Alabama Consumer Law Blog

The CL&P Blog has posted an article about some companies beginning to use text messaging as a form of debt collection. This method has some conflicts with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act's regulations on debt collectors disclosing themselves.

Some of them, like the validation message required under section 1692g, are only required within five days of the initial communication, and so can be sent in other ways, but under section 1692(e)(11), all communications must disclose that the communication is from a debt collector.

Character constraints in texting don't allow for adequate disclosure and then a more detailed statement of the debt from the collector. Also, billing plans charge recipients for text messages and not the sender, so consumers definitely won't be happy about paying for texts that tell them they owe money to debt collectors.

That also brings up section 1692f, which prohibits unfair practices, and in subsection (5) specifically bars:

Causing charges to be made to any person for communications by concealment of the true purpose of the communication. Such charges include, but are not limited to, collect telephone calls and telegram fees.

While the above was written before text messaging it is certainly applicable to this newest development.

If you have had problems with debt collector harassment feel free to contact us through our website or by calling 205-879-2447.
You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

We are often asked questions such as "Why are you guys consumer protection lawyers" or "what is a consumer protection attorney" and we wrote an article on our website to help answer these types of questions. We hope it is helpful to you and let us know if you have any questions - either contact us through our website or call us at 205-879-2447.

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

Also remember you are invited to our free tele seminar on Alabama Wrongful Foreclosures set for January 19, 2010, at 4 pm CST.

Mann Bracken is famous (infamous) but it appears to be shutting down and dismissing lawsuits. Keep up to date here - I don't know this blogger but they have a rather wicked sense of humor and obvious joy over the downfall of the giant Mann Bracken.

We don't see much of Mann Bracken directly here in Alabama but all of these collectors are scrambling for money which means they are more likely to break the laws than ever before. Learn more about the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and if you live in Alabama and have any questions, please feel free to call us at 205-879-2447 or contact us through our website.

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

We want to let you know about some of the recent cases we have been involved in, particularly where we have filed lawsuits against companies for abusing consumers in Alabama.

Let us know if you have any questions - you can call us at 205-879-2447 or fill out our contact form on our website.

We filed a wrongful foreclosure case for our client who was sued for ejectment by a trustee. In this case the mortgage company foreclosed on our client and then sued him to kick him out of his house. Since the foreclosure, we believe, was improper, we countersued against Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, which is the trustee of this securitized loan. We also believe that the loan was never properly transferred into the trust which claims that it owns the loan - if this is true then the company foreclosing had no more right to foreclose on our client than you or I would. It will be interesting to see what develops in this case where we have alleged fraud (related to a loan modification) and wrongful foreclosure against Deutsche Bank National Trust and the servicer American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc.

[Also remember you are invited to our free tele seminar on Alabama Wrongful Foreclosures set for January 19, 2010, at 4 pm CST.]

Illegal voicemail cases are very common because it is probably the most common form of violation of federal law.

We sued Leading Edge Recovery Solutions, LLC. Our client has alleged that Leading Edge Recovery Solutions, LLC violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by making illegal calls to our client's cell phone with pre-recorded messages. These are the messages that are left by a computer rather than a live human being. Normally these calls are made by an "auto dialer" which is a computer or telephone system that automatically places the calls. This is when you get a call and the voice says "Please hold for the next operator" - a sure sign that a computer has called and now it is searching for the next operator who is free to transfer your call to. In this suit our client has alleged that Leading Edge Recovery, Solutions, LLC also made an illegal third party disclosure to the client's father.

Another illegal voicemail case involves Enhanced Recovery Corporation out of Florida. Our client alleged that this debt collector violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by refusing to give the proper disclosures when leaving voicemails, including failing to leave the Mini-Miranda ("this is an attempt to collect a debt" and "we are a debt collector").

In a case filed against The Brachfeld (a/k/a Brachfield) Law Group d/b/a Brachfeld & Associates, PC, a California lawfirm and collection agency, our client alleged that this debt collector violated the TCPA by making a large number of harassing illegal calls to our client's cell phone. The calls, as is common among debt collectors, used pre-recorded messages and were most likely made with the use of an autodialer or predictive dialer.

We filed an additional lawsuit against Brachfeld Law Group (Brachfeld & Associates, PC) for repeated calls without permission to the consumer's cell phone using an autodialer and pre-recorded messages. This alleged conduct would violate the TCPA and state law on harassment and invasion of privacy.

