Men and women of our armed forces risk their lives to defend our freedom. They deserve our gratitude. Unfortunately, instead of thanking those who have served, some unscrupulous companies take advantage of service members to systematically scam them out of their money. These companies charge members of the military rates far above the rates they charged to civilians.
For example, a phone company was recently sued for charging service members leaving combat zones long distance phone charges of $41 per minute to call their loved ones. These unethical companies are banking on the fact that the heroes who risk their lives saving our country may be too busy or too trusting to notice that they are being ripped off. If you are in the military, and a company offers you a “special deal” in recognition of your service, the sad truth is that it’s smart to look closely at the “deal” to be sure the company isn’t trying to cheat you. Of course, charging service members more than civilians is not just immoral, it is illegal.
To prevent such unlawful behavior in the future, the Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Defense, and the Federal Trade Commission and New York’s Attorney General recently announced the creation of the Repeat Offenders Against Military (ROAM) Database, which tracks lawsuits against companies and individuals who repeatedly scam military personnel. Victims of these scams against service members have the right to fight back in court.
We are proud to have litigated on behalf of service members. If you are a member of the armed services, and you believe a company may be exploiting you because of your military status, please contact us to discuss your legal options.