Frank Thomas Papa

     I have been practicing in the areas of Consumer Bankruptcy, Consumer Protection/Creditor Harassment and Personal Injury for more than twenty-three years.  It was a long time ago that I decided to become a consumer advocate based upon my observation that the credit lending industry systemically takes advantage of uninformed consumers.  I remember when I obtained my first credit card in 1994 as a senior at the University of Florida - GO GATORS!  A major credit card company set up a booth on campus with bikini clad coeds giving away free beach towels for any student who signed up for their credit card.  No dipolma yet, no job yet, but, my head was filled with colorful images of all of the summer fun I was going to have with my new credit card and beach towel!  The credit card company was basically suggesting that I use their money to party and pursue young ladies at the beach all summer long!  I cannot imagine a better example of PREDATORY LENDING!  I did not have the income to manage a credit card nor did I have the information necessary to understand how credit lending truly worked.  Like so many of my future clients, I did not read the legally binding contract before or after I committed to the credit card agreement.  My own struggles managing credit card debt as a young man and the realization that I had literally "bought in" to the propagandized ideology of the immediately attainable, affluent lifestyle "sold" by the predatory credit lending industry ignited the fire in me to become a consumer advocate.  It was at this time as a recent graduate of Stetson Law School that I decided on a career advocating for consumers.  I made it my personal mission to inform and empower consumers like you with the knowledge and information necessary to usurp the power of the tyrannical credit lending industry.  An industry which employs practices such as usury interest rates, deceptive contract language, excessive fees and industry propaganda to extract the highest profits possible from its customers.  In my career thus far, I have been involved in the filing of more than 7,000 consumer bankruptcy cases.  Our firm has sued creditors for harassment and recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages for our clients who were preyed upon by abusive debt collectors.  Most recently, I have stopped the predatory practices of Debt Settlement Companies who prey upon consumers' sense of obligation to repay debt duping them to enroll in programs destined to fail for the sole purpose of charging ridiculous "settlement commissions" for alleged resolutions their customers cannot afford.

     The tyranny of the predatory credit lending industry is matched in the degradation of justice and fair play by that of the consumer insurance industry.  Numerous auto and liability insurance carriers use similar tactics to take advantage of uninformed consumers when faced with an injury or loss that was no fault of their own.  Like credit lenders, insurance companies use complex legal terms, voluminous policy contracts, industry propaganda and predatory tactics to deny the injured adequate compensation to which they are legally entitled.  I take pride in empowering the injured with the knowledge and information necessary to recover the maximum award possible under their policy and the law.  I have practiced in the area of personal injury for nearly twenty-two years and our firm has recovered millions of dollars in damages for our clients who have suffered a life-changing physical and emotional injury from the negligence or carelessness of another.  In many cases, we were able to recover a large monetary award where the insurance company had previously offered nothing.  Like the credit lending industry, the insurance industry is driven by profits not compassion.  I take pride in treating all of my clients with the dignity, empathy, compassion and respect to which they are entitled from industry professionals when facing any traumatic event like a personal injury or financial crisis.

     The first step when confronting any legal matter is to empower yourself with the information necessary to make an informed decision about how to best handle your particular situation!  It all begins with an experienced, knowledgeable and compassionate attorney. . .