Posts tagged as:

debt collection

NY AG shuts down a particularly abusive debt collector

June 24, 2009

How would you like to get a call like this, just because you are behind on your credit cards?
“Hello, this is Investigator Brook Carlson from the Warrant Division. This is the last time I am going to attempt to contact you,” the caller said in one message. “We have left this message numerous times, and [...]

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Rebalancing justice scales: New attention to old law helps consumers fight unfair debt-collection practices

May 14, 2009

Rebalancing justice scales: New attention to old law helps consumers fight unfair debt-collection practices | MinnPost

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Deal with your debt: file bankruptcy

May 11, 2009

Bankruptcy is sometimes called a “financial weapon of mass destruction.” I think of bankruptcy more as a financial Project Genesis, because after the bomb goes off, you get a fresh start.
Whether to file bankruptcy is a business decision, not a moral one. If a business has more debt than money, it declares bankruptcy or goes out [...]

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Deal with your debt: negotiate a settlement

May 7, 2009

Once a debt is in default—meaning you stopped paying it—one option is to attempt to negotiate a settlement with the creditor. (You can try this before you go into default, but creditors are rarely willing to play ball until you prove your poverty—and before they rack up some more fees.)
You could just pay the full [...]

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Mann Bracken under fire in Atlanta

April 30, 2009

Mann Bracken has been sued over 100 times in the last five years, giving the lie to partner William Bracken III’s claims that they do not tolerate harassing conduct.
Click the picture above for Atlanta news station WSBTV’s investigative report into Mann Bracken’s collection practices.
Consumers Accuse Law Firm Of Harassment, Abuse | WSBTV (via Five Million [...]

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Bankruptcy: knowing when to walk away

April 26, 2009

When faced with large amounts of debt, many consumers first think about filing bankruptcy. But while bankruptcy may be the best option for some, it is not the only option.
Consumers with only one or two accounts in default should consider dealing with those accounts, especially if they have been sold. It may be possible to [...]

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Landlord Asks Mother To Pay “Early Termination Fee” After Son Fails To Honor Lease By Dying

April 26, 2009

Words fail me. Landlord Asks Mother To Pay “Early Termination Fee” After Son Fails To Honor Lease By Dying | Consumerist

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After the Bank Failure Comes the Debt Collector

April 16, 2009

After the Bank Failure Comes the Debt Collector | NY Times

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Debtors’ prison returns to Florida

April 16, 2009

I understand the need for courts to enforce their orders, but when hard times mean that a state like Florida is throwing thousands of people into jail just for failing to pay fines of a couple hundred dollars, something ain’t right.
The problem, of course, is that state courts are strapped for cash along with everyone [...]

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Citibank offers $5,000 loan to defendant in Citibank collection lawsuit

April 7, 2009

Allen Harkleroad is an angry debtor who blogs about his experience dealing with debt collectors. One of his creditors, Citibank, sued him on a defaulted credit card debt. After they started the lawsuit, though, Citibank offered to loan Allen another $5,000.
It is obvious why they need a bailout; the monkeys in charge of consumer lending [...]

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Dateline takes on the debt collection industry

March 27, 2009

Tonight, Dateline took a good, hard look at the debt collection industry. Dateline went the extra mile to show that, for many collection agencies, abusive tactics are the rule, not the exception.
Dateline even tracked down a debt collector who lied about being a Maryland sheriff, lied about being a lawyer, and scared the living hell [...]

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How not to defend a debt collection lawsuit

March 26, 2009

When I worked as a collection attorney, I would see the same erroneous defenses over and over again. Here are some of the most common:
You don’t have a signed contract
Somewhat surprisingly, creditors are not required to produce a signed contract to prevail in court. There are others case theories, such as account stated, that may [...]

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90% of life (and defending debt buyer lawsuits) is just showing up

March 25, 2009

Although skeptics argue that Woody Allen’s famous observation over-simplifies the path to success, consumers sued by debt buyers will benefit from following Woody’s advice.
Of course, a debt buyer is a business that purchases debt from the original creditor and then sues consumers to collect the debts. Because the debt buyer did not originate the debt, [...]

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Do’s and don’ts of dealing with debt collectors

March 24, 2009

There are too many to list, but here are a couple of the most important ones:
Don’t tell a debt collector where you bank or where you work
Debt collectors are always in hot pursuit of bank and employer information because bank and wage garnishments are easy and inexpensive ways to collect a debt. A favorite trick [...]

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Defaults in Minnesota in 2008 increase 39% over 2007

March 13, 2009

If the default numbers for Minnesota are any indication, debt collectors are falling all over themselves, suing everyone in sight. In 2007, a “mere” 36,000 defaults were filed. In 2008, that number jumped to just over 51,000.
Some were responsible for more of those lawsuits than others. Minnesota debt collection law firm Messerli & Kramer, for [...]

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Sam Glover interviewed on KSTP about deceased collection

March 4, 2009

The New York Times article on debt collectors who shake down the living for the debts of the dead made a big splash nationwide. It was an especially big deal in Minnesota, since DCM Services, featured prominently in the article, is a Minnesota company. KSTP, channel 5 in the Twin Cities, interviewed me for their [...]

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Relatives rarely, if ever, have to pay a deceased relative’s debts

March 4, 2009

According to the New York Times, when debt collectors call up grieving relatives of the deceased, those relatives often have no obligation to pay the debt. So when do relatives have a responsibility to pay the debts of the dearly departed?
Since I represent the living, I asked someone who deals with the dead (or, rather, [...]

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Debt collector sued for hounding sick child

March 4, 2009

Debt collector sued for hounding sick child | Reading Tea Leaves

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I’m going to collect the money from you dead or alive, says debt collector

March 4, 2009

I’m going to collect the money from you dead or alive, says debt collector | Examiner

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Debt collectors love the debts of the dead

March 4, 2009

Debt collectors love the dead. In Minneapolis, DCM Services (that’s “Deceased Collection Management”) specializes in shaking down grieving relatives for cash. Those relatives usually have no obligation to pay, but they often do, just to stop the collector from calling.
“Dead people are the newest frontier in debt collecting, and one of the healthiest parts of [...]

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