A second case against Leading Edge Recovery Solutions, LLC, out of Illinois, was filed by a client alleging, again, that this debt collector illegally used prerecorded messages and/or predictive/autodialers when calling the client's cell phone. The allegations include that this violates the TCPA.

Harvard Collection Services, Inc., a collection agency out of Illinois, was sued by a client for alleged violations of the FDCPA and the TCPA in the multiple calls to the client's cell phone looking for someone other than the client. It violates the FDCPA to call a "third party" (anyone other than the consumer who allegedly owes the money) after the third party has said they will not or cannot provide location information to the collector. The complaint alleges that the bill collector used pre-recorded messages and/or autodialer calls against the cell phone of the client.

ARS National Services, Inc, a collection agency out of California, was sued by a client claiming that this debt collector violated the FDCPA by refusing to make the proper disclosures when leaving voicemail messages. It is critical that debt collectors comply with this portion of the law - making disclosures - in whatever form they choose to attempt to collect the debt. They do run the risk, however, of violating the prohibition against third party disclosures when they leave voicemails. While the debt collection industry wrings it hands over this "tough situation" of which law to violate (disclosure laws or third party laws) the courts have provided a simple and elegant solution - don't leave voicemails. Collect debts without leaving voicemails - there is no God given right to leave a voicemail despite what many collectors would argue....

A Florida collection agency known as Omni Credit Services of Florida, Inc., was sued by a client for violating the FDCPA in the voicemails left which did not contain the proper disclosures, including the Mini Miranda.

J.C. Christensen & Associates, Inc., a Minnesota collection agency, was sued by a client alleging that illegal voicemails were left which violated the FDCPA. The voicemails did not contain the Mini Miranda or other required disclosures according to the lawsuit filed against J.C. Christensen & Associates, Inc.

A client also sued a company that we have sued a number of times - a debt collector from New York known as Creditors Interchange Receivable Management, LLC. This company allegedly called our clients numerous times on the consumer's cell phone using an autodialer and pre-recorded messages. The consumer alleges he never gave Creditors Interchange or the original creditor the cell phone number and therefore the calls were illegal under the TCPA.

Third party disclosure cases reveal common violations by debt collectors. They love to contact people other than the consumer (or consumer's spouse) because having your boss or parent or neighbor or ex-mother in law call you after being contacted by a debt collector is very intimidating.

Our client sued Viking Collection Service, Inc., a collection agency out of Minnesota, for allegedly repeatedly calling our client's parent even after the parent told the collector the consumer did not live there. In our opinion this type of misconduct violates the FDCPA and Alabama law on privacy - this is known as an "Invasion of Privacy" claim in Alabama.

The Pennsylvania debt collector Academy Collection Service, Inc., was sued by a client for its collection activities. The client alleges that Academy Collection Service, Inc. made third party disclosures to someone other than the client in violation of the FDCPA and Alabama state law.

Fair Credit Reporting Act cases deal with the important subject of our credit reports and inaccuracies that either the credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, Innovis, and Trans Union) or furnishers (such as Bank of America, Discover Card, Capital One, etc) refuse to correct.

A client sued GEMB (GE Money Bank - this bank is behind many store and gas cards), Equifax Information Services, Inc., Trans Union, LLC, and Innovis Data Solutions, Inc. for refusing to correct the client's credit reports. An account that was opened four years before the client was born was reported as the client's individual account! The allegations include that the client disputed the account directly to the credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Innovis, and TransUnion) and after they investigated it and notified GEMB so it could investigate the dispute, all of the defendants decided to keep this account on the consumer's credit reports. The allegations include that the defendants violated the FCRA and Alabama state law.

We will keep you posted on new suits that we file and will continue to look back at some of the suits we filed in 2009 to give you an idea of what your options may be and what to look out for when dealing with these types of consumer issues.

Feel free to visit our other sites - Illegal Voicemails and Sued By A Debt Collector.

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

The California Debt Blog has posted an article that serves as a good reminder to everyone about debt collectors. Even though the economy isn't the best right now, because of the holiday season, debt collectors are willing to settle cases. The article gives the example of:

Recently, I had two debt collectors agree to dismiss cases they brought against my clients and wipe the debt off of the credit report, along with not selling the debt to anyone else. I then had a debt collector pay my client money to cover her legal fees, wipe the debt off of her credit report and not sell the debt.

