Michigan

Beware...that trade in can destroy your good credit

Posted on November 18, 2009
An article recently appeared in the Detroit Free Press about a couple who trade in their recreational vehicle with what they thought was a sound dealer. Indeed, Walt Michal's RV has been around for a long time, dealing in RVs. When the happy couple trade in their old RV that had a lien on it from the prior lender, for a new RV, they counted on the Walt Michals to pay off the loan balance of about $180,000...

COLLECTORS - Get your demand letters reviewed before they turn into big problems

Posted on November 13, 2009
I have had the displeasure of suing a collection agent and agency that I had done work for a number of years ago. Why? The agency (which is owned by the agent) sent out a bad check demand letter to client that did not contain all of the requirements of MCL 600...

OMG....you just can't make this stuff up

Posted on July 12, 2009
According to an article in the Associated Press, New York authorities shut down a collection agency for threatening consumers with jail if they did not pay. Did this agency ever hear of the FDCPA? Probably not since it was owned by some ex-convicts...

Dealing With Debt Collectors, the Easy Way

Posted on July 08, 2009
This article is written by Kat Sanders, who regularly blogs on the topic of court reporter schools at her blog Court Reporter Schools. She welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: katsanders25@gmail.com. It?s never an easy situation when you?re in debt; the thought that you cannot pay back money you owe is as frightening as the fact that the debt collectors are going to be knocking down your door sooner than you think...

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FTC takes aim at lawyers and law firms with its new "Red Flag" rules

Posted on July 07, 2009
On May 11, 2009, I wrote a blog post about the FTC's new Red Flag rules. These rules require prospective lenders to develop policies and procedures to identify identity theft. Sounds like a good idea, right? Sure...right up until the FTC said that these Red Flag Rules apply to lawyers and law firms as well...

FTC renders an advisory opinion as to what happens when the FDCPA runs afoul of the FCRA

Posted on July 02, 2009
The Federal Fair Trade Commission just issued an advisory opinion to the American Collectors Association. In that opinion, the FTC answered the question, what is a collector supposed to do when a debtor sends in a cease and desist communication letter to a collector while, at the same time, disputing an item on his credit report...

Collection Agencies - protect yourselves

Posted on June 19, 2009
I never blog about pending litigation but in this case, I am going to make an exception. I have filed an Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case against a collection agency. Allegedly, that agency called my client and threatened him with a wage garnishment if he did not pay the debt...

Michigan's new Mortgage Foreclosure Law can be a great help

Posted on June 13, 2009
Michigan's new foreclosure law becomes effective on July 5, 2009. I think it will be a great help to home owners who are facing foreclosure. While there are other programs at the federal level, the items contained in the new law should be very helpful...

Do it yourself resources to save your home from foreclosure

Posted on May 30, 2009
I tip my hat to Ms. Michelle McLean, an associate with the law firm of Klyczynski, Girtz and Vogelzang in Grand Rapids. Ms. McLean is a lawyer who wrote a great article about resources available to consumers who face foreclosure, in the Michigan Lawyers Weekly of May 25, 2009...

A respite for lawyers...the FDCPA does NOT require plain English in pleadings

Posted on May 11, 2009
I just read the Sixth Circuit's opinion in Miller v Javitch, Block & Rathbone, 561 F.3d 588 (2009). This case holds good news for debt collection lawyers. In that case, Miller contends that JBR violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by using false, deceptive, and misleading language in a debt-collection complaint...

FTC "Red Flag" rules may apply to YOU....

Posted on May 11, 2009
Since January 1, 2008, the Federal Trade Commission Red Flag Rules has required businesses to establish policies and procedures for identifying identity theft. These rules require 4 things: 1. That business have reasonable policies and procedures in place to identify the red flags of i...

New tales of outrageous debt collectors actions...soon to be classics

Posted on May 02, 2009
Social networking websites such as Facebook and Myspace have offered us new opportunities to reach out and communicate with one another. For the less scrupulous collection agencies, it has offered many other possibilities. Consider the the case of JP Morgan Chase and its collection agency, Universal Tracing Services, Inc...

Pay Day Loan companies chummy up with Indians..is it wise?

Posted on April 19, 2009
I just read an interesting article in the National Law Journal of April 6, 2009 about Payday loan companies that are affiliating with Tribal American nations in order to avoid regulation by the United States. Is this legal one may ask? For the past few years, many states have begun to regulate these payday loan companies...

FTC hits collection agency with largest penalty in history

Posted on April 11, 2009
For the past few years, I have been blogging on how collection agencies have been spiraling out of control. Late last year, the FTC assessed the largest penalty it ever has against a collection agency for harassing and intimidating debtors. I found this blog post about Academy Collection Service, Inc...

