Consumer Law

Bankruptcy Tips - What NOT To Do - Part Two

Posted on June 23, 2008
If you are considering bankruptcy, you may want to read this second post by Jonathon Becker on what not to do. If you are facing financial pressures and dealing with abusive debt collectors, let us know as we may be able to give you some options other than bankruptcy.

Four Dangers Facing Alabama Consumers Who Settle Debt Buyers Lawsuits

Posted on June 22, 2008
While we normally advise our clients who are sued by debt buyers to fight the lawsuit as debt buyers are unwilling or unable to prove their case, we do understand the desire of some Alabama consumers to settle the lawsuit filed by a debt buyer. If you decide to go this route, please be aware of several looming dangers and take steps to protect yourself...

Bankruptcy Tips - What NOT To Do - Part One

Posted on June 21, 2008
We don't file bankruptcy cases but we often sue abusive debt collectors and creditors who violate bankruptcy orders by collecting debts that have been discharged or reporting balances on discharged debts. But we wanted to share this post by Jonathon Becker which we read on the excellent Bankruptcy Law Network We hope you don't need to file bankruptcy but if you do keep these in mind as you talk to your bankruptcy attorney.

What Is The "Rooker-Feldman" Doctrine And What Does That Mean To Alabama Consumers?

Posted on June 19, 2008
We will probably expand this post in the future but the basic gist of this law or doctrine is that if something goes against you in state court (like a collection lawsuit) you cannot go to federal court to get it "undone" or "set aside". You have to handle that in state court by appealing it to the state supreme court or whatever the procedure is in your state...

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If I Sue The Debt Buyer Will They Counterclaim Against Me?

Posted on June 17, 2008
Sometimes our clients wonder if they sue the debt collector (a debt buyer who claims to own the debt) will they be sued in a counterclaim for the debt? The short answer is "It is possible" and we recommend you read the Oregon Debt Law Blog's post on this subject...

Proving Abusive Phone Calls From Harassing Debt Collectors

Posted on June 15, 2008
The Oregon Debt Blog has a very good article on how to prove abusive phone calls from harassing debt collectors without recording the calls. Please read the entire post but here are the major categories that are described: 1. Take notes; 2. Have witnesses; 3...

Ironic - Big Business Sues Rivals Claiming 6 BILLION In Damages

Posted on June 13, 2008
It always amazes us in both consumer cases as well as personal injury cases how companies scream about outrageous damage claims and how the entire fabric of the country will come unraveled if a bank is made to pay for false credit reporting or a trucking company is forced to pay for killing someone...

Excellent New Resource For Debt Collection Issues You May Be Facing

Posted on June 11, 2008
The Oregon Debt Law blog by Joel Christiansen looks to be an excellent resource. It contains a good number of posts going through the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Oregon equivalent. We have just become aware of this and will read through these posts and will link to some specific ones but in the meantime we suggest you check out this blog if you are interested in learning more about the FDCPA...

Fascinating Article On Chicago Courts Clogged By Debt Collection Suits

Posted on June 09, 2008
The Chicago Tribune has an interesting article on the number of suits in the Chicago court system and some of the problems faced by consumers who have been sued - including those who do not owe any money. We suggest reading the entire article but here is a brief quote: But because debt collectors operate on volume?pushing through lawsuits based on little more than lists of names, addresses and alleged amounts due?there are also plenty of instances of mistaken identities, cases where debts are alleged when the bills have been paid and even situations where people have fallen behind and tried to work out repayments only to be hauled in to court...

Recent News On Arbitration

Posted on June 06, 2008
The good folks over at Caveat Emptor have a roundup of some recent arbitration news - take a look at it and the good blog here....

Great Article On Pete Barry Who Sues Debt Collectors

Posted on June 05, 2008
Pete Barry is a friend of ours and we were thrilled to see a long story written about him recently. We suggest if you have any interest in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and debt collectors, read this story. Actually, even if you are not interested, read this story anyway - its a fascinating story of his life and practice...

Alabama Consumer Sues Bank Of America For False Reporting After The Bankruptcy Discharge

Posted on June 02, 2008
On April 14, 2008, we filed suit on behalf of an Alabama consumer against Bank of America (FIA Card Services, N.A.) related to its false reporting of an account which had been discharged in bankruptcy several years earlier. Bank of America received notice of a bankruptcy and instead of following the law and properly updating the account to show that it is discharged in bankruptcy and has a zero balance, Bank of America deleted the account and then created a new account with a different account number (which was, in fact, the same as the original account) and reported it with a large balance that was past due...

Anatomy Of An Alabama Collection Lawsuit - Part Three - Being Served

Posted on May 22, 2008
After a debt buyer has decided to sue you, and in fact has sued you, then the debt buyer will have the court serve you with a copy of the suit. This can be done by the sheriff handing you a copy of the suit or sending it by certified mail or by a private "process server" giving it to you...

What Should I Do If I Am Sued For A Debt That I Do Not Owe?

Posted on May 21, 2008
Alabama consumers are often sued for debts they do not owe. Being sued is a very serious matter and particularly when you don't even owe the debt. What should you do? We are asked this more and more and so many Alabama consumers are being sued by debt collectors...

Anatomy Of An Alabama Collection Lawsuit ? Part Two ? Filing Of The Lawsuit

Posted on May 20, 2008
In our first post in this series we discussed the background of how a debt gets to a local collection law firm such as Zarzaur & Schwartz, which then leads to the filing of a lawsuit by a debt buyer. In this post we want to examine how a lawsuit is filed...

