Debt collector abuse results in $1.5 million verdict for consumer.

September 17th, 2011 Gary Nitzkin

As a consumer rights attorney, I am frequently challenged by the number of people who think that they alone have been harassed by debt collectors. I think it would be fair to say that debt collection harassment is at epidemic levels. If you’ve been harassed by a debt collector I assure you that you’re not alone.

I found this article on ABC news regarding Allen Jones of Lewisville Texas was harassed by company called advanced call center technologies. This is what they said to him:

In one voicemail message, a collector suggested that Jones “go pick some m*****f****** cotton fields,” according to recordings provided by Jones’ lawyers.

It’s disgusting how far debt collectors will go to bully harass and intimidate consumers. In my experience, that collectors are frequently consumers who own money on the other side of the telephone.

In today’s society is no reason for you not to know your rights. If you’ve been harassed and bullied or intimidated by a debt collector you need to take action immediately. A good consumer rights attorney can stop the calls and get you paid. Mr. Jones’s case won him over one and a half million dollars.

If you are or have been the victim of a debt collector, call or email Attorney Gary Nitzkin for a free consultation at gary@micreditlawyer.com Call toll free (888) 293-2882.  For more information about our law firm, Michigan Consumer Credit Lawyers, visit our website at www.micreditlawyer.com

 

Debt Collector dumb enough to leave you a message? Sue him!

August 27th, 2011 Gary Nitzkin

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a debt collector must identify himself as as such and further inform the consumer that the communication is from a debt collector.  Interestingly, the FDCPA prohibits a debt collector from disclosing the debt to anyone other than the consumer, the consumer’s spouse, the consumer’s attorney, any third party that the consumer expressly allows the debt collector to communicate with, a credit reporting agency and the creditor.  The idea is that the debt collector cannot spread the word about the consumer’s debt.  So, what happens when a debt collector leaves a message on your answering machine?  Simple answer?  The debt collector violates the law in any event.  Why?  Because if the call is meant for the consumer, then the collector has to say that the call is from a debt collector.  However, if a third party not listed above hears the message, then the collector has violated the rule against third party disclosures.

So what happens if a debt collector calls you and leaves a message?  We sue them.  Debt collectors should not be leaving messages on people’s answering machines.  In an effort to wedge itself between these two competing ideas in the FDCPA, many debt collectors preface their messages with “If you are not Mr. Smith, please leave the room.  I will wait 10 seconds for you to leave and then I will leave a message.”  My question is what hair brained idiot gave the collector the idea that he gets to boss people in the consumer’s house around?  If a debt collector were chasing me, fine.  But he does not get to tell my kids to leave the room as the family answering machine is for their benefit as well.  How would he like it if I got his phone number and left a message with the preface “I am about to cuss out your dad.  If you are under 18, please leave the room”?

The simplest thing to do is to sue the debt collector if you get such a message.  Under the FDCPA, you are entitled to damages of up to $1,000,m plus costs and attorneys’ fees.

If you are or have been the victim of a debt collector, call or email Attorney Gary Nitzkin for a free consultation at gary@micreditlawyer.com Call toll free (888) 293-2882.  For more information about our law firm, Michigan Consumer Credit Lawyers, visit our website at www.micreditlawyer.com

 

South Dakota AG finally gets the word about Payday loan collection scams.

August 20th, 2011 Gary Nitzkin

By far, we get the most inquiries about these bogus payday loan collection agencies.  We, at Michigan Consumer Credit Lawyers, are consumer advocates.  We represent people who are abused by debt collectors.

Many of these Payday Loan collection companies are off shore and are the sleaziest of the sleaze.  Since they operate off shore, they avoid following the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  The FDCPA is a consumer type law that was designed by Congress to protect us from these very sleazy debt collectors.

It appears that the South Dakota Attorney General, Marty Jackely is just getting the word out to his constituents about these Payday Loan cretins.  Be aware, however, that these debt collectors that work for the payday loan industry, by and large are scams.  Here are some of the techniques they use to collect debts that are owed and even those that re not:

The scammers call consumers repeatedly at their residence and place of employment using false names designed to sound like law enforcement agencies. They attempt to collect payday loans from consumers, but refuse to provide consumers with any details regarding the alleged payday loan and become abusive when questioned. The callers threaten legal action, arrest and in some cases physical violence if the consumer refuses to pay.

In my experience, these scam collectors continue to call until the consumer gets wise and informs them that he knows that the collector is off shore and that there is nothing the collector can do to collect the debt.  We, unfortunately, cannot sue he debt collectors because they are not located in the United States.  But, again, if you are contacted by one of these sleaze operations, tell them to get lost because you are not going to pay them a dime and there is nothing they can do about it.  That should stop the calls.

 

If you have been the victim of an abuse debt collector or dentity theft, call or email Attorney Gary Nitzkin for a free consultation at gary@micreditlawyer.com Call toll free (888) 293-2882.  For more information about our law firm, Michigan Consumer Credit Lawyers, visit our website at www.micreditlawyer.com

Always think about emotional damages under the FDCPA when discussing your case

August 13th, 2011 Gary Nitzkin

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a consumer may recover two types of damages; Actual damages and statutory damages of “up to $1,000.”  In many of the cases that we handle, most consumers are only able to obtain statutory damages.  Actual damages, under the FDCPA include emotional damages.  So what does this mean?  If you, as a consumer, can prove that you have suffered emotional damages at the hands of a debt collector, you can recover more money.

Recently, a federal jury in New Mexico has awarded a plaintiff $1.26 million in a case that accused a collection law firm of twice attempting to garnish her wages for a debt she did not owe, according to an article in the Albuquerque Journal.

The case stretches back to December 2006 when Target National Bank assigned the past due credit card account of Yazzie to Farrell & Sandlin. When Yazzie was initially contacted, she insisted that she had never had a Target credit card and that there was another person in her area with the same name. Yazzie said that she frequently got calls from other creditors attempting to find the other person.  The law firm, nevertheless filed a suit in April 2007 anyway and got a garnishment order. When they presented the order to Yazzie’s employer, the business insisted that they had the wrong person. The garnishment writ was then dropped.

Unfortunately, Farrell & Sandlin obtained a second garnishment against the wrong Yazzie, again.  This second garnishment order stayed in force until Yazzie filed her own suit against the law firm in March 2010, claiming violations of the FDCPA and other consumer statutes.

During the legal process, it was discovered that Target Bank had indeed supplied Farrell & Sandlin with the correct name, address and Social Security number of the true debtor, not the Lucinda Yazzie named in their garnishment actions. However, a former employee changed the social security number in Farrell and Sandlin’s system to the wrong Yazzie and hence this case ensued.

The jury awarded Yazzie $161,000 in actual damages for emotional distress and $1.1 million in punitive damages. Although Target’s attempts to be dismissed from the lawsuit were unsuccessful, the judge noted that the company did not err in the assignment of the account.

 

Moral of the Story to consumers – When discussing your FDCPA case with your attorney, be sure to explore the issue of emotional damages and what, if any such damages you may be entitled to.  Getting statutory damages is frequently going to be a consumer’s sole remedy.  It will be a consumer sole remedy, however, if emotional damages are not considered.

If your credit report has been damaged due to items that do not belong on it or if you have been the victim of identity theft, call or email Attorney Gary Nitzkin for a free consultation at gary@micreditlawyer.com Call toll free (888) 293-2882.  For more information about our law firm, Michigan Consumer Credit Lawyers, visit our website at www.micreditlawyer.com

How to immediately tell if you are being scammed by a fake debt collector

June 24th, 2011 Gary Nitzkin

I have written about this before, but I do so again because of the sheer number of calls that I am receiving from panic stricken people.  I frequently get calls from people who had just hung up with a debt collector that threatened to send the police or sheriff to their front door unless they pay money over the phone immediately.  You need to know that if you ever encounter someone like this on the phone, the call is most likely from a fake debt collector.

The PAYDAY LOAN INDUSTRY has apparently made a practice of sending their debts to companies outside of the United States.  These offshore companies do not recognize the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  They are working outside of the United States so there is nothing that the Federal Trade Commission can do against these phone thugs.  Still, your best defense is a bit of knowledge.  Whenever someone makes a threat of law enforcement you must know that the debt collector is simply someone trying to scam you.

If you get a call from one of these clowns, do not pay them a dime.  Do not give them any information about yourself.  Simply tell them that you know that they are jokes and that there is nothing that they can do to you.  Then call me, Attorney Gary Nitzkin.  We need to then find out what Payday Loan company you went to and then we nail that company here in the United States.  I dont intend this post as an informercial; I just hate the Payday Loan industry for the sleazier turn that it has taken for the worse by sending its debts off shore to these bums who have no compunction against bulling consumers.

If your credit report has been damaged due to items that do not belong on it or if you have been the victim of identity theft, call or email Attorney Gary Nitzkin for a free consultation at gary@micreditlawyer.com Call toll free (888) 293-2882.  For more information about our law firm, Michigan Consumer Credit Lawyers, visit our website at www.micreditlawyer.com

 

One tiny glitch by Experian has caused major credit score drops for many

April 13th, 2011 Gary Nitzkin

Experian, a major credit reporting agency experienced a small, but substantial glitch in its reporting system recently, reported MSNBC.com. When reporting the credit history of HSBC credit card holders, Experian apparently reported just the first 2 digits of the credit limit.  Hence, if an HSBC card holder had a $2,000 credit limit, Experian reported that this person only had a $20 limit.  Hence, people who had any balances on their HSBC credit cards were substantially over their limits.

One factor that is weighed when creating a credit score for someone is their credit limit.  Another factor is the percentage of utilization of that credit limit used by the consumer.  This factor has been felt by many HSBC credit cardholders. Indeed, one HSBC credit cardholder reported a 60 point drop in his FICO score due to this Experian error.

Experian has acknowledged the problem and is working on it.

Interestingly, this error was first discovered by consumers who are members of credit monitoring services.  Personally, I have never been a fan of these.  However, this situation certainly gives me pause to re-examine my skepticism for these services.

Moral of the Story Consumers – Check your credit report at least one a year.  Yeah…ok..may be there is something good to these credit monitoring system.  I just hate when they give you a free 30 days and then automatically charge your credit card if you do not cancel in time.  Still, I have to give credit where credit is due  ..get it?  ;)

If your credit report has been damaged due to items that do not belong on it or if you have been the victim of identity theft, call or email Attorney Gary Nitzkin for a free consultation at gary@micreditlawyer.com Call toll free (888) 293-2882.  For more information about our law firm, Michigan Consumer Credit Lawyers, visit our website at www.micreditlawyer.com

How to fight back against Payday Loan collectors.

April 10th, 2011 Gary Nitzkin

Payday loan companies tempt the most necessitous borrowers with quick money.  It appears to be quite easy to fill out an application on line and get your money in short order.  Here is what you don’t but should know about Payday loans; they often farm the collection of these accounts out to offshore companies that threaten and harass consumers.  . Unfortunately, when the Payday Loan companies farm out this information, they send it off with your name, address, social security number and names of your relatives and contacts.  These offshore companies frequently are in South America.

I frequently get calls from frantic consumers who have defaulted on a payday loan only to be contacted by some dirtbag threatening arrest and immediate seizure of their assets.  It usually takes me about five minutes to calm these people down.  Once I explain that they are not going to be arrested nor are they going to have their assets immediately seized, I explain the facts of life about Payday loans.

Payday Loans – the birth of a sleazy industry

The Payday Loan industry has sleazy history.  Many of the lenders in this group started out as party store owners who would cash checks for their customers by charging a percentage of the check.  Some people saw the benefit of taking people’s checks on payday and began loaning money at extortionate rates.  Ultimately,when the payday loan borrowers would bounce checks to the lenders on the repayment of their loans, the lenders would then file a lawsuit under state laws.  Many states have laws that allow lenders to sue for three times the amount of a bounced check.  Many states stepped in and passed laws that either legislated payday loan companies out of of existence or highly regulated them.   In Michigan and many other states, the interest rates and fees charged by payday loans are now almost reasonable.  Moreover, these lenders cannot sue for three times the amount of a bounced check anymore.

