new accounts under a victim’s good name and will help stop identity theft before it ever happens.

“Too many individuals have unknowingly fallen victim to identity theft,” said state Rep. Sandy Adams.

“The process of repairing the damage done by these perpetrators can take years, while subjecting many, including our most vulnerable citizens, to financial and personal loss. This legislation empowers individuals by providing them with the ability to ensure that their personal information remains just that—personal.”

PIRG Updates The Renters’ Rights Handbook
Florida renters often do not know their rights as tenants or their landlords’ obligations. Similarly, many tenants do not know whether their landlord’s actions are legal, or how to take action when landlords do not fulfill their duties.

The Florida PIRG Education Fund recently updated the “Renters’ Rights Handbook,” which has helped renters negotiate the legal maze of landlord-tenant relations for over a decade.

The handbook gives tenants advice on what to look for in a lease, how to deal with a landlord who refuses to do repairs, how to retrieve a lost security deposit and addresses many other important issues.

PIRG Defeats Industry-Backed Title Loan Bill
During the 2006 legislative session, Florida PIRG worked with allies to successfully defeat attempts by the title-loan industry to repeal a 1999 Florida PIRG-backed law that capped interest rates from car title-loan lenders at 30 percent APR.

Title-loan businesses prey on consumers who have bad credit and who are already in desperate financial straits. These consumers are usually unable to pay back the loans on time and then get trapped in a cycle of debt. Eventually, they default on the loan and lose their cars as well as their ability to regain financial stability.

Prior to 1999, title-loan businesses were allowed to charge interest rates of up to 294 percent APR. However, the 30 percent cap on title-loan interest rates were put in place to protect the most vulnerable Floridians from what amounts to legalized loan-sharking. Not surprisingly, these predatory lenders would like to turn back the clock. Florida PIRG will continue to fight for stronger consumer protections against predatory lenders.

Fighting For Fair Phone Rates
Florida PIRG, along with groups like the AARP, were recently able to help legislative members repeal an unfair provision that was slipped into a 2003 Telecommunications law. The provision allowed the providers of basic local phone services to automatically raise their rates by 20 percent every year without any justification or review by the Public Service Commission.

Many Floridians still depend on local land lines for their phone service. Repealing the automatic rate increase will help to protect our elderly population that is typically on a tight budget with only a fixed income.

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