Attention TV viewers in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware–
Think you know everything about the lemon law? Test your knowledge and you could win a $50 WAWA gas card. Watch the 10! show the next five Thursdays at 2pm on NBC10 for your chance to win.
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Philadelphia, PA - 1-800 LEMON LAW, the Nationally-recognized Lemon Law and Consumer Advocacy Firm of Kimmel & Silverman, will sponsor a live telethon benefiting Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer. The live, call-in special will air from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on KYW TV, the Philadelphia CBS affiliate.
The Foundation is named in honor of Alexandra Scott, a brave little girl who ultimately lost her life to cancer at the age of eight. Four years prior to her passing, Alex developed her own way to raise funds so that other children would not have to endure what she had suffered. She opened a lemonade stand on her lawn and all the monies would go toward cancer research. Her parents, Liz and Jay Scott, have carried on Alex’s legacy, devoting their lives to raising awareness and funds for cancer research.
The telethon kicks off the 5th annual ALSF Lemonade Days, a 3-day national event where volunteers host lemonade stands throughout the Country, all raising monies to fight pediatric cancer and to fund new research studies. Last year, during Lemonade Days, more than 1500 lemonade stands raised over $1 million toward Alex’s efforts.
“It is difficult to think of a more worthy cause than Alex’s Lemonade Stand,” says 1-800 LEMON LAW Founding Partner Craig Thor Kimmel. “Alex’s Lemonade Stand is a grass roots effort by every day people who care, helping those who need it most. Our firm was founded on the same ideal of helping those in need and doing so without asking anything in return. We salute Alex’s Lemonade Stand for their continued efforts in curing this horrible disease.”
To donate to this very worthy cause, please visit www.alexslemonade.org.
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About Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation:
Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) emerged from the front yard lemonade stand of cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott (1996-2004). At the age of 4, Alex announced that she wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for all children with cancer. Since Alex held that first stand, the Foundation bearing her name has evolved into a national fundraising movement, complete with thousands of volunteers across the country carrying on her legacy of hope. To date, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 charity, has raised more than $19 million towards fulfilling Alex’s dream of finding a cure, funding over 80 research projects nationally including those examining leukemia, brain tumors, neuroblastoma, Wilm’s tumor, lymphoma, and osteosarcoma among others. For more information, visit www.AlexsLemonade.org.
Kimmel & Silverman is the oldest and largest lemon law firm in the Northeast, and the only lemon law firm in the Nation to be honored by the American Bar Association (Meritorious Recognition, Louis M. Brown Legal Access Award). Since its inception in 1991, the Firm has provided free lemon law and breach of warranty help to more than 40,000 consumers, recovering over $145 million for their clients. The Firm has six full-service offices in Eastern and Western Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Massachusetts. For more information regarding our services, please call 1-800-LEMON-LAW (1-800-536-6652) or visit www.lemonlaw.com.
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We are very proud of our website. Since it’s inception over ten years ago as the first site dealing specifically with lemon law and breach of warranty rights, we have provided information to more than 20 million visitors. We have been recognized by many organizations for providing comprehensive and useful information to both distressed drivers who already have a lemon car and potential car-buyers who are looking to buy a car without being taken for a ride.
That being said, it often surprises us when folks reach out to us for assistance and information, and then proceed to tell us that they think they will be able to handle it on their own through the dealership. That would be okay–if the dealer was the defendant, but they are not. In most cases, dealerships have NO authority to offer a consumer a buy back or an MSRP to MSRP swap (not a trade, but a swap). In addition, most consumers have
**NO access to the manufacturer’s legal counsel. Sure, you can call the customer service hotline and receive a case number, but what does that mean? And, who are you talking to on the other line? In most cases, this is a pacifier.
**NO true knowledge of the last chance letter we frequently see on websites. Consumers should not send a last chance letter on their own. Why are you only giving the consumer one last chance to fix the problem, when there is no guarantee that you will get a new car or buyback. This is a law; it is not a guarantee. Plus, you are creating a hostile environment between you and the dealership. You need to speak to a lawyer first before issuing such a letter.
**NO access to technical service bulletins, recalls, or case study to determine if the problems you are experiencing are common among the masses. Plus, law firms offer ASE-certified experts who will write expert reports on cars and their conditions–at NO COST TO THE CONSUMER.
**NO ability to enforce the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act. Yes, dealers are required to discuss the Lemon Law with you when you purchase a car. But, if your problems fall outside the lemon law provisions, ask them about the Mag Moss and they will stare at you like you are speaking another language? Do you think the dealer is going to offer you thousands of dollars to reflect the diminished value of the car? No and they are not required to. If you have a car with 50,000 miles on it, what can a dealer do for you? An oil change, a monthly payment, at the most an extended warranty, but you are entitled to SO MUCH MORE.
Our goal is to educate you about your rights so that you will enforce them if you need to. However, the beauty of these laws is that they offer provisions which put you on EQUAL FOOTING with the billion-dollar manufacturers? These provisions provide completely free legal help, either through us or another Firm. Take advantage of them. Let those who are more knowledgeable help you. I can’t tell you the number of folks who tried to do this on their own, failed, and then virtually voided their rights. If you are going to fight, make sure you have someone in your corner who knows how to battle. OK, I’m stepping off my soapbox now.
A quick programming note for viewers in the Delaware Valley–Craig Kimmel will be discussing the 2008 Car Complaint Index and the Center for Auto Safety’s Best Bets tonight on the Fox 29 News at 5.
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Christina Gill Roseman, Managing Attorney of Kimmel & Silverman’s Pittsburgh office will be participating in a free seminar on women attorneys who want to reenter the job force after taking time off to raise a family. “Just A Detour: Tips on How to Off-and On-Ramp Successfully” is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession and includes a reception in honor of State Supreme Court Justice Debra Todd. The event will take place Tuesday, April 8 at the Federal Courthouse on the corner of 7th Avenue and Grant Street.