Many Payday Lenders turn their accounts receivable over to collectors who are outside of the United States

In the United States, debt collectors are governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”).  Under this statute, debt collectors cannot lie to you.  They cannot threatened you and there are many other things that they cannot do in connection with the collection of a debt.  If debt collectors violate this law, they can and often are sued.  Many in the Payday Loan Industry have farmed out their collection work to off shore companies.  These collectors are not governed by the FDCPA.  They have a tendency to lie, threaten and harass consumers.  I have even had phone calls from people who were uncertain as to whether they owed any money, but still paid the money demanded of them by the offshore collection company because they were that intimidated.

Some payday companies have reincorporated under the laws of Indian Tribes.

Sleazier, if not ingenious, is how the Payday Loan industry has fought back against the United States Government.  Many of these companies have reincorporate their businesses under the laws of some Indian Nations.  By doing so, they claim sovereign immunity to the laws of the state in which they operate.  This is a fancy way of saying that because they are governed by the Indian nation, the FDCPA and state law has no applicability to how they operate.  In March of 2011, the Colorado Supreme Court remanded a case back to the trial court to determine whether state law can regulate Payday Loan Companies in that state.  See State ex. re. v Suthers.

What do do if you are contacted by a Payday Loan Company for payment

First off, you should note that if the collector comes out swinging at you on  the telephone, you can be reasonable sure that you are dealing with an offshore company.  You can ignore everything they say.  In fact, my best advice to you is simply hang up on them.  If they call back, you may consider letting them know that you know that they are outside of the United States and that there is NOTHING they can do to collect anything from you.  Even if the debt collector is in the United States you should know that you are NOT going to arrested and that they CANNOT take your car.  They can’t do anything until they get a judgment against you.  Now that most states have taken away their ability to sue debtors for three times the amount of the check, it is almost impossible for them to find attorneys to sue consumers.

If you have been harassed or bullied by a debt collector or have items on your credit report that do not belong on it, please call or email Attorney Gary Nitzkin at gary@micreditlawyer.com or call (888) 293-2882 for a free consultation.  For more information about our firm visit www.micreditlawyer.com.  We have a large number of self help videos that discuss your rights as a consumer.

 

Consumer Lawyers, when filing your Fair Credit Reporting Act, don’t forget the details

April 3rd, 2011 Gary Nitzkin

Attorneys, when you file a complaint under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), be sure that you can make the following allegations in good faith:

a. Your client posited its consumer dispute with the credit reporting agency (and not just the creditor/furnisher directly). You or your client’s failure to notify the credit reporting agency of your client’s dispute is fatal to your FCRA claim. You see, under the statute, a credit reporting agency’s duty to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation does not begin until it receives notice of the dispute. Notifying the furnisher of the dispute is insufficient to trigger any duty to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation by the credit reporting agency.

b. Be sure to plead that that the credit reporting agency notified the furnisher of your dispute. If you are uncertain as to whether this happened, look for facts that would support a good faith believe to allege that this happened “upon information and belief.”

Under the FCRA, a furnisher’s duty to conduct its reinvestigation is not triggered until the credit reporting agency notifies it of your client’s dispute. Some courts do not require this to be pled in the complaint, but yet, some courts do. For example, Judge Avern Cohen who sits in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan requires this allegation in FCRA complaints. I just finished reading an opinion in which he dismissed the Plaintiff’s complaint for failing to allege that the credit reporting agency notified the furnisher. I have a world of respect for Judge Cohen and his opinions. I can safely say that he is an incredibly intelligent man and history will undoubtedly remember him as an excellent jurist. BUT……if you are going to file an FCRA complaint in the Eastern District of Michigan and your case is assigned to Judge Cohen, be sure that you follow my advice.

If you have been harassed or bullied by a debt collector, or if your credit report is inaccurate and the credit reporting agency will not fix it, email Attorney Gary Nitzkin or call toll free (888) 293-2882.  For more information about our firm, visit our website, Michigan Consumer Credit Lawyers.  We have a lot of good information including short “how to” videos that you will find useful.

Child Identity Theft is on the rise

April 2nd, 2011 Gary Nitzkin

Its happening more and more.  I am seeing some of it too in new clients.  A high school kid applies for his or her first credit card and is declined because of too many prior delinquencies on his credit.  The problem with this situation is that my client is applying for his FIRST credit card…ever.  After he gets a copy of his credit report, he discovers that his identity has been stolen.

I have done some research into this issue and have learned that identity thieves are stealing young childrens’ identities; especially infants and newborns.  Because these kids have no issues on their credit, their social security numbers are considered pristine and allow identity thieves to start over without having to “bother” with bankruptcy.

I have also come to learn that in many cases, the identity thief knows the children and, unfortunately, is frequently related to him.  This makes sense since children usually do not have credit card receipts laying around nor personally identifiable information that would allow a dumpster diving identity thief to procure such information.  As a concerned parent, here is what I recommend you do.  My advice to you protecting your kids’ identities is not different than that advice that I offer you in protecting your own identity.

First, go to www.annualcreditreport.com and pull your kid’s credit report, if he has one.  If your kid’s identity has not been stolen or used, then it may be moot as this website will not have anything on your kid.  That would be a very good thing.

Second, check out the mail that comes to the house.  If anything is addressed to your child that does not appear to be something appropriate, open it up and look at it.  If its a bill, an invoice or even a solicitation of some sort, your child’ identity may have been stolen.

Finally, if your kid’s identity has been stolen, make a police report immediately. Then, pull your kid’s credit report and posit a dispute with each of the credit reporting agencies.

For more information including videos on how to protect and defend your credit report, visit our website at www.micreditlyawer.com.  You have rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, but you also must act to enforce those rights.

If you have been victimized by a debt collector or have items on your credit report that are incorrect, call or email Attorney Gary Nitzkin for a free consultation at (888) 293-2882.  For more information about your credit rights as a consumer, visit our blog at www.micreditlawyerblog.com.  Visit our website at www.micreditlawyer.com.

What steps you must take if you have been a victim of identity theft

March 27th, 2011 Gary Nitzkin

When your identity has been stolen, you should not expect much sympathy, let alone help, from the banks and other lenders.  When you open your account with your bank, you are a valued customer.  When you want to incur debt, you are a value customer.  When your identity gets stolen and your credit gets brutalized by an identity theft, the bank looks at you as if you were a street person staggering into one of their branches.  Here is how you can protect yourself.

FIRST…KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.  There is no substitution for knowledge of what your rights are in this case.  The banks are glad to convince you that you are responsible for the charges incurred on your account by the identity thief.  The fact is, you are not liable for these charges.  In some cases, you may be liable for up to $50 of such charges but in many cases, you are not liable for any charges at all.  I have an What to do after you discover that your identity has been stolen..

SECOND, file a police report.  Go to your local police department will all documents you have that show that your identity has been stolen.  For example, you may have credit card statements that show the charges that the identity thief has incurred.  You may also have received demand letters from collection agencies demanding that you pay debts that you have not incurred.  In any event, getting a police report is very important and will be the key to you requiring the banks and any other lenders, do their jobs and get off your back.

THIRD, pull your credit reports from all three credit reporting agencies.  You get a free credit pull once a year at www.annualcreditreport.com.  If you have already pulled your credit report for the year at this site, then contact each of the credit reporting agencies directly and get a copy of your credit report immediately.  You need to see if any damage has been inflicted on your credit score by the identity thief or thieves.  If there are items on your credit report that do not belong on there, call each credit reporting agency and identify the inaccurate item(s) on your credit report.  Next, follow up by first class mail with a letter confirming your conversation with each credit reporting agency and include a copy of the police report that I discussed above.  Again, this is your key to making sure that everyone does their jobs.  With a police report in their possession, the banks, credit reporting agencies must take your dispute seriously and they must investigate it.

By taking these three steps immediately after discovering that your identity has been stolen, you will save yourself a multitude of head aches that invariably follow identity theft victims that do not take these steps.

If you have been victimized by a debt collector or have items on your credit report that are incorrect, call or email Attorney Gary Nitzkin for a free consultation at (888) 293-2882.  For more information about your credit rights as a consumer, visit our blog at www.micreditlawyerblog.com.  Visit our website at www.micreditlawyer.com.

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