debt buyers

Courts Should Require Extra Proof From Debt Buyers

January 30, 2012

In order to administer any kind of justice, our court system requires two parties participating in a lawsuit. When that doesn’t happen, plaintiffs generally prevail, even if they haven’t produced any proof of their claims. Ordinarily, a default is a bad thing for a plaintiff, because there is little or no chance of getting paid. [...]

Read More ⇒

Maryland Default Judgment Rules Tightened for Debt Buyers

September 14, 2011

In Maryland, the Court of Appeals just approved rules that will prevent debt buyers from getting a default judgment with nothing more than a name and a dollar amount. From now on, ” target=”_blank”>debt buyers will actually have to provide proof of ownership and indebtedness. This may sound like common sense, but Maryland is—unfortunately—being a [...]

Read More ⇒

Evidence of Assignment: Why Debt Buyers Have Proof Problems

May 2, 2011
Thumbnail image for Evidence of Assignment: Why Debt Buyers Have Proof Problems

Assignment is the foundation of the debt buying industry, and the industry is built on sand. Or a swamp. Because assignment is also the industry’s weak spot, and the reason why most—if not all—debt buyer lawsuits should fail. In order to collect a debt legally, a debt buyer must prove it has the right to [...]

Read More ⇒

Minnesota Attorney General Sues Midland Funding for Robo-Signing

March 28, 2011

Today the Minnesota Attorney General sued Midland Funding, one of the country’s largest debt buyers, for robo-signing thousands of affidavits in Minnesota. I think AG Lori Swanson best sums up what Midland Funding was doing: The company put its thumb on the scale of justice to unfairly tilt the collection process in its favor. Also [...]

Read More ⇒

Minnesota Consumer Attorney Randall Ryder Joins the Caveat Emptor Directory

March 23, 2011
Thumbnail image for Minnesota Consumer Attorney Randall Ryder Joins the Caveat Emptor Directory

Randall Ryder is a consumer rights attorney in Minnesota. I am especially pleased to welcome Randall to the Caveat Emptor directory because I have worked with him extensively, and I know him to be an excellent lawyer and consumer advocate. Randall is an even-tempered but aggressive consumer advocate who gets great results for his clients. [...]

Read More ⇒

Pennsylvania Puts a Stop to Debt Buyer Robo-Signing

February 24, 2011
Thumbnail image for Pennsylvania Puts a Stop to Debt Buyer Robo-Signing

The secondary debt market—credit cards and mortgages included—has relied on made-up legal terms and suspect justifications for years in order to turn the usually slow-moving court system into a speedy tool of business. It worked, probably because few consumers put up a fight. But more people are fighting back now, which means debt buyers are [...]

Read More ⇒

Robo-Signers at Debt Buyer Firms Overwhelm Courts

November 1, 2010
Thumbnail image for Robo-Signers at Debt Buyer Firms Overwhelm Courts

The foreclosure mess got messier over a month ago, when GMAC, Bank of America, and others were caught faking (essentially) affidavits supporting their foreclosure lawsuits. The irony of banks acting irresponsibly with their finances was not lost on the media. Of course, robo-signing, as it was soon termed, was already commonplace in another kind of [...]

Read More ⇒

Debt Buyers Fake Affidavits, Too

September 28, 2010

Last week, GMAC basically stopped evicting homeowners and foreclosing homes in 23 states when it got caught filing affidavits without any personal knowledge. That’s good news, but here’s what rubs me the wrong way: debt buyers do the same thing, and nobody seems to care.

Read More ⇒

Automated Debt Collection Lawsuits Overwhelm Courts

July 14, 2010

At least one debt collection law firm, Cohen & Slamowitz, files about 80,000 lawsuits per year. That is an average of over 300 lawsuits per day. Wow. It seems impossible for a lawyer to actually examine each lawsuit, make sure it has merit and there is evidence to support it, and sign off on it. [...]

Read More ⇒

Should Creditors Be Able to Send “Deadbeats” To Jail?

June 11, 2010

If this has you worried, read How to Avoid Ending Up in Jail for Debt! Consumerist picked up on the article about debtors being thrown in jail, and a surprising (to me, anyway) number of commenters chimed in to support the debt collectors. For example, one commenter wrote Not paying your debt = stealing. For [...]

Read More ⇒
Page 1 of 3
1
2
3
→