We are also having similar experiences and are more than willing to help you if you have questions, interested in settling claims with debt collectors, or have had problems with creditor harassment. Feel free to contact us by calling 205-879-2447.

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

CNN.com has posted an article about a woman's interesting lawsuit regarding her husband's 2005 death. Dianne McLeod, the widow of Stanley McLeod, is suing Green Tree Servicing, their mortgage company, for contributing to his death. Mr. McLeod had a severe heart condition (and was even airlifted to a hospital because of a heart attack in 2002) and went on disability, thus resulting in the couple falling behind on their mortgage payments.

McLeod said she thinks he would be alive if not for the stress caused by Green Tree's debt collectors. She said they sometimes called up to 10 times a day and also called the McLeods' neighbors.

"He would begin to sweat; he would also get very red in the face and complain about chest pains," McLeod said. "We were worried he was gonna have a heart attack right there on the phone."

Mrs. McLeod claims that the constant stress from the debt collectors' harassing and constant phone calls ultimately led to the heart failure that killed her husband in 2005. They would call the couple all throughout the day and night and left rude and threatening messages.
Naturally, Green Tree Servicing claims his death was not caused by their harassment.

"The collection activity did not lead to his death. The claim is meritless," said Senior Vice President and General Counsel Brian Corey of Green Tree Servicing.

"We deny that the content, the number or the timing of the calls had anything to do with him dying in 2005," Corey said.

Debt collection is regulated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which forbids harassing consumers. Companies can be fined $16,000 per incident. This year, as the economy plunged, consumer complaints shot up. More than 45,000 complaints had been received by the FTC through the end of June, up about 20 percent over last year.

If you have problems with creditor harassment, feel free to contact us.

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

Abusive debt collectors operate from a place of intense arrogance toward consumers. They are arrogant because of two reasons:

1. You don't know the law and don't know they are breaking the law; and
2. Even if you know, you won't do anything about it.

Example Of Arrogance
Here's the best example I can think of - why do collection agencies leave voicemails where they break the law? Think about it - why would a law breaker want to record their lawbreaking? The abusive debt collector is saying "I want you to have a permanent record of me breaking the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act!" Either they are stupid or they are arrogant and don't think they will get in trouble for it.

Abusive debt collectors are many things but typically they are not stupid. They act in a way that leads to you paying them money, whether you truly owe it or not.

So This Leaves Us With Arrogance.

Arrogance that you don't know when they are breaking the FDCPA or state law. Arrogance that you don't know that it is illegal to threaten to have you arrested or to call your neighbors or family members or to lie to you, etc.

And arrogance that even if you know the collection agency is breaking the law you won't be willing or able to do anything about it. Arrogance that you can't find a lawyer to help you. Arrogance that you won't take the time to document the abuses, save the voicemails, get the statements from your neighbors who have been called, etc. Arrogance that you won't sue these jokers and make them pay for breaking the law.

Why The Arrogance?
What gives them the belief they can get away with abusing you on your phone, or threatening to sue you after you have won your collection case against them, or keeping false credit information on your credit reports, etc?

They get away with it. All the time. Well, nearly all of the time. So when they do something wrong and almost always "get away with it" and violating the law makes them a ton of money, why stop?

Putting morals and right and wrong aside, it makes good economic sense the way that abusive debt collectors run their business. That's why a lot of the owners of these places live in mansions and drive fancy cars. Remember they aren't stupid - they are being very deliberate in breaking the law in order that they can illegally profit off of you.

Three Step Solution
You want to stop them? You want them to stop harassing you? Three steps.

First, learn about your rights. Read this blog, our website, attend our seminars, research the law on line, etc.

Second, document the abuses. Use the collection log that Pete Barry (fantastic FDCPA lawyer in MN) developed. If it is legal, record their calls - we don't think its necessary but if you do it legally then it can be a big help in your case. But whatever you do, document every bit of contact you have with the collection agency.

Third, when appropriate, sue them. Sue them under state law. Or the FDCPA. Or the FCRA. Or all of these. But sue them.

Do your part to stop the arrogance of these abusive debt collectors by suing them to protect yourself and the community. Feel free to call us at 205-879-2447 or through our website.

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

We have often talked about the outrageous conduct that often occurs when debt collectors start suing Alabama consumers. In general, most of them take a "presumed guilty" position with the Alabama consumers they call or sue. Then when we sue these collectors for suing the wrong person they become outraged at being sued. Ironic, huh?

A recent article in the NY Times by Jim Dwyer gives an example of the typical attitude of big collection lawfirms. [Note most Alabama collection firms are not like this - but some are...]

Here is the gist of what happened:

Clearly, they had the wrong Mark Hoyte. But that did not stop the lawyers at Pressler & Pressler from suing him. They swore out a complaint and sent a summons to Mr. Hoyte, ordering him to be in court last Monday.

Then things took a rare turn.

Every day of the year, 1,000 cases on average are added to the civil court dockets in New York City over credit card debt — a high-volume, low-accuracy moment of reckoning. The suits are usually brought by collection companies that purchase the debt for pennies on the dollar from card issuers and then work with a cadre of law firms that specialize in collection work.

Conducting a digital dragnet, they troll through commercial databases searching for debtors. Because of the vast sloppiness and fraud involved, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has shut down two of the collection firms and is suing 35 law firms tied to the business.

A person who blows off a civil court summons — even if wrongly identified — faces a default judgment and frozen bank accounts. But to date, there have been few penalties against collectors for dragging the wrong people into court.

Until Mr. Hoyte turned up last week in Brooklyn.

On the trial date, the Judge probed into this matter and the collection firm wanted to simply dismiss Mr. Hoyte from the case but not compensate him for suing him even when they knew he did not owe the debt.

Take a look at the attitude of this collection firm as it will give you insight into the arrogance of collection agencies and debt collectors in general:

Under questioning by the judge, Mr. Hoyte recounted being called about the debt, providing his Social Security number and date of birth, and being summoned to court anyhow.

The collections lawyer then began to interrogate Mr. Hoyte.

“You claim you told Pressler & Pressler it wasn’t you,” Mr. Wang said to Mr. Hoyte. “Did you send them proof, as in a copy of your Social Security number with only the last four digits visible?”

“No,” Mr. Hoyte said. “They didn’t ask for it.”

“But you didn’t send any written proof of the claim that it was not you?” Mr. Wang said.

“I told them on the phone it’s not me,” Mr. Hoyte said.

Mr. Wang appeared outraged.

“So without any written proof that it’s not you, you would expect someone just, you know, to go on say-so?” he demanded. “Is that correct?”

Alice had reached Wonderland: The lawyer who had sued the wrong man was blaming the wrong man for getting sued.

You can read a list of frequently asked questions about debt buyer lawsuits on our website or you can go to our speciality site which has information about debt collection lawsuits. You can also call us at 205-879-2447 or contact us through our website.

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

PS - Great article by Jim Dwyer. If you are wondering, yes this appears to be a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act even though lawyers that defend collectors argue they can sue the wrong person and take it all the way to trial (to see if the consumer will not show up so a default will be taken) and then dismiss without any penalty. That's bogus folks.....

Due to a great amount of interest, we have decided to hold a free teleseminar on Tuesday, November 24, 2009, at 7 pm CST. This will be the first in a series of seminars that you can attend from the comfort of your home, office, or car (be safe if driving....).

Our first one will be on "How To Fight Back Against Abusive Debt Collectors" and in this hour long discussion we will share with you some ideas on how to use both State law and Federal law to protect yourself from debt collectors who cross the line. Based upon the types of cases coming into our office that result in lawsuits being filed against collection agencies, and based upon the number of calls and emails we receive, debt collection abuse is not slowing down any - instead it is picking up. This seminar will help you understand your rights and options in fighting back against these types of collectors who don't play fair.

There is no charge to attend. Those who register will also receive a bonus four part email series that will expand upon the ideas in the seminar.

Here are some of the topics we will cover:

When does the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act apply?
Can a debt collector contact my neighbors? Family? Co-workers? Friends? References?
If a debt collector breaks the law, can I recover money damages against the collector?
How do I make a debt collector take false information off of my credit report?
Should I record calls from a debt collector?
Are voicemails from debt collectors illegal?
Can a debt collector call my cell phone?
There will be other topics we will cover - I don't know what those are because I need for you to come up with them!

We would like your questions and suggestions - please send those in to us before the call and then you can also ask questions during the call.

We are very excited about doing this and trust this will be very helpful for anyone who is dealing with a debt collector. There is nothing wrong with a debt collector collecting a debt. As long as the laws are followed. So join us and learn more about the laws and what your options are when collectors turn abusive.

Fill out the sign up form below so that you can reserve one of the limited spots on this call.

Or you can call us at 205-879-2447 to reserve a spot. We look forward to "seeing" you on the call!

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

The BKBlog has posted an article about consumer protection offered by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when dealing with collection agencies. Under the FDCPA, credit card companies and collection agencies have different regulations. A credit card company could contact the debtor and not be under the same regulations as a collection agency.

Two of the protections provided by the FDCPA include:
-a prohibition against communicating with a debtor when the collection agency employee does not identify himself as a debt collector; and
-communicating about your debt with third parties

The article brings up a case that was filed that has "clarified the rules about telephone messages by bill collectors."

The case of Edwards v. Niagara Credit Solutions involved a situation in which the debt collector (Niagara) left "bare bones" messages on a phone answering machine asking Ms. Edwards to call back about an "important matter."

The collection agency argued the caller didn't identify himself as a debt collector in case a someone other than the debtor were to hear the message, which would be a violation of the "third party communications" prohibition." The court stated that...

that it is not permissible to violate one provision of the FDCPA in order to comply with another provision. The Court further noted that the FDCPA does not guarantee a debt collector the right to leave answering machine messages.

If you have received similar phone messages and live in Alabama, feel free to contact us. Or you can go to our website that is devoted to illegal voicemails from collectors and request our free report on "Making Debt Collectors Pay For Illegal Voicemails".

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

The Michigan Collection Law Blog has posted an article about an easy way to deal with debt collectors and creditor harassment. The article was originally written by Kat Sanders, who blogs for Court Reporter Schools.

We don't agree with all of these points but you should consider these. We are finishing our free report on what to do when first contacted by a debt collector and will make that available soon. But do consider these points and take whatever is useful from these.

Sanders' first pointer is for the consumer to know their rights. Debt collectors are prohibited from threatening or harassing you into paying by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Next, you can negotiate with them. Debt collectors cannot force you to pay, but you can negotiate with them to agree on a monthly sum to pay that will keep your creditor satisfied. This also shows the creditor that you do intend to pay the debt back.

You shouldn't be "bullied down with threats" from the debt collector. Collectors often use intimidation as their main weapon, but are legally very limited in what they can do. They cannot seize funds directly from your paycheck unless they have a court order.

So don’t allow yourself to be browbeaten into paying more than you can afford and neglect your food and rent in the process.

Last, don't threaten the debt collector.

It’s best to deal with debt collectors in a conciliatory way and avoid antagonizing them for your own peace of mind. While you must show them that you are aware of your rights. Don’t throw facts in their face. Instead, try talking to them about your situation and asking them for a grace period in which to repay your debt.

If you have had problems with creditor harassment, feel free to contact us.

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

The Consumerist.com has posted an article that discusses how a Brooklyn judge has tossed out roughly half of the foreclosure suits brought to him over the last two years because the lending companies and banks had such disorganized paper trails...to the extent of not being able to prove ownership.

The Consumerist references the original New York Times article that goes into more detail of Judge Schack's reasoning.

Justice Schack, like a handful of state and federal judges, has taken a magnifying glass to the mortgage industry. In the gilded haste of the past decade, bankers handed out millions of mortgages — with terms good, bad and exotically ugly — then repackaged those loans for sale to investors from Connecticut to Singapore. Sloppiness reigned. So many papers have been lost, signatures misplaced and documents dated inaccurately that it is often not clear which bank owns the mortgage.

Justice Schack’s take is straightforward, and sends a tremor through some bank suites: If a bank cannot prove ownership, it cannot foreclose.

“If you are going to take away someone’s house, everything should be legal and correct,” he said. “I’m a strange guy — I don’t want to put a family on the street unless it’s legitimate.”

Schack's rulings have prompted others in the legal profession to take a hard look at why judges don't hold banks to higher standards. He isn't "coming up with novel readings of the law," but only forcing lenders to obey the rules and making protecting the consumer and their rights a priority.

He also rules against inaccurate and unfair mortgages filing for foreclosure.

I’m a guy from the streets of Brooklyn who happens to become a judge,” he said. “I see a bank giving a $500,000 mortgage on a building worth $300,000 and the interest rate is 20 percent and I ask questions, what can I tell you?”