The downward spiral of credit affects even those with great credit

Posted on March 11, 2009
There was a great article in USA Today of Saturday, March 7, 2009. In that article, the reporter advises that banks are now closing lines of credit and credit card accounts that are inactive. Even people who have been making their payments timely are seeing a reduction in the LOC that the bank will extend...

Wow...credit card companies are now paying consumers to close their accounts

Posted on March 08, 2009
I just read a very interesting article in USA Today. It talked about credit card companies like American Express paying some consumers $300 to pay off and close their accounts. I have never seen anything like this before. It appears that these banks are targeting those consumers that are carrying balances and not charging very much...

If you are in foreclosure, you need an exit strategy.

Posted on March 07, 2009
I am working with a few clients that are suffering through a mortgage foreclosure. As soon as they received the sheriff's notice, I sat with them to discuss their options. In both cases, we put together an exit strategy that I would like to share with you...

What collectors and attorneys don't know about the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act can sink them

Posted on January 02, 2009
Its not very often that I get to cross paths with American Heroes such as Captain Stephen P. Dunn. He is an attorney with Howard and Howard and is also active in the United States Armed forces, protecting our country including my family and me. I will always be indebted to Captain Dunn for his courage and his performance to our country...

Debt Collectors...beware

Posted on December 21, 2008
I have talked about this issue once before, but a case just popped up showing me that not all of you are listening to my warning. Debt Collectors beware....a consumer does NOT have to posit a dispute to a consumer debt in writing. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") has no such requirement...

A better way to collect....show respect to your customers

Posted on December 18, 2008
This time of year, I am pleasantly reminded of our office wide directive to treat debtors as our customers. Over the years, I have seen debt collectors use old school techniques of yelling at debtors and threatening them with legal action amongst other things...

Zen and the art of skipping that next mortgage payment...

Posted on December 16, 2008
I debated long and hard about even writing this blog post, but lets face it. There is a white elephant in the middle of many peoples' homes and lives. Many people are facing down a foreclosure and discover that they are making payments on a house that is worth less what they owe...

OMG....The CRA's are sooooo F'ed Up when it comes to ID theft!!!!

Posted on December 13, 2008
The Law- Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"), credit reporting agencies such as Transunion, Experian and Equifax, all have a duty to conduct an investigation into a consumer's dispute regarding the accuracy or completeness of an item appearing on a consumer's report...

Emotional damages are easier to obtain under the FDPCA and FCRA than under state laws

Posted on December 04, 2008
In a great new case that was recently issued in a District Court the 6th Circuit in Ohio, Judge Carr wrote a great opinion reaffirming the fact that in order for Plaintiffs to obtain emotional damages under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") and the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"), they need not prove damages pursuant to stringent state laws...

Corporations provide no protection for violation of Builders Trust Fund Act

Posted on November 01, 2008
In Elmers Crane v AWM Corp, Michigan Court of Appeals Docket No 266666, the Plaintiff provided a services to a corporate general contractor ("GC"). The GC received payment from the owner which included money due to Elmers. Even though the money went to the GC and the GC was a corporation, the individual that managed the funds of the GC was held liable for violation of the Michigan Builders Trust Fund Act ("MBTFA")...

Kudos to Legally Blawged

Posted on November 01, 2008
On Tuesday, October 28, 2008, we had our first meeting of legal marketing group, Legally Blawged. It was attended by about 25 people. Legally Blawged was formed by Pete Cavanaugh, Mike Hamblin and myself. We are three attorneys who met over the internet during this past summer...

Why suing on purchased debt is rarely successful.

Posted on August 30, 2008
A recent speaker at the Michigan Institute of Continuing Legal Education had talked about suing on purchased debt. He said that a debt buyer does not have to produce a witness from the originating creditor in order to prove his case at trial. While that may be true, its equally true that most debt buyers do not get enough information to successfully sue on their debts...

When collecting a judgment, should you take that asset if it has a lien?

Posted on August 25, 2008
An unfortunate part of my job is to have a court officer seize assets from people who refuse to pay the judgments that are placed with us for collection. I don?t like doing this for several reasons. First, I much prefer to work on a payment plan with a debtor and to collect the judgment in a more civilized way...

Should you take that asset if it has a lien on it?

Posted on August 25, 2008
An unfortunate part of my job is to have a court officer seize assets from people who refuse to pay the judgments that are placed with us for collection. I don?t like doing this for several reasons. First, I much prefer to work on a payment plan with a debtor and to collect the judgment in a more civilized way...

Attorneys...use these tips to collect your fees...

