Alaska, where you can allegedly see Russia from, has more consumer credit card debt per person than any other state in the nation, according to a new study.
On average, every American citizen has $5,165 in debt. Alaska is well above that number—the average Alaskan owes $7,135.
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Last week I wrote about the various ways that consumers can afford a foreclosure defense attorney. New York has passed a law allowing consumers to recoup attorney fees and at least one attorney in Florida is allowing clients, under certain conditions, to take a mortgage with his firm.
That practice might be short lived—he is now under investigation by the Florida bar.
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Even before a number of big banks stopped foreclosure proceedings because of issues with robo-signers, consumers with money were fighting foreclosures across the nation. New York recently passed a law (effective next year) that allows consumers to recoup their attorney fees if they fight a foreclosure and win.
Not every state has a similar law, however. As a result, some consumers are agreeing to a new mortgages with their foreclosure attorneys.
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In an effort to resolve federal allegations, debt collector Allied Interstate has agreed to pay a $1.75 million dollar fine. Allied Interstate was accused of collecting on debts that people did not actually owe, contacting third parties, and threatening legal action that it did not intend to take.
Unsurprisingly, this type of behavior is illegal.
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In a somewhat surprising role reversal, the state of Illinois was awarded a $23.7 million dollar judgment against the law firm of Friedman & Wexler and two attorneys from the firm. The state had previously used the law firm to collect debts on behalf of the state.
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When people think of consumer debt, they think of credit card debt. According to the Federal Reserve, however, student loan debt has now surpassed credit card debt among consumers.
Senator Franken of Minnesota is set to introduce a bill this week with the hopes of stopping abusive debt collection practices. In many ways, the bill is designed to compliment and enhance the FDCPA, which is over 32 years old.
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