Posts tagged as:

FDCPA

What Debt Collectors Can and Cannot Do

January 26, 2010

The Federal Trade Commission has posted a video on their website and YouTube outlining consumers’ rights when contacted by debt collectors.
If you have been contacted by a debt collector, watching the video is a good place to start learning about your rights.
(photo: bisgovuk)

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More Consumer Rights On the Way?

November 18, 2009

A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) urges legislators to revise the Fair Debt Collection and Practices Act (FDCPA) to give consumers more rights.

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FDPCA & FCRA Lawsuits On the Rise

September 23, 2009

The number of FDCPA and FCRA lawsuits filed in 2009 is well ahead of both 2008 and 2007. In July 2009, the 5000th suit was filed. In 2008, that benchmark was not hit until the second week of October; in 2007 it took until early December.
So what is behind the surge? Here are my best [...]

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Debt Collection Cheatsheet

September 17, 2009

The FTC has a great, four-page overview of consumer rights relating to debt collection. Some of their tips include:

Debt collectors can only contact you between the hours of 8AM and 9PM.
If you want to stop debt collectors from contacting you, you must make a request in writing. Once the debt collector receives your letter, they [...]

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Debt Collectors Can Still Use Robocalls

September 2, 2009

As of September 1, 2009, telemarketers cannot make prerecorded commercial calls to customers without obtaining written permission in advance. Debt collectors, however, do not fall under the new FTC rule, because their calls are apparently “informational messages.”
Phone calls from debt collectors are still subject to the FDCPA, of course.
Other purely informational messages include flight notifications, [...]

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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 [...]

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Debt collector to pay $32,000 under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

July 14, 2009

Minnesota debt buyer and collector Debt Equities, LLC, must pay nearly $32,000 to resolve a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuit in Minnesota. Earlier this year, Debt Equities offered judgment for $15,000 (PDF). Just today, Magistrate Judge Keyes ordered Debt Equities to pay an additional $16,700.42 as attorney fees and costs (PDF).
Judge Keyes also said [...]

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Consumer loan defaults still rising, will probably lead to more abuse of consumers

July 7, 2009

More consumers are falling behind in their bills. 6.6% of all credit cards are more than 30 days late, and delinquencies tracked by the American Bankers Association are the highest since it began tracking them in 1974.
The rise in defaults—which is really not news, at this point—will inevitably lead to an increase in debt collection [...]

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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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Johnson, Rodenburg & Lauinger to pay $311,000 for FDCPA violations

April 21, 2009

A jury in Montana awarded $311,000 last week to a Montana man who was sued by the debt collection law firm of Johnson, Rodenburg & Lauinger. JRL tried to seize his social security disability payments to satisfy a judgment for CACV, a debt buyer. The jury awarded $1,000 in statutory damages, $250,000 for the consumer’s [...]

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86 Federal Civil (FDCPA and FCRA) Lawsuits Against Mann Bracken Since January 2007

April 3, 2009

86 Federal Civil (FDCPA and FCRA) Lawsuits Against Mann Bracken Since January 2007 | Designer Today

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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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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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New York Couple Harassed by Creditors Trying to Collect Debt Their Dead Son Owed

January 16, 2009

N.B., this would not be a “small claim” by any stretch of the imagination. New York Couple Harassed by Creditors Trying to Collect Debt Their Dead Son Owed | Fox News (via Consumerist)

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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Nationwide Debt Collector Will Pay $2.25 Million to Settle FTC Charges

November 21, 2008

“Academy Collection Service, Inc. and its owner, Keith Dickstein, have agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that Academy and its collectors misled, threatened, and harassed consumers; disclosed their debts to third parties; and deposited postdated checks early, in violation of federal law.” Nationwide Debt Collector Will Pay $2.25 Million to [...]

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Federal Debt Relief System: not a good system, may be a bunch of conspiracy nuts

September 16, 2008

Along with apparently every other member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, I just got a letter (PDF) from Federal Debt Relief System, which says it is “restoring America’s freedom” on its letterhead. In the letter, FDRS says “Every account gets reviewed by a paralegal and is submitted to you as a Federal Complaint [...]

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