Debt Law Network

In order to get money from people who owe debts, bill collectors are telling people to refinance their home, take out a second mortgage, borrow against their 401k (or other retirement plans), borrow from relatives, and so on.

One client had a creditor tell her she had $xxxx.xx amount of available credit on the credit card he was trying to collect on and for her to take out a cash advance against the card to make a payment that month. The debt collectors are really pushing the envelope! Read the rest

Just because a company publishes a nice looking web site and offers to issue a loan, there is no assurance that the deal offered will be any good.

Take, for example, this outrageous offer for unsecured debt offered by a loan company on the Internet.  You can get up to $3,000, but you will pay back this debt with an interest rate of 96%.   It is my understanding that this company sends out mail solicitations for this offer.

If you find yourself considering a loan like this for even a split second, it is time to take a serious look at your household budget and money management practices.  Even lousy credit cards charge less than 30%.

Inevitably, in this economy, people cannot pay debts they owe, including their monthly rent. Failure to pay rent results in the legal removal of the tenant by the landlord in a process known as eviction. However, when that legal process becomes too inconvenient, a landlord might just try to fake it.

As reported in the Florida Times-Union, an employee of a Jacksonville apartment complex was arrested and charged with serving a fake eviction notice on one of her tenants. If I had to guess, I would say this was not the first time she had done so.

Are you being evicted in Florida? I found an excellent summary of the steps involved in a Florida eviction at Rental Housing On Line. Compare what is happening to you with what Florida law requires. Read the rest

Many of my colleagues’ and my postings have concerned the abuse by debt collectors and how the FDCPA protects consumers….BUT, what about when original creditors heap abuse on someone?   Many states have passed a state version of the FDCPA to protect their consumers, but one benefit of those state laws is that often, original creditors are also prohibited from abusive behavior.

For example, in Oregon, any business that is owed money is classified as a debt collector under the Oregon UDCPA (Unlawful Debt Collection Practices Act).  That means that if you owe the business money, the manager of the Accounts Receivable department can’t call and threaten you, abuse you or harass you.     Every state’s version is a little different, for example, in Oregon, the statutory damages are $200.  In North Carolina, the statutory damages are $2000.   California has an Act called the Rosenthal Act, which provides for statutory and actual damages, announces Cathy Moran, a California consumer protection and bankruptcy attorney.   My colleague, Jay Fleischman, recently wrote about New Jersey’s efforts to protect its consumer in a recent post.   If a creditor is abusing you, calling you, threatening you illegally, please contact an attorney in your area to determine your rights under your particular state’s version.

Garnishment is a process where a creditor gets paid the money it is owed from a debtor.  Often, the garnishment is of the debtor’s wages.

Louisiana is a judicial garnishment state, meaning that in order for a creditor to collect money from a third party such as an employer, it must first go in to court and get a judge to make a legal finding that the money is owed by the debtor.

Read the rest