Posted on August 21, 2008
Steve Harms, one of the giants in the legal debt collection community, spoke at the recent ICLE program. He spoke on the issue of attorney liens. Like us at Nitzkin and Associates, he does a lot of collection work for attorneys. He raised some very interesting points and gave us these tips for collecting fees for other attorneys: 1...

Why purchasing debt is a bad bet at trial

Posted on August 20, 2008
A recent speaker at the Michigan Institute of Continuing Legal Education had talked about suing on purchased debt. He said that a debt buyer does not have to produce a witness from the originating creditor in order to prove his case at trial. While that may be true, its equally true that most debt buyers do not get enough information to successfully sue on their debts...

Ideas to defend against foreclosure

Posted on August 13, 2008
I am personally sickened by the number of foreclosures that we are experiencing in Michigan. While mortgage foreclosure is at epidemic levels throughout our state, I have decided to do something about it. I may only be one man and my impact may be minimal, but I refuse to do nothing in the face of this housing carnage...

In G-d, we trust and thank G-d for trusts to keep the creditors away from our assets.

Posted on August 06, 2008
My good friend and colleague, Howard Young works for the dark side. He is an asset protection planning attorney. Recently, he spoke at the Institute of Continuing Legal Education Seminar on Debt Collection. He said that he represents wealthy individuals and that if he does his job right, we will collect nothing from his clients...

American Express sues Mastercard

Posted on August 02, 2008
American Express settled its lawsuit against Visa for $1.8 billion. AE accused Visa conspiring to stifle banks from issuing AE credit cards. Mastercard has agreed to make 12 quarterly payments of $150 million each at AE. Here is AE's chance to savor this moment and say "Priceless...

When collectors exert too much pressure....

Posted on July 30, 2008
I was shocked and saddened to read about a story of an individual who received so many dunning notices and collection calls from a New Jersey Rent-a-Center, that he walked into the store and set himself on fire. As a debt collector, this is the sort of thing that gives me great pause...

Suing your attorney? You have have to show that the debt was collectible.

Posted on July 27, 2008
On June 18, 2008, the Ohio Supreme Court held that a in order to prevail against an attorney in a malpractice action, the Plaintiff must show that the he would have won the underlying case and that the defendant in the underlying case was collectible...

Live from New York...it Gary

Posted on June 28, 2008
My wife and I are on vacation in New York. She would kill me if she knew that I was doing any sort of work including posting anything to my blog. She is still sleeping, so now I can send this note to you. Today, there is a very interesting article in the USA Today...

When good people give bad advise...be careful

Posted on June 25, 2008
I just saw a fairly recent post from a "The Credit InfoCenter Blog." It was arrogantly entitled "Now I'm Giving Advice to Consumer Attorneys." To me, this post highlighted why a consumer ought not to seek legal advice from someone who is not an attorney...

There may be a private cause of action against a Furnisher for failing to flag a debt as disputed by the Consumer.

Posted on June 11, 2008
Red Orbit report on the case of Saunders v. Branch Banking and Trust Co. of Virginia, No. 07-1108 (decided May 14, 2008) (Judges Michael, MOTZ, & Keeley (sitting by designation), as follows: FACTS: On August 31, 2003, Rex Saunders purchased an automobile from Richmond Mitsubishi, and the dealer assigned his loan for the car to Branch Banking & Trust Company of Virginia (BB&T)...

President Bush signs law clarifying FACTA

Posted on June 04, 2008
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act ("FACTA") was enacted in 2003 as an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"). According to Stuart King's Risk Management Blog, he noted that just yesterday, President Bush signed HS 4008 which states: Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, no person that accepts credit cards or debit cards for the transaction of business shall print more than the last 5 digits of the card number or the expiration date upon any receipt provided to the cardholder at the point of the sale or transaction...

Credit Repair Companies - Do they really have the goods to help?

Posted on May 21, 2008
There is a great article in today's Wall Street Journal that talks about credit repair companies. While the industry is rife with charlatans, I have come across some credit repair companies that are quite legitimate. For example, I have recently met the owners of Credit 1 in Pontiac, Michigan...

Attorneys for Debt Buyers beware...they are on to us!

Posted on May 04, 2008
I love defending people against debt buyers because the Plaintiffs case is as strong as a house of cards in a hurricane. Debt buyers buy judgments, credit card charge offs and other sordid garbage debt for pennies on the dollar. Hell, there are even debt buyers that buy debt that has already been through a collection agency or two...

When is a collection notice not a collection notice?

Posted on April 27, 2008
In March of 2007, the U S Court of Appeals for the 6th circuit decided Mabbitt v Midwestern Audit Services. This was a very interesting case. Ms. Mabbitt and her sister shared a home on Leota Blvd. Consumers Energy provided gas to that space. The bill was in Ms...

