If a debt collector is calling you about a debt you do not owe you have rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The statute of limitations mentioned at the end of the story only applies to the filing of a law suit. A debt collector attempting to collect a credit card debt can still call you to collect after the statute of limitations has expired so long as they don't threaten to sue you if you do not pay. Also, the reporter says that the statute of limitations is 4 years which is true if there is no written contract. However, if there is a written contract between the parties, the statute of limitations is 5 years in Florida.
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New Wave of Foreclosures Coming in 2010
As 2010 began, there were some signs of stabilization in the housing market according to the CEO of Freddie Mac, Charles Haldeman, Jr. Federal tax credits, low prices and low mortgage rates were all expected to fuel the recovery. Still, Haldeman cautioned at the time, the recovery was fragile and there was the potential for a large wave of foreclosures. Unfortunately, Haldeman appeared to be right.
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Automated Debt-Collection Lawsuits Engulf Courts
As millions of Americans have fallen behind on paying their bills, debt collection law firms have been clogging courtrooms with lawsuits seeking repayment.
Few have been as prolific as Cohen & Slamowitz, a Woodbury, N.Y., firm that has specialized in debt collection for nearly two decades. The firm has been filing roughly 80,000 lawsuits a year.
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Vulgar voicemails force debt collector to pay $1.5 million
DALLAS - The harassing and threatening voicemail messages left on Allen Jones' mobile phone are nothing short of vulgar.
"This shouldn't be tolerated," he said. "Nobody should have to experience what I had to experience."
Debt collectors from Advanced Call Center Technologies, LLC left eight messages for Jones in August 2007 trying to collect what it said he owed on a credit card.
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Letting Go: A Possible New Solution for Florida Homeowners in Distress
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment in the United States has been holding steady at 9.7 percent in 2010, after peaking at 10.1 percent in October 2009. In contrast, the unemployment rate in Florida is on the rise, reports the Sun Sentinel. In March 2010, unemployment rose to 12.3 percent, the highest since recordkeeping began in 1970. This is an increase of 2.7 percentage points from the March 2009 rate.
With unemployment rates at these levels, many people in Florida and beyond are contemplating filing for bankruptcy or facing the prospect of losing their homes.
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Why We Must Hold Debt Collectors Accountable for Harassing Consumers
Normally it is not a good idea to quote the language of a statute when trying to explain things to people who are not lawyers. Most statutes are written by attorneys and are so complicated that the average person is unable to understand them. However, in 1977 Congress passed the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The first section of the statute is labeled “Congressional findings and declaration of purpose”. These findings and declaration of purpose are so clearly and effectively stated, I have decided to quote the language of the statute.
15 U.S.C. § 1692. Congressional findings and declaration of purpose.
(a) There is abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors. Abusive debt collection practices contribute to the number of personal bankruptcies, to marital instability, to the loss of jobs, and to invasions of individual privacy.
(b) Existing laws and procedures for redressing these injuries are inadequate to protect consumers.
(c) Means other than misrepresentation or other abusive debt collection practices are available for the effective collection of debts.
(d) Abusive debt collection practices are carried on to a substantial extent in interstate commerce and through means and instrumentalities of such commerce. Even where abusive debt collection practices are purely intrastate in character, they nevertheless directly affect interstate commerce.
(e) It is the purpose of this subchapter to eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors, to insure that those debt collectors refrain from using abusive debt collection practices are not competitively disadvantaged, and to promote consistent State action to protect consumers against debt collection abuses.
In the first finding, Congress makes it clear that debt collectors were using abusive, deceptive and unfair techniques to collect debt. They further recognized that abusive debt collection practices often led to very negative results to consumers. I can tell you from my experience as a bankruptcy lawyer that the abusive tactics of debt collectors are often the final straw that makes a consumer decide to call a bankruptcy lawyer. Previously, I limited my practice exclusively to representing consumers in bankruptcy cases. However, I would hear horror stories about the abuse my clients were receiving from debt collectors. They would tell me their story and they would almost always say “I just can’t take it anymore.” The only way I could help them would be to represent them in either a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The clients took some comfort in the fact that they were now being represented by an attorney and the knowledge that as soon as the bankruptcy was filed, the debt collectors would no longer be allowed to call and harass them. Although the bankruptcy was an effective way to stop the abusive phone calls for my client, it was not effective at all in preventing a debt collector from abusing the next consumer. I finally got tired of hearing the stories and realized that maybe bankruptcy wasn’t the only option. That’s when I decided to start representing consumers by filing cases under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
The FDCPA provides up to $1,000.00 in statutory damages, actual damages plus reasonable attorney fees and costs. In Florida we have a state statute which also protects consumers from abusive debt collectors called the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act. It is similar to the FDCPA and also provides up to $1,000.00 in statutory damages, actual damages, reasonable attorney fees and costs. However, the FCCPA also has a provision for punitive damages where the debt collector willfully violates that statute.
Both the Florida and Federal Statutes are powerful tools to combat unfair and abusive debt collection activity. Congress and the State Legislature recognized that the government was not equipped to properly police the collection industry. That is why they created these two statutes. They, in essence, have left the job of policing this industry to consumers. For many debt collectors, the only thing they understand is MONEY! Their unfair, deceptive and harassing tactics are intended to make the consumer give up and pay and the goal is to make as much money as possible. Many times, the collection violations are done intentionally because the debt collector knows that most consumers do not know their rights and that it is very unlikely that they will be sued for the violation. If more consumers would exercise their rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and make the debt collectors PAY for violating the law, the number of violations may be reduced. The goal of the consumer who is harassed by a debt collector should not be to get as much money as they can out of the law suit for their own benefit. The goal should actually be to make the debt collector pay as much money as possible to, hopefully, make the collector think before harassing the next consumer they attempt to collect from. That is why if you have been the victim of abusive, harassing or unfair debt collection tactics, you should call an attorney who can help you bring a suit under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Make Sure You Get Credit for your Bankruptcy Discharge!
When you file bankruptcy you should expect to receive a discharge and a fresh financial start. In a perfect world your credit reports would be properly updated to show that your debts have been discharged. That is important if you wish to reestablish your credit following the bankruptcy. Unfortunately many creditors do not contact the credit bureaus to provide them with the updated status of the discharged debts. If your creditors fail to properly update your credit reports following your bankruptcy, you will probably not be able to get a loan for a house, car or maybe even new credit cards. Most people don't know their credit reports have not been updated until they are denied credit following their bankruptcy discharge.
