Posts tagged as:

collector

Minnesota Needs Debt Buyer Regulation

March 1, 2010

Minnesota Representative Joe Mullery and Senator Ron Latz recently introduced a bill that would prevent debt buyers from filing a lawsuit without the ability to prove they have the right to collect a debt.
Why the need for the rule? Debt buyers and collectors file tens of thousands of lawsuits against Minnesota consumers every year, and [...]

Read the full article →

Debt Collection Help: Free Resources

February 26, 2010

Getting called or served with a lawsuit by a collector is a pain, at best. You can help yourself deal with debt collection with free information and tools online, but not everything you find will actually help. Here is a selection of resources that will:

If you are contacted or sued by a debt collector, use [...]

Read the full article →

Is Mann Bracken Out of Business?

December 22, 2009

I got the word a few days ago that gigantic debt collection law firm Mann Bracken was going under. Atlanta consumer lawyer Tim Cook says Mann Bracken’s lawyers are out of work and the phones are instructing callers to contact their creditors. Could it be?
It could. Mann Bracken has been under fire in Georgia, and [...]

Read the full article →

Debt Collection Abuse on Display

August 20, 2009

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sues some of the most abusive debt collectors. The first consumer did not even owe the debt, but ended up paying $900 just to make the abuse stop!
Embedded video from CNN Video
This kind of behavior is why the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act exists. If you are getting calls [...]

Read the full article →

Debt Collection Scammers Often Worse Than the Real Thing

August 17, 2009

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has put out an emergency alert regarding bogus debt collectors that have recently been praying on consumers. The fake debt collectors are often just as nasty as real debt collectors can be, if not worse.
If you are contacted by a debt collector and think it is a scam, here are [...]

Read the full article →

Debt collectors think consumers knowing their rights is “ominous”

February 3, 2009

Yesterday, on Consumerist, I criticized an article in the Washington Post for sounding like it was written by debt collectors. Apparently, it was prompted by a dispatch from the Associated Press, which distributed “Six Tips for Dealing With Debt Collectors” on Friday. (The “6 tips” are good tips, by the way, although the WaPo article [...]

Read the full article →

Minnesotans may sue if a debt collector levies funds in a joint account

January 7, 2009

Back in November, I won an important decision for Minnesota consumers against Messerli & Kramer, a law firm that seems to handle the bulk of debt collection lawsuits filed in Minnesota. Messerli & Kramer served a levy on my clients’ bank for funds in their’ joint bank account, even though Messerli & Kramer only had [...]

Read the full article →

Pity the poor debt collector?

December 14, 2008

Pity the poor debt collector? | Consumer Law & Policy

Read the full article →

Collectors hurt by recession as consumers walk away from unpaid bills

December 12, 2008

“This situation lets people in on a dirty little secret for a lot of firms, especially on the service side. Their collections efforts are really a bluff. They really aren’t going to pursue their borrowers very hard,” [David] Vang said. “When people see that, their morals adjust. I think this could snowball.”
Collectors hurt by recession [...]

Read the full article →

5 Things to Never Say to a Debt Collector

November 25, 2008

5 Things to Never Say to a Debt Collector | Brunette on a Budget

Read the full article →

Pay your debts with drawings*

November 8, 2008

Reading this entire string of emails between collector Jane Gilles and debtor David Thorne is entirely worth your time this weekend.
From: Jane Gilles
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.19pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account
Dear David,
Our records indicate that your account is overdue by the amount of $233.95. If you have already made this payment please contact us [...]

Read the full article →

Be a debt collector!

October 29, 2008

LOL.
Would You Like to Be a Debt Collector? | Get Out of Debt (which, for some reason, does not allow embedding of its videos, so I grabbed the video and posted it on YouTube)

Read the full article →

Confessions of a Debt Collector

October 7, 2008

Reporter goes undercover as a debt collector. Confessions of a Debt Collector | Kiplinger (via N2Credit)

Read the full article →

Debt collection harassment in the news

September 8, 2008

DayPortPlayer.newPlayer({articleID:”6086″,autoPlay:”false”,slideShow:”false”,playerInstanceID:”FAB4435C-FF11-5488-8855-7CCDEED47EBF”,domain:”whec.dayport.com”});
Featuring Buffalo, NY, consumer lawyer Ken Hiller.

Read the full article →

Stop debt collector calls with the TeleZapper

August 14, 2008

If you are getting phone calls from a debt collector, you should tell them, in writing, that you do not want them calling you. If that does not work, and just want them to stop, the TeleZapper should do the trick.
Most collection agencies use automatic—also called predictive—dialers. In other words, the collector sits at a [...]

Read the full article →

Sunday link roundup

June 29, 2008

I have a backlog of cool articles in my starred items folder in Google Reader. Here they are:

Good news from a debt-collection industry source: Collectors Face New Law in Colorado, and NY Considers Debtor’s Bill of Rights | Collection News
Countrywide CEO Gave Below Market Rate Loans To Senators From A Special “VIP Desk” | Consumerist
Subprime [...]

Read the full article →

Chicago courts clogged with collection claims

June 11, 2008

Chicago joins California and Minnesota in the news, as its civil courts try to deal with moving more than 119,000 debt collection lawsuits through the system.

Read the full article →

Defendants in Debt Collection Scheme Aimed At Hispanics Agree to Settle FTC Charges

June 5, 2008

“Two defendants have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges for allegedly victimizing Spanish-speaking consumers nationwide by posing as debt collectors seeking money the consumers did not owe.” Defendants in Debt Collection Scheme Aimed At Hispanics Agree to Settle FTC Charges [FTC News]

Read the full article →

Vintage debt collection postcards

June 4, 2008

Along with its great article on Pete Barry vs. the debt collection industry, the City Pages dug up a couple of vintage postcards used by debt collectors of yore to shame debtors into paying up.
Check ‘em out:

The Avenger: Expanded Content [City Pages: The Blotter]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries