Close

Articles Posted in Creditor Harassment and FDCPA

Updated:

Robocalling Cases Coming Out at a Furious Pace

Robocalling case law has been rapidly evolving over the past few months.  The latest case out of Tampa’s Middle District, is the case of MELANIE GLASSER, individually & on behalf of all others similarly situated Plaintiff, v. HILTON GRAND VACATIONS COMPANY, LLC. Defendant., No. 8:16-CV-952-JDW-AAS, 2018 WL 4565751, at *5 (M.D.…

Updated:

Arbitration Clauses in Consumer Contracts – How to Avoid Being Thrown out of Court

Many consumers aren’t aware that when they sign up for a service, or buy a product, that they are agreeing that in the event of a dispute that the parties will be referred to arbitration.  These clauses often waive the consumer’s right to go to court, present their case before…

Updated:

TCPA Consumer Lawyer – Adapting to New Collections Tactics by Debt Collectors and New Laws

From time to time, our consumer law practice here in Tampa, Fl has had to shift gears to better use our state and federal laws that protect consumers faced with debt – and the inevitable robocalls and erroneous credit reports that come with that. The current state of robocalls is…

Updated:

When is a debt considered “consumer” debt for debt collection protections to kick in?

Most of our debt collection laws in Florida apply only for consumer debt, not business debt.  Sometimes the answer is not quite clear as to what type of debt is involved.  What if for instance you operate a business and took out a loan, but signed a personal guarantee.  Sometimes,…

Updated:

How Do You Know Whether a Debt Collector’s Calls are Harassment?

How much is too much?  Unfortunately, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and its Florida counterpart do not specify a particular number of calls per day that a creditor can make when trying to collect a debt. An older Florida case is somewhat illustrative in finding the answer.  In Story…

Updated:

Help Us Help You! Get Rid of Mandatory Arbitration in Consumer Contracts

It’s simple.  If you are wronged, you should be able to pick the forum to go after the lender, bank, student loan company, credit card company, car rental company, credit bureau, you name it — and that forum should include the local courthouse and not just arbitration.  The CFPB recently…

Updated:

When is it Legal for your Student Loan Servicer to Contact your Relatives?

There are limits as to when a student loan servicer can contact someone other than the borrower.  They cannot call the borrower’s place of employment if the borrower asks them not to.  They cannot robocall the borrower’s cell phone when the borrower asks them not to.  They cannot discuss the…

Updated:

Revoking Consent to Call Your Cell Phone

Florida, Georgia and Alabama consumers need not worry about a recent case out of the Second Circuit, Reyes v. Lincoln Automotive Financial Services, (2nd Cir. June 22, 2017) that held today that if the contract allows for robocalls, you can never revoke consent to call under the Telephone Consumer Protection…

Updated:

Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) – Auto-Dialer Uncertainty

Were you aware that when you tell a bill collector (including a student loan collector) to stop calling your cell phone, they must do so immediately?  Well usually.  It depends upon the type of telephone system the collector is using.  If they are manually dialing the phone, then they can…

Contact Us