National Credit Adjusters, LLC is a national “debt clearinghouse” that purchases defaulted payday loans. Grabbing payday loans from all over the nation, National Credit Adjusters attempts to collect them in the respective states. The payday loans associated with Arkansan consumers contain usurious interest rates that are unlawful pursuant to Arkansan law. Arkansas Sues National Credit [...]
fdcpa
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 [...]
Text Messages. A debt collection industry advocate reported on a non-scientific poll where industry visitors were asked how text messages play a role in debt collection. According to LiquidEdge’s June 2012 Industry Poll (of Newport Coast, California), participants were asked to report their use of text messages as a “part of their overall collection strategy.” [...]
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 [...]
For the last known year, 2010 was the worst year for consumers dealing with debt collection agencies. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), complaints about debt collectors are up 25% since 2008. There were about 104,000 complaints in 2008 and about 140,000 in 2010. All the while, debt collectors are aggressively lobbying Congress to [...]
The Take-Away: A debt collector who takes or threatens legal action on a consumer debt after the statute of limitations has expired violates the FDCPA. Facts: Mr. Huertas had a credit card debt with Applied Card Bank f/k/a Cross Country Bank (“ACB”) which he failed to repay. The account was sold to Galaxy Asset Management [...]
Hayt, Hayt & Landau is a New Jersey debt collection law firm with an office in Philadelphia. Despite many other sources on the internet claiming otherwise, its dunning letters and especially its lawsuits should be taken very seriously. It is a “real law firm” despite many erroneous websites claiming otherwise. The collection law firm is [...]