If you have questions regarding foreclosure and your rights, feel free to contact us. We are going to conduct a free foreclosure seminar in early October at our Birmingham office - if you would like to attend let us know so we can reserve a spot for you. We'll have more details coming soon. The first place we will announce it is in our Consumer Power email newsletter that goes out every Thursday. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

The New York Times has posted an article that discusses the growing unrest in the debt settlement industry. David Streitfeld, author of the article, says that the industry is preoccupied worrying about its future.

A formidable array of forces is concerned about the way the settlement companies solicit consumers and negotiate lower payments on their debts. The industry is in the cross hairs of the Federal Trade Commission, state regulators, members of Congress and state legislatures. Credit card companies are not fond of it, and many consumer advocates practically loathe it. The common complaint among all these groups is that too many debt settlement companies are more interested in helping themselves earn fees than aiding their beleaguered clients. Their ads promise the clients will get out of debt but, critics say, the reality is that they often become even more enmeshed.

However, some of the settlement agencies say that the "bottom feeders" are giving the reputable agencies an undeserved bad reputation. The "bottom feeders" are the ones who didn't attend the United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives Convention.

The settlement companies, which number about 2,000, have varying business models but generally develop programs for strapped individuals to pay off a percentage of their credit card debt and avoid bankruptcy.

Regulators and attorneys general “don’t understand what we do and how we do it, and the benefits we provide for consumers,” said Peter McLaughlin of Preferred Financial Services in Andover, Mass.

Understanding might be on the upswing, although whether it will lead to appreciation is a separate issue. Preferred Financial was one of numerous settlement companies that received a subpoena from the New York attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, last month as part of a wide-ranging investigation.

There are alternatives to debt settlement programs. The FDCPA has laws that may be able to help you if you are being approached by collectors. Feel free to contact us for more information.

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

The Federal Trade Commission has posted an article on their website that discusses how the organization is looking for public feedback about their "rules" that are supposed to protect consumers from deceptive and abusive debt relief services done through telemarketing.

In the Noticed of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) announced today, the Commission proposes amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) that would:

Prohibit companies from charging fees until they have provided the debt relief services;
Require disclosures about the debt relief services being offered, including how long it will take to obtain promised debt relief and how much it will cost;
Prohibit specific misrepresentations about material aspects of debt relief services, including success rates and whether a debt relief company is nonprofit;
Extend the TSR to cover calls consumers make to debt relief services in response to their advertisements; and
Define the term “debt relief service” to cover any service to renegotiate, settle, or in any way alter the payment terms or other terms of the debt between a consumer and one or more unsecured creditors or debt collectors, including a reduction in the balance, interest rate, or fees owed.

The NRPM discusses three major areas of debt relief: credit counseling, debt negotiation and debt settlement, as well as the abuses associated with each area. Law enforcement and the FTC's efforts to curb this abuse are also discussed.

TSR requires disclosure and

prohibits misrepresentations during telemarketing calls.It also bars abusive practices, including
charging up-front fees for certain services such as credit repair, recovery services, and offers of a loan or other extension of credit when granting it is “guaranteed” or is represented as having a
high likelihood of success. The TSR was amended in 2003 to create the National Do Not Call Registry and again in 2008 to curtail telemarketing calls that deliver prerecorded messages.

If you have had any problems with creditor/telemarketer harassment, feel free to contact us.

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

Several months ago we launched a website - Sued By A Debt Buyer - but we were not happy with the look of it so we have redesigned the look and feel of it and added some videos. Feel free to take a look at it and let us know if this is helpful to you or if we can help you in any way.

There is a companion site - Sued By A Debt Collector - that we trust will also be helpful to you.

If you are dealing with debt collectors calling you then you should check out our site on Illegal Voicemails.

We will continue to add websites that will contain useful information related to specific subjects as we look forward to continuing to try to "level the playing field" between consumers and those who make it their business to abuse and cheat consumers.

Contact us if you have any questions or if we can help you in any way.

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

Tim Barnes is a client in Alabama who was sued by LVNV, a famous debt buyer, and he came to see us as he had no idea what the lawsuit was about or why he was being sued. We were able to explain to him many of the items contained in our free report "Five Secrets Debt Buyer Don't Want You To Know About When They Sue".