For more information, click here.
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Lemon Law Attorney Craig Kimmel provides some rules of thumb for buying a new car without being taken for a ride all this week on Comcast Newsmakers. If you live in Pennsylvania, you can check out Newsmakers at the following times on CNN Headline News:
Wednesday 2/20: 7:25 am & 3:25 pm
Thursday 2/21: 6:25 am & 2:25 pm
Friday 2/22: 5:25 am, 1:25 pm, & 9:25 pm
Saturday 2/23: 4:25 am, 12:25 pm & 8:25 pm
Sunday 2/24: 3:25 am & 11:25 am
Monday 2/25: 2:25 am, 10:25 am, & 6:25 pm
Tuesday 2/26: 9:25 am & 5:25 pm
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Happy new year–we hope you enjoyed a happy holiday with family and friends.
2008 will soon be upon us and as folks reneter reality after their holiday break, their cars will no doubt provide a source of anger and frustration. Do you know that if the same problem occurs three or more times under manufacturers warranty, you could be at least be entitled to monetary damages and possibly a complete refund or buyback? (In some states, such as Maryland and Delaware, you will need four occurrences.)
The fact of the matter is that many distressed drivers are letting thousands of dollars slip between their fingers because they are not properly informed. While folks are familiar with the “Lemon Law” per se, there are other laws out there as well, including the Federal Magnuson Moss Warranty Act. In addition, many times consumers turn to the dealership for information on their consumer rights. That’s kind of like asking the man who sold you the chainsaw what to do after you accidentally cut your thumb. They are not attorneys and have no real clue about your rights. If you are lucky, they will refer you to our Lemon Law Firm such as ours. If not, they could see dollar signs and persuade you to trade your lemon in for a new car, increasing their profit margin and your negative equity. Remember, the only person interested in helping you is YOU! You need to be informed about your rights.
Now, they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and since we opened as one of the first lemon law firms in the Nation back in 1991 (and THE first in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware), many lawyers have opened their doors offering lemon law assistance. Firms have taken note of our efforts and in recent months have spent tremendous amounts of money placing internet advertisements. Copy-cat websites are popping up all over. We have seen firms come and go within a few months; while others try to sell their services by making strange claims. One firm actually tries to convince consumers that they can be in closer contact with clients and that as such, it makes up for their inexperience in Lemon Law representation.
When hiring a lemon law attorney, it is very important that you ask questions and not rely solely on self-promoting advertisements and websites. Here are some items you should always consider:
Unfortunately, firms sometimes buy “addresses” to look more established and gain new business. We know of one firm that has no offices in many of the states they claim to practice in. If you see a little asterisk explaining that these are “of counsel” locations, it means they are not directly owned or operated by the law firm. Be as wary of the “of counsel” lawyer as you would be of the “of counsel” surgeon. Limited knowledge and lack of experience is often the hallmark of such arrangements and that could detrimentally affect your case.
Kimmel & Silverman litigators travel each day to wherever we need to be for our clients’ cases, litigating claims where they are likely to have the greatest return for them.
Our attorneys have been interviewed by Good Morning America, The CBS Early Show, Extra, and hundreds of radio and television news and talk programs. Want proof? Visit our online newsroom at www.lemonlaw.com/news.htmland see for yourself that Kimmel & Silverman is the place to turn for news and views consumers can use. In fact, when journalists are faced with their own lemon cars, many have turned to our Firm for help, and they receive it.
In the Legislature for Better Law:
Kimmel & Silverman was the only outside firm working with the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Consumer Affairs Committee on two critical amendments to the Lemon Law; the first to add leased cars, and the second to both tighten notification for “buyback” cars and penalize violators.
In the Courts to Expand Current Law:
In the last few years alone, we have pushed back the trend of cases favoring business rights over consumer rights. We fought to the Supreme Court of New Jersey against American Honda, which claimed that people who lease cars in New Jersey had no Federal warranty rights. We have been to the Circuit Court of Appeals in Federal Court in cases proving that certain manufacturer-sponsored “informal dispute resolution programs” were not fair to consumers.
We have testified repeatedly and will continue to do so, to promote added protection for motorcycle and Recreational Vehicle owners. Craig Kimmel co-wrote the Nation’s first-ever Computer Lemon Law Bill way back in 1999, and persists in working towards its passage in Pennsylvania and other states.
Our class-action claims have been used to effect substantial changes in production cars suffering from brake, engine and other concerns.
New Jersey Judges recently invited Founding Partner Robert Silverman and several K&S attorneys to train mediators and arbitrators on how to hear Lemon Law cases.
Even our public awareness campaigns and the self titled “Lemon List” of problems cars, has been a positive force in effecting change. In 2002 for example, Mazda revised the design of their MPV minivan and brought it to our attention directly, noting that our publication of the consumer complaints of the prior vehicle was noted by upper levels of the company. Seeking to have us understand that changes were made and consumers were heard, we lauded Mazda for its response to those problems.
Several years ago, we peeled open the lid on secret, but common, dealer financing scams known as “spot delivery”. At information seminars across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, we taught consumers how they can avoid being “taken for a ride” when buying a car. With a team of over fifty attorneys, paralegals, clerks, administrators and experts, we are driven to help consumers.
We hope that this information proves educational and helpful. We thank you for considering Kimmel & Silverman as your Lemon Law attorneys. If you want us on your team, call 1-800-LEMON-LAW or fill out our Get Rid Of Your Lemon form. Your Recovery is Our Success.
We wish you safe driving and all the best for a happy, healthy new year.
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