Consumer Law

New York Judges Waking Up to Debt Collectors? Shenanigans

By Sam Glover

Debt collectors treat the courts like a division of the collection agency, but New York judges are finally starting to object.

Privately, some judges say they are embarrassed that in many New York courts, debt-collection lawyers have grown so comfortable that they give the impression they are in charge of the proceedings and do not need prove their claims with strong evidence.

A victim of the collection agencies who was awarded $4,800 for the ethical violations of a New York collection law firm, Eltman, Eltman & Cooper, said:

They don?t care if you?re sick; they don?t care if you?re poor,? Ms. Bohnet said in an interview at her job in Woodmere. ?Their only job is to collect money, and they?ll do it in any way possible.

The NYT story is riddled with great quotes. Here is one from Judge Straniere:

Like the Land of Oz, run by a Wizard who no one has ever seen, the Land of Credit Cards permits consumers to be bound by agreements they never sign, agreements they may never have received, subject to change without notice and the laws of a state other than those existing where they reside.

In New York, Some Judges Are Now Skeptical About Debt Collectors? Claims | NYT (thanks, Martha!)

Full post as published by Caveat Emptor on May 12, 2010 (boomark / email).