Consumer Law

Debt Collection Lawsuits for ?Phantom Debts? Result in Real Harassment

Posted on June 28, 2010
Debt buyers may not have any evidence to support their collection lawsuits, but that does not stop them from harassing consumers. According to yesterday’s lead story in the Star Tribune, debt buyers bring lawsuits with nothing but a row of numbers passed along by the previous owner of the debt, then support them with bogus [...

In the Event of a Lawsuit, Please Head for the Nearest Lawyer

Posted on June 24, 2010
If you have been paying attention to this blog or the recent surge in debt collection reporting, you probably have a general idea of how the system works. Debt collectors (both debt buyers and debt collection law firms) sue people as fast as they can fill in the blanks on their summons and complaint forms...

Colleges Sell Student Info to Credit Card Companies

Posted on June 22, 2010
Colleges are selling databases containing the personal information of students and alumni to credit card companies. Under these arrangements, called “affinity” contracts, schools can earn bonuses for every card a student opens, and can earn additional bonuses when students carry a balance...

Spotting FDCPA Violations: A Primer for Bankruptcy Lawyers

Posted on June 18, 2010
Debt collectors seem to be playing faster and looser with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the bankruptcy stay these days, and getting away with it more often than not. I am offering a free seminar for bankruptcy lawyers to help them identify FDCPA and bankruptcy stay violations, and get clients the help they [...

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Find Your Credit Card Contract

Posted on June 17, 2010
Under last year’s Credit CARD Act, credit card companies must post copies of their credit card agreements online at the Federal Reserve. This means that if you do want to see a copy of the agreement—say, before you sign up for a new credit card—you can find it online...

Help Keep HOME Line Running!

Posted on June 14, 2010
To raise money for its operating costs, HOME Line is keeping a treadmill turning for at least two days and two nights. You can watch all the Treadmill-A-Thon action on HOME Line’s live feed: I will be keeping the treadmill turning from 3-4 CDT today...

Fraud Alerts Will Not Hurt Your Credit Score

Posted on June 14, 2010
LifeLock has had its troubles, but its main tool—putting a fraud alert on your account every 90 days—does not hurt your credit score. It does, however, make it more difficult to get credit, because lenders have to jump through more hoops before approving a credit application...

Should Creditors Be Able to Send ?Deadbeats? To Jail?

Posted on June 11, 2010
Consumerist picked up on the article about debtors being thrown in jail, and a surprising (to me, anyway) number of commenters chimed in to support the debt collectors. For example, one commenter wrote Not paying your debt = stealing. For stealing you go to jail...

Get Off Junk Mailing Lists?If You Have Some Time On Your Hands

Posted on June 10, 2010
If you, like 100% of American households, are getting a lot of junk mail, here is one way to get rid of it. A Consumerist reader reports great results calling his junk mailers every hour, on the hour, asking for the company they got his address from, as well as requesting them to take him [...

Debt Buyers? Insufficient Evidence

Posted on June 10, 2010
I sometimes wonder why debt buyers bother to actually buy anything. Since the paper they purchase is basically worthless: Debt buyers? ability to obtain additional documentation from the original creditor is extremely limited: they may purchase the right to request such documentation in a limited number of cases, or they may not have access to any [...

Debt Collectors Causing Consumers to be Arrested

Posted on June 07, 2010
This Sunday, the StarTribune reported that hundreds of debtors are locked up every year because they did not pay their debts. Reporter Chris Serres even named names. Here are the top five debt collectors who are jailing Minnesotans for not paying debts...

Jury Awards $1.5 Million to Consumer Abused by Debt Collector

Posted on June 03, 2010
A Texas jury has awarded over $1.5 million to a consumer abused by debt collectors working for Advanced Call Center Technologies, LLC. The jury awarded $50,000 in mental anguish and $1.5 million in punitive damages. The consumer, Allen Jones, is an African-American, and allegedly had an unpaid debt worth roughly $200...

Martha Kunkle is Dead

Posted on May 26, 2010
This is old-ish news, but I just got wind of it. Debt buyers and prolific lawsuit-filers CACV and Portfolio Recovery Associates, together with debt collection law firm Johnson, Rodenberg & Lauinger, were supporting their lawsuits with affidavits of Martha Kunkle...

Bank Account Garnishment Issues in Minnesota

Posted on May 20, 2010
Regardless how a case reaches the garnishment stage, having your bank account frozen is a very unsettling feeling. Learning about how garnishment works, and how cases reach the garnishment stage, can help you understand what is going on. Was a judgment issued? In most cases, garnishment occurs after a judgment has been issued...

