Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: AACC), the parent company of the increasingly familiar “Asset Acceptance, LLC,” is a publicly-traded junk debt buyer located in Warren, Michigan. Through its predecessors, it has been in existence in one form or another since 1962. Asset Acceptance is one of the few debt collection agencies where ownership can be [...]
debt collection
Asset Acceptance to be judged by a jury. The Take-Away Dopey Asset Acceptance, a debt collector, cannot hide behind procedure to exclude from evidence a voicemail that captured it accusing a consumer of being a “fat motherfucker.” Alleged Facts A consumer filed a lawsuit in the federal court of New Jersey alleging that Asset Acceptance [...]
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), a Saturday Night Live sketch comedian (think “Daily Affirmation with Stuart Smalley”), writer, actor, and author, recently introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate to tighten and modernize the nation’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The FDCPA attempts to regulate what and how debt collectors can attempt to collect consumers debts. [...]
Hamid v. Stock & Grimes. In this consumer protection matter, a Pennsylvania consumer sued Stock & Grimes, LLP, a debt collection law firm, under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). She sued Stock & Grimes for having first sued her in a state-court debt collection action. She defended against the collection action claiming that [...]
LVNV Funding LLC is a junk debt buyer, aptly named, because its business model is built entirely around gambling. The losers of its gambling, however, are flesh-and-blood consumers, not faceless casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada. Junk debt buyers buy old, defaulted consumer debts for pennies on the dollar and then try to collect the full [...]
On the heels of robo signing and other consumer financial scandals, Bank of America recently sold the rights to collect defaulted credit card debts to a junk debt buyer, CACH LLC of Denver Colorado. Many of these credit card debts were sold for as little as 1.8 cents on the dollar. It was learned that [...]
Tough economic times have caused millions of American consumers to experience extreme financial problems and out-of-control debt. Consumer bankruptcy may be a viable solution for those consumers who just need a financial fresh start. Consumer bankruptcy was designed to provide consumers who are overwhelmed with debt a way to reduce, eliminate, or reasonably pay back [...]
When consumers get in over their heads financially, they may become the victims of harassing phone calls from overzealous debt collection agencies. These agencies often practice other unscrupulous tactics that are illegal. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was passed in 1978 to protect consumers from abusive and harassing behavior by debt collectors. The [...]
The Takeaway: In response to a consumer’s demand for verification of an alleged debt, the debt collector ordinarily must verify the debt by showing the creditor’s grounds for the claim and provide an explanation as to why the debt exists. The Facts: Apothaker & Associates (Apothaker) attempted to collect a junk debt that had been [...]
As Americans struggle in this slow economy, debt collectors are finding creative ways of separating struggling debtors from their dollars. One way is the use of so-called “balance transfer programs.” Many debts are legally unenforceable due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. A legally unenforceable debt is less valuable to a debt collector [...]