A collection agency violated the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act by contacting the client after it was informed by both the client and the attorney that the client was represented by an attorney. Suit was filed and settled for $2,000.00. Fight back! (248) 432-1612, SE Michigan only.
Archive for category Abusive Debt Collection
Believe it or not debt collectors are regulated by law. The reason you probably don’t believe it is because they routinely ignore the law. Debt collectors are forbidden by Federal Law from:
1. Physically threatening you;
2. Using obscene language;
3. Continuous calling;
4. Failing to identify themselves;
5. Calling before 8 AM and after 9 PM;
6. Calling you at work if your employer forbids it;
7. Calling you if they know you are represented by an attorney;
8. Calling anybody except you, your attorney, or a credit reporting agency about your debt;
9. Contacting you after you notify them in writing that you are not going to pay the debt.
Furthermore, if you “dispute” the debt or demand “verification” of the debt in writing the debt collector must cease debt collection activity until “verification” is provided.
Failure to comply with any of these provisions results in damages of at least $1,000.00 plus your attorneys fees.
If you are the victim of any of these tactics, and reside in South East Michigan, please feel free to contact me at (248) 432-1612 to discuss your options.
There are two events in bankruptcy which bring collection efforts to a halt. They are very different in the way that they operate. The first is the automatic stay. The second is the discharge.
The automatic stay comes into effect at the time of filing. It basically tells your creditors that you have filed bankruptcy and is an order from the court that your creditors have to stop trying to collect their debts from you. (See the separate article on the effect of the stay for more detail) However, it only lasts as long as the bankruptcy is pending. If the case is dismissed the stay is dismissed with it. If your case is dismissed after filing there are penalties for re-filing. The second time the case is filed you have to ask for court permission to extend the stay beyond a thirty day period after the re-filing. The third time you file there is no stay after filing unless the court grants permission to put one place. Finally, the stay does not cancel the debt.
The discharge, again, is different. The discharge cancels the debt. The discharge is entered at the end of the case. At the same time the discharge is granted a permanent injunction (a permanent order from the court) is entered forbidding your creditors to ever try to collect the debt again. Like the automatic stay, if the creditors try to collect in violation of the discharge injunction, they will be fined and you will be awarded damages and attorneys fees.
Most people who are seriously in debt are being harassed and abused by their creditors. I don’t need to tell you that these people are ruthless and relentless. They will call you just about anytime of the day, at work and at home. They will call you every five minutes. They will call you with automated computer telephone systems. They will threaten you and yell at you. They will tell you they are going to garnish you or seize your property. They will do just about anything they can to intimidate you into paying just to make them stop.
The fact of the matter is that there is very little that they can do by themselves except be extremely annoying. For most people this is enough to drive them crazy. If you are one of those few who can put up with it the next thing is for them to hire attorneys. This is where things get serious. Foreclosures, law suits, garnishments, court officers, and property seizures come from this.
In any event you can make this STOP. The minute a bankruptcy is filed the law creates an Automatic Stay. The Automatic Stay is an order from the bankruptcy court telling all of your creditors to LEAVE YOU ALONE. If the creditors violate this order they WILL BE PUNISHED. They will be required to pay you damages and my attorneys fees. In most cases bankruptcy stops all further collection activity on foreclosures, garnishments, property seizures, student loan obligations, credit cards, auto repossessions and other debts.
If you are not in serious enough debt to file bankruptcy there are other things you can do including defending collection lawsuits and initiating Fair Debt Collection Practices lawsuits against collection agencies. I will be writing separate articles on these things later.