New York Judges Waking Up to Debt Collectors? Shenanigans

Posted on May 12, 2010
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 [...

How to Get Politicians to Ask Your Advice

Posted on April 29, 2010
Omar Ahmad has advice for people who want to influence politicians. He offers a formula: write a well-crafted letter by hand, once a month. He guarantees that if you do this well, the politician you write to will start calling you to ask your opinion...

Citibank Credit Card Numbers Exposed by Blippy

Posted on April 23, 2010
Upstart social networking site Blippy apparently failed to protect its users’ credit card numbers—or at least some of them. Blippy allows users to see what friends are buying and comment on their purchases. It also let Google index the purchase information, including credit card numbers...

Wells Fargo Under Fire For Lending Practices

Posted on April 21, 2010
The good news is that Wells Fargo just settled a lawsuit with the NAACP based on alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). The bad news is that two cities have now filed suit against Wells Fargo under the FHA. This comes on the heels of a class action lawsuit filed last summer for [...

Bank of America Eases Burden for Home Owners

Posted on April 19, 2010
Bank of America (BOA) has announced they will provide some relief to homeowners with underwater mortgages. BOA said it will forgive up to 30% of the total mortgage for homeowners who are at least 2 months behind in payments and owe at least 20% more than their home is worth...

The Story of Bottled Water

Posted on March 31, 2010
Bottled water is wasteful excess, but did you know it can be lower quality, tastes worse, and costs thousands of times more than tap water? That is what Fiji bottled water found out when it tried to make fun of Cleveland tap water. Previously: The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard The Story of Bottled Water | [...

Dolly Parton Says Payday Loans Are Un-American

Posted on March 23, 2010
On a radio interview this week, Dolly Parton took Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) to task over his opposition to a bill that would lower the interest rate payday lenders may charge from 400% to 36%: For a dad and a mom trying to raise some kids on a military paycheck, a 400 percent interest rate is [...

Use AnnualCreditReport.com for Free Credit Reports

Posted on March 22, 2010
If you want a free copy of your credit report, head over to AnnualCreditReport.com, which was setup by the Federal Trade Commission. Thanks to Congress passing the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, the ads should be a more clear in the future...

Bank of America Eliminates Overdraft Fees for Debit Cards

Posted on March 18, 2010
Consumers have complained for years about being charged $35 overdraft fees for a $2 purchase. At least one bank, Bank of America (BoA), has listened and will eliminate overdraft fees on debit card purchases. Starting on June 19 for new customers, and in early August for existing customers, customers who attempt to use a debit card [...

Mint.com Wants to Sell Your Shopping Habits

Posted on March 15, 2010
According to Felix Salmon, Mint.com, the popular personal finance website, may be benefiting from playing outside the regulatory rules that govern banks. At a Banking 2.0 panel at SXSW, Mint’s Aaron Patzer explained why: For instance, he said, he can see pretty much in real time how much money his huge database of customers is, in [...

Pocket Service and Pre-Judgment Garnishment

Posted on March 08, 2010
Pocket service is lawyer slang for the procedural rule in Minnesota that a lawsuit commences on service of the summons and complaint. This is different from the rule in almost all other states and the federal courts, where a lawsuit begins with filing of the summons and complaint...

Funny or Die on the Need for a Consumer Financial Protection Agency

Posted on March 03, 2010
Funny or Die’s Presidential Reunion from Will Ferrell

Divorce Lawyer Selection

Posted on March 03, 2010
Minnesota, like most states, has hundreds of divorce lawyers. Picking the best divorce lawyer for you can be intimidating and frustrating. You can increase your chances of finding a good match with a little preparation and a few good questions. Figuring out who to call Start by asking people you know and trust for a referral...

Minnesota Needs Debt Buyer Regulation

Posted on March 01, 2010
Minnesota Representative Joe Mullery and Senator Ron Latz recently introduced a bill that would prevent debt buyers from filing a lawsuit without the ability to prove they have the right to collect a debt. Why the need for the rule? Debt buyers and collectors file tens of thousands of lawsuits against Minnesota consumers every year, and [...

Debt Collection Help: Free Resources

Posted on February 26, 2010
Getting called or served with a lawsuit by a collector is a pain, at best. You can help yourself deal with debt collection with free information and tools online, but not everything you find will actually help. Here is a selection of resources that will: If you are contacted or sued by a debt collector, use [...

Banks at Risk of Failure: 702

Posted on February 23, 2010
According to the FDIC, over 700 banks are currently at risk of going under, a huge jump over the last three years, and a bit of a shocker given the size of the federal stimulus. The FDIC has already shuttered 20 banks this year, and there is no sign that things will improve in the [...

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