Are you looking down the barrel of an arbitration clause in your consumer/creditor agreement? I’ve posted before (Arbitration Clauses in Consumer Contracts – How to Avoid Being Thrown out of Court) on some local case law here in Florida to help avoid arbitration clauses – but here’s a new case…
First off, to be covered under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the debt must be a consumer debt. i.e. not a business debt. Examples are credit cards used for personal/household items; a home loan, a student loan, a phone bill/utility bill, dishonored personal check, rent etc. Second, there must…
I thought I’d take a minute to share common defenses faced by consumer lawyers such as myself — and help arm consumers with just how and what they should say to stop the calls. First, a debt collector will always deny that you ever revoked consent to call. They will…
How many of us no longer answer our cell phone? With all the caller ID spoofing/disguising nowadays, most people I know don’t answer, opting instead for the caller to leave a voice message. This ensures they want to talk to the caller, and then they call back. The caller may…
On January 31, 2019, Judge Stong of the Eastern District of New York denied the Motion to Dismiss filed by SLM Corporation, Sallie Mae, Inc., Navient Solutions, LLC and Navient Credit Finance Corp. In this Memorandum Decision, the Court dealt a blow to the private student loan defendants when it permitted…
What happens to the original debt when a consumer files an unlawful debt collection lawsuit? Sometimes the creditor will file a counterclaim to force the underlying debt to judgment in an effort to turn the tide in favor of the debt collector. Fortunately, in the Middle District of Florida there…
When you are thinking about hiring a bankruptcy attorney, what should you consider? – besides all the regular stuff like client reviews, years of practice, cost, availability, knowledgeable, friendliness of attorney and staff etc. One thing to keep in mind is what other areas does that law firm handle and…
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) and its Florida counterpart, the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, (“FCCPA”) require a debt collector or creditor to cease all collection efforts once a consumer acts to preserve their rights. But you have to ask first, and in writing by sending a cease…
Absolutely yes. But admittedly, the bar is pretty low for the creditor pre-litigation to satisfy their obligation. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) provides that a debt collector’s initial written communication to the consumer MUST effectively convey the following information: Amount of the debt; Name of the entity to…
While there are often legal disputes about what kind of phone system a caller is using, if you are receiving pre-recorded calls, they are usually always a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). As 2018 nears an end, there is no sign that these cases are slowing down. …