How to Handle Debt Collection Threats
You’ve seen the stories on ABC News about the fake debt collection scams harassing millions of Americans. These scammers threaten criminal charges, fraud, arrest and prosecution. The word for this...
View ArticleHow We Can Fix Your Credit For Free
We can get errors removed from your credit report for free. Using the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), our credit repair lawyers can fix your credit for free. We will write the appropriate letter to...
View ArticleWhy purchasing debt is a bad bet at trial
A recent speaker at the Michigan Institute of Continuing Legal Education had talked about suing on purchased debt. He said that a debt buyer does not have to produce a witness from the originating...
View ArticleDealing With Debt Collectors, the Easy Way
This article is written by Kat Sanders, who regularly blogs on the topic of court reporter schools at her blog Court Reporter Schools. She welcomes your comments and questions at her email address:...
View ArticleDebt buyer must show more than payments made on account to prove its case
The Michigan Court of Appeals recently overturned a District Court decision granting summary disposition to the Plaintiff in Unifund CCR v Riley. In this case, the Plaintiff sued the Defendant on an...
View ArticleDebt Collector sentenced to 15 years in jail on gun charges
I just read an article about a debt collector who was sentenced to 15 years on gun charges. He was running an illegal collection agency and threatened debtors with a gun. Tobias Boyland apparently was...
View Article25 Most Common Violations of your rights by Debt Collectors
We have sued a fair number of debt collectors, debt collection agencies and debt buyers for violating our clients’ rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). While the list of debt...
View ArticleCollection agencies representing the movie houses ARE governed by the Fair...
In response to my last blog post about a certain collection agency that is pursuing individuals who “pirate” movies, I received the below email from one such victim of that collection agency. You see,...
View ArticleNow that the FTC is off my case, I can talk
I have missed you guys. I have not been at liberty to post anything because last November, the FTC served me with a request for investigation. They took comments that I had made on NPR out of context...
View ArticleWhat steps you must take if you have been a victim of identity theft
When your identity has been stolen, you should not expect much sympathy, let alone help, from the banks and other lenders. When you open your account with your bank, you are a valued customer. When you...
View ArticleHow to immediately tell if you are being scammed by a fake debt collector
I have written about this before, but I do so again because of the sheer number of calls that I am receiving from panic stricken people. I frequently get calls from people who had just hung up with a...
View ArticleAlways think about emotional damages under the FDCPA when discussing your case
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a consumer may recover two types of damages; Actual damages and statutory damages of “up to $1,000.” In many of the cases that we handle, most consumers...
View ArticleDebt collectors forced to pay $10,000,000 to victim of harassing calls
ABC News and Diane Sawyer ran a story a few weeks ago about Diana Mey of W. Virginia, on “Nightline”. Diana Mey sued and won the largest judgment ever against an abusive debt collection company — more...
View ArticleWhen visiting the hospital, beware of the guy in the lab coat. He may be a...
Debt collectors have many dirty tricks – threatening people with judgments or garnishments when they don’t even have a judgment, abusive language, calling repeatedly, not verifying that you even owe...
View ArticleWhat you need to know when dealing with a debt collector
What Debt Collector’s Won’t Tell You The less you know your rights, the greater a debt collector’s advantage is over you. A recent article on MSN Money by Gerri Detweiler of Credit.com outlines the...
View ArticleWhy Suing Debt Collectors is Free for Consumers
Many people think that hiring a lawyer is expensive. Today I’d like to explain to you how and why I am able to represent you, the consumer, for free against bullying debt collectors. First, under the...
View ArticleExperian debuts a new credit score to help others or off the financial grid
Experian has recently announced that its creating a new credit scoring system to help people who live off the financial grid. These are people who cannot traditionally obtain bank loans. Experian’s new...
View ArticleStatute of Limitations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Statute of Limitations for an action under Fair Credit Reporting Act is as follows: An action must be filed two years after plaintiff discovers the violation or five years after the violation...
View ArticleSupreme Court to consider whether a fax sent to a debtor’s employer violates...
HOT ON THE PRESSES….SUPREME COURT TO HEAR A NEW KEY FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT CASE Olivia Marx owed a student loan that General Revenue was assigned to collect. GR sent a fax to Ms. Marx’s...
View ArticleSen. Franken’s proposed changes to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act –...
Sen Franken from Minnesota has proven himself to be a major consumer advocate. He has recognized the abuses by Accretive Health and others in collecting medical debt and has proposed changes to the...
View ArticlePayday Loans…..mostly collection scams
Far and away, the largest volume of calls that I get from frantic consumers is for payday loan collectors. In the hundreds of phone calls that I have received from frantic consumers, I can count on one...
View ArticleYou may be a debtor, but you don’t have to be a victim.
The debt collection industry has become a $12-billion-a-year business, as people have fallen behind on bills due to exorbitant hospital bills, crushing student loans or sky high interest credit cards....
View ArticleTop Five Ways to make the Fair Debt Collection Work for and Protect You
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a federal law designed to help consumers fight against abusive and bullying debt collectors. Here are the top five ways that you can make the FDCPA protects...
View ArticleDebt Collector Abuse on the Rise
Americans are generally good at living on credit. Between car loans, mortgages and credit cards, millions of Americans live daily on the financial edge, with significant debt. And some of us can’t pay...
View ArticleAccretive Health fined $2.5 Million for abusive collection practices
Accretive Health has been in the news for months now regarding their abusive and illegal debt collection practices in hospitals nationwide. Today we are celebrating the excellent news about the result...
View ArticleNew Credit Reporting Agency on the Block – CoreLogic – A new problem for...
You have heard of the “Big 3” credit reporting agencies – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. But you may not have heard of the newest one – CoreLogic. For people who want to buy a home, a new FICO...
View ArticleConsumer Wins Against Stale Debt Collection Lawsuit
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law designed to protect consumers in the field of debt collection. One of its provisions deals with lawsuits and the age of debt. The FDCPA...
View ArticleTax Identity Theft – What to do if you are a victim
Our office helps people whose identities have been stolen by thieves. Our credit repair services are limited to fixing credit on credit reports. We don’t work on tax identity theft. Take heart. The...
View ArticleCommon Identity Theft Myths
Identity theft is a real problem that millions of Americans face on a yearly basis. Not only does identity theft lead to severe intrusion into your personal life, but it can have repercussions on your...
View ArticleDepartment of Education has fired several Debt Collectors including Pioneer...
The Department of Education has turned a blind eye to the collection harassment and debtor abuse that debt collectors that it has hired collect student loan debt. Well, no more. On Friday, February...
View ArticleIdentity Theft from Online Job Boards
Posting resumes on job boards is a common practice amongst job seekers. Job seekers continuously update their resumes with detailed and accurate information targeted at prospective employers....
View ArticleCredit Report Issues worth Disputing
When consumers review their credit reports, they are often amazed by the inaccuracies being reported yet confused by what should be disputed. At first glance, people may become horrified to notice...
View ArticleWays that your credit report can get damaged without you even knowing about it
Everyone in the U.S. who has ever applied for credit or used credit to purchase something has a credit history on file with one or all of the three main credit record agencies: Experian, Transunion,...
View ArticlePayday Scammer finally has what he has coming to him….an Indictment
Adrian Rubin of Jenkinstown, PA has been charged with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). From 1998 to 2012, Rubin has been involved with multiple businesses that make usurious...
View ArticleExperian is getting slammed with new law suits for refusing to investigate...
If you have something on your credit report that does not belong to you, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires you to send a dispute to the credit reporting agency, such as Experian, Equifax and...
View ArticleCredit Repair Professionals newest resource ACRED.info
If you are a credit repair professional, come join ACRED.info. It stands for “Attorneys and Credit Repair Experts Dialogue.” We work with credit clinics to teach them the law and best practices for...
View Article9th Circuit holds that Trustee is not a debt collector when foreclosing on a...
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a federal statute that protects consumers from debt collectors. But just when is a debt collector NOT a debt collector under the FDCPA? The Ninth Circuit...
View ArticleTax Return Identity Theft
In recent years, there has been a large increase in tax refund fraud cases. Identity thieves file false tax returns using a victim’s social security number and personal information. Tax return...
View ArticleWhat Questions should Michigan Consumers ask a Credit Repair Law Firm before...
Not all credit repair “law firms” are the same. It would be nice to think that any company that calls itself a “law firm” would be 100% trustworthy, but this is unfortunately NOT the case. There are...
View Article