Family Identity Theft - What Is The "Domestic Policy" Of Major Creditors?

Posted on May 19, 2008
Much of the ID theft occurs by family members. The response by major creditors has been to adopt a so-called "Domestic Policy" which is where if a family member stole your identity to open an account, this is your problem. This policy is wrong and illegal...

Anatomy Of An Alabama Collection Law Suit ? Part One ? Background

Posted on May 19, 2008
We are often contacted by Alabama consumers who have been sued by a debt buyer such as Palisades or Asset Acceptance or Unifund and for the vast majority of our clients, it is their first experience of any type with a lawsuit. We have decided to present this series of blog posts to explain how a collection lawsuit starts, what your role is in it, what the role of a lawyer that you might hire is, how a trial occurs, and then what happens after the trial depending on whether you have won or lost...

Debt Collectors Issuing 1099s May Violate Law

Posted on May 18, 2008
Alabama consumers are receiving more and more 1099s from debt collectors and debt buyers where these collectors are claiming the consumer defaulted on debt and should have to report it as income. There are times when this is appropriate but as we understand the law the 1099 can only be for the principal, not the interest...

Should I Record Abusive Phone Calls From Debt Collectors?

Posted on May 16, 2008
We are often asked by Alabama consumers if they should record abusive debt collectors who call. While this is a complicated question, our general answer is "No". Recent cases have raised concerns for us about whether Alabama residents can record calls from other states that might require the consent of both parties...

Debt Buyer Example - Unifund - Picture Of The Size Of The Industry

Posted on May 15, 2008
A friend pointed out some interesting things on the Unifund website. We wanted to share these with you to give you an idea of how big these debt buyer companies can be. Here are a few quotes off of the Unifund website: Since our founding in 1986, Unifund has purchased, sold or otherwise liquidated and managed billions of dollars of delinquent accounts receivable...

Examples Of Abusive Phone Calls From Out Of Control Debt Collectors

Posted on May 14, 2008
Our friend Pete Barry, who is an extraordinary consumer lawyer in Minnesota, was recently interviewed and shared a few of his tape recordings of abusive debt collectors. We recommend you watch this video. If you have never dealt with abusive debt collectors, this will open your eyes to what real people are facing...

What Are The Four Benefits Of The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act For Alabama Consumers?

Posted on May 13, 2008
Alabama consumers who are harassed by debt collectors and debt buyers often wonder if the law really helps them - that is, what do they get out of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)? Many things, but four primary ones. First, you get up to $1,000 in statutory damages from a collection agency or debt buyer who has violated the FDCPA...

Bad Economy - Good News For Abusive Debt Collectors?

Posted on May 12, 2008
A story last month in Business Week discussed how the sub prime mess and sluggish economy in general has created a good opportunity for debt collectors and debt buyers to make more money on the rising level of defaulted debts. In the early 1990s the consumer debt-buying industry began to gain steam, and in 2005 debt buyers purchased about $110 billion of delinquent debts, about twice the amount bought in 2000...

Seminar Paper On The Fair Credit Reporting Act Related To Debt Collectors - Part Five - Conclusion

Posted on May 11, 2008
This is the final part of our seminar paper presented to collection and consumer lawyers at the University of Alabama Law School. Please contact us if you have any questions. V. CONCLUSION Using the credit reporting tool can be very useful for debt collectors...

Seminar Paper On The Fair Credit Reporting Act Related To Debt Collectors - Part Four - Dangers To Debt Collectors From Consumer Disputes

Posted on May 10, 2008
In this fourth part of our seminar paper, we look at the impact of consumer disputes either directly to a debt collector or to the credit reporting agencies concerning false information put on the consumer's credit report by the collection agency. IV...

Seminar Paper On The Fair Credit Reporting Act Related To Debt Collectors - Part Three - Pulling Credit Reports - Harmful Or Helpful

Posted on May 09, 2008
This is the third part of our paper we handed out at a seminar we recently gave at the University of Alabama Law School to collection and consumer lawyers. We hope this is helpful to you as debt collectors very often pull credit reports. Sometimes that is allowable but other times it is illegal so you should always check your credit reports to see if debt collectors are pulling your reports...

Seminar Paper On The Fair Credit Reporting Act Related To Debt Collectors - Part Two - Overview Of The FCRA

Posted on May 08, 2008
As we mentioned yesterday, we are putting up parts of our seminar paper that we recently presented at the University of Alabama Law School. This deals with credit reports and debt collectors and we presented this to collection lawyers and consumer lawyers...

Seminar Paper On The Fair Credit Reporting Act Related To Debt Collectors - Part One - Introduction

Posted on May 07, 2008
We recently were asked to present a seminar at the University of Alabama that was attended by consumer lawyers and collection lawyers. We prepared a written paper to go with the presentation and we will attach the entire paper as a pdf but for now we will put it up in sections over the next several days...

What Is An Offer Of Judgment And Why Did The Debt Collector Make One In My Case?

Posted on May 06, 2008
Sometimes Alabama consumers are faced with an "offer of judgment" in cases by debt collectors. An offer of judgment (OOJ) is made under Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. It means what it says - the defendant is offering to allow the plaintiff consumer to take a judgment against the defendant...

Why We Sue Abusive Debt Collectors Instead Of Just Asking Them To Stop

Posted on May 03, 2008
Sometimes defense lawyers tell us we should have just told the debt collectors that we caught them doing something wrong (harassing conduct, false credit reporting, contacting third parties, etc) and let them fix it instead of suing them. While at first this sounds reasonable, the reason the debt collectors want this is very malicious...

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