We hope you enjoy this short (48 second) video and that it is helpful to you.

Let us know if we can help you in any way.

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

We have often sued debt collectors and credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, Innovis, and Trans Union) for working hand in hand to illegally force consumers to pay money they don't owe. It may be because the consumer never owed the debt or that the consumer discharged the debt in bankruptcy - but by "parking" an account on the consumer's credit report, money can be taken from the consumer in order to restore the consumer's credit report.

According to this press release, Trans Union will now offer the listing of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act cases to collectors to see if the debtors in the collectors' database have filed suit.

Here is the heart of the press release:

TransUnion announced today that it will utilize data from FDCPA Case Listing Service LLC to provide an added feature for batch records delivered via TransUnion's Collections Prioritization Engine. The new solution is named FDCPA Case Search and allows TransUnion to alert collectors about accounts that may have previously been involved in FDCPA litigation to assist collectors in determining strategy.

"Consumer lawsuits against collection agencies have become more prevalent and they can prove to be costly for debt buyers and both first- and third-party collectors," said Scott Carter, group vice president of TransUnion's collections vertical. "With an annual subscription to TransUnion's FDCPA service, collectors can utilize the solution for a cost-effective means to help handle debtor accounts that may have potential to result in a legal action."

According to FDCPA Case Listing Service, 5,383 cases were filed in 2008 against collection agencies in U.S. District Court for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). This represents a 41 percent increase in FDCPA litigation in 2008 in Federal Court over 2007 case volumes. Case volumes in 2009 are expected to exceed 7,300 for the calendar year.

"This is a great day for agencies, debt buyers, and creditor rights law firms," said Bill Pinkney, founder of FDCPA Case Listing Service LLC. "So many companies have approached us looking for a completely integrated solution to accompany their current work flow strategy. Our product is a perfect complement to TransUnion's Collection Prioritization Engine which is why we've partnered with them. Given the increases in placement volumes, the ability for agencies, debt buyers, and creditor rights attorneys to accurately and systemically identify these accounts is critical."

It will be interesting to see what collectors do with this information and it will provide an interesting area for us to conduct discovery in to see if the collector knew our client was represented or how our client was treated differently because he or she had previously filed suit against an abusive collection agency.

If you are dealing with harassing debt collectors and you live in Alabama call us at 205-879-2447 or fill out our website contact sheet or fill out the contact form to your left on this blog. We look forward to helping you and we can also send you our free reports on debt collectors calling third parties and leaving illegal voicemails - just let us know you would like these.

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

We have created a new website - www.illegalvoicemails.com that discusses the growing problem of illegal voicemails from collectors.

We will be adding more information to the site including videos but if you have any voicemails from debt collectors, save those messages and head over to the new site which will help you fight back against illegal collection voicemails.

We hope this new site will be helpful to you and look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes!

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

This story by Karen McCracken is odd on several levels.

First a collection agency puts WWJD on all of its letters - What Would Jesus Do.

Second, here is the position of the collection agency:

Harry Mihet, lead attorney stated: “They treat their customers with respect, with integrity and the way they would want to be treated. They listen to the debtors. They try to work out solutions for the problems they are facing. They even pray with the debtors over the phone sometimes in certain situations.”
Mihet further states that “The only reason they put it there (WWJD) is they want the world to know they have adopted for themselves a code of conduct that goes above and beyond any federal law requirements to be civil and polite to debtors.”

Third, what has made this particularly newsworthy is that the collection agency is being sued. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. By another collection agency!

Not surprising to see collectors abusing consumers and I suppose it should not be surprising to see them abuse other collectors....

I would not expect this suit to be successful and if this WWJD collection agency really treats it debtors with respect and follows (or exceeds the law) then congratulations to it.

Thanks to Karen for writing this story in my old city of Louisville, Kentucky, where I lived for a number of years (Pleasure Ridge Park high school - memories!). Keep up the good work!

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below:

Here is a nice video summarizing many consumer rights when dealing with collections. While this is from South Carolina, most apply to Alabama consumers (except the discussion of garnishment and right to cure).

If you are dealing with abusive debt collectors, please feel free to contact us through our website, our blog, or by phone at 205-879-2447.

You can also sign up for our free email newsletter sent out every Thursday morning - we cover topics such as the one in this post. We would love to include you! Just fill out the form below: