When is it time to ignore calls versus doing something about them? If you are being harassed or threatened collection actions on old debt, there are many things to consider. First, a legitimate collector is required to send you something in writing within five days of the initial contact under…
People are often confused about how attorney’s fees work – when do you have to pay your own, and when does the losing party have to pay? This question is very important when you are faced with a decision of whether to “take someone to court”. In the United States,…
My first consult this week was for a former client who just learned of a bank garnishment of his joint bank account with his wife from an old Cach final judgment that he thought was vacated and dismissed. The entire account was frozen. Plus his wife’s next check couldn’t be…
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…
Useful information can be obtained from the Consent Orders relating to improper debt collection activities obtained by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Recent orders applicable to Fred Hanna, Encore Capital Group, Inc., Midland Funding, LLC, Midland Credit Management, Inc., Asset Acceptance Capital Corp., PRA, LLC, Porfolio Recovery Associates, Chase Bankcard…
If a creditor waits too long to sue, the creditor can be barred from ever bringing suit. The purpose of having a statute of limitations is so that lawsuits are brought when the matter is still fresh: before documents are destroyed and memories fade. If they can no longer bring…
Have you just learned you’re being sued by one of these companies? National Collegiate Student Loan Trust CACH LLC Midland Credit Management Portfolio Recovery Associates Sherman Acquisition West Asset Management NCO Portfolio Transworld Cavalry Portfolio These companies have probably purchased debt that you may or may not owe. There are…
How many consumers are sued every day by a debt buyer they’ve never heard from in the past? This is extremely common and presents an excellent defense for those knowledgeable enough to use it. One of the best tools we have as a consumer lawyer fighting collection actions brought by…
Earlier this year, total student loan debt surpassed credit card debt for the first time ever. Student loan debt and the resulting high tuition are without a doubt in a huge bubble after having raised 800 percent in the past few years. After graduation, students are presented with the bill…
Under Florida law, a creditor has up to twenty years to try and collect a judgment. That’s an intimidating number, two whole decades. Something not to take lightly. To become a lien on real estate, a certified copy of a final judgment must be recorded in the public records in…