Your wages can get garnished for a student loan...without a judgment

Posted on April 25, 2008
I was very surprised to learn from opposing counsel today that my client's wages for her allegedly delinquent student loan can be garnished...all without a judgment. Yep. Thats right. At first, I thought my opposing counsel was from Mars. After all, we have some legal safeguards in this country such as due process under the 5th and 14th Amendments of the Constitution...

Payday Loans are risky business for both borrower and lender

Posted on April 13, 2008
In the good ol' days, when someone bounced a check on you in Michigan, you could sue for 3 times the amount of the check plus $250 in costs. See MCL 600.2952. While most of us in Michigan still enjoy this law, Payday Loan companies do not. These companies have sprung up around our state like dandelions in June...

Zombie debt....it just won't die...

Posted on February 28, 2008
I confess...I loooove Zombie movies. George Romero is one of my all time favorite directors. He produced Night of the Living Dead, Day of the Living Dead and other classic brain eating films. Its great to see it on the silver screen. Its horrible when a debt that was discharged in bankruptcy or had been previously paid, re-appears on your credit report...

Beware of this collector trick - credit card co signer vs. authorized user

Posted on January 22, 2008
If you owe money on a credit card that has been turned over to a collection agency, chances are excellent that the collection agency is not only pursuing you but any authorized user. Be careful about this and know the difference between an authorized user and a co-signer...

Collection agencies...going from bad to worse

Posted on January 02, 2008
I usually don't blog about current litigation for a number of reasons. Suffice it to say that this case that I am blogging about below is interesting enough to share with you. Moreover, I want you to know that collection agencies doing stupid, if not sleazy stuff, is almost common place...

"Effectively conveyed notices" and other fairy tales

Posted on January 01, 2008
Wow. The U.S. Court of Appeals either cut a break to the Defendant in Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp v Lamar or it is signaling a new direction in the enforcement of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, against the consumer ("FDCPA"). In this case, Federal Home Loan foreclosed on the debtor's mortgage through its counsel, Lerner, Sampson and Rothfuss (LS& R)...

Classic Mythical defenses to debt collection

Posted on December 29, 2007
My fellow blogger and debt collection attorney, Michael Herrin, recently wrote a blog entry about bogus defenses to debt collection. His blog entry can be found here. He has come across the following defenses from debtors who believe that these defenses are good...

Beware of Julio and his book How to Legally Beat Debt Collectors.

Posted on November 13, 2007
Every so often an article relating to some self proclaimed expert in debt collection cross my desk. This morning it was Julio Martinez-Clark, who has written a book entitled How to Legally Beat Debt Collectors. He is putting out some very bad, if not dangerous information to the public...

The 7th Circuit gives major clarification to collectors under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Posted on October 29, 2007
Many commentators believe that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act creates more questions than it solved when it was passed into law. Kudos to the Seventh Circuit for taking a number of these issues in the case of Evory v RJM Acquistions Funding, LLC decided on October 23, 2007...

Be careful of bad blog advise about Fair Debt Collection Practices Act violations

Posted on October 28, 2007
I follow a number of blogs. There is a great deal of good information on the web that keeps me current about the state of the law. Unfortunately, there are also a number of quacks that spew baseless information with such authority that one might be lulled into believing its true...

Pulling credit bureaus just got even more dangerous

Posted on October 25, 2007
In order to pull someone's credit report, the debt collector has to have a federally permissible purpose according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. OK...we all know that. We cannot go spelunking for our ex-girlfriends and such for amusement. As a general rule, it used to be that a collector could pull a credit report on any debtor...

Beware...a summons and complaint may be an initial communication under the FDCPA.

Posted on October 23, 2007
The United States District Court here in the 6th Circuit recently decided Jerman v Carlisle, 502 F Supp 2nd 686 (2007). While this is not an appellate decision, it may very well be a harbinger of the 6th circuit court of appeals' sentiment may lay with respect to the issue of whether a summons and complaint is an initial communication under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act...

How to collect a time barred debt without violating Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

Posted on October 22, 2007
Here is an interesting conundrum. Defendant Portfolio Recovery Associates ("PRA") purchased a time barred debt from Brewer and sent Brewer a "notice" that the debt has been transferred. PRA sent Brewer a letter that states: "Portfolio Recovery Associates purchased the account referenced above [Capital One Bank, balance $ 2,444...

Got credit card debt???.....here is how to manage it YOUR WAY...

Posted on October 15, 2007
Here is a post that is going to win me absolutely no friends with the credit card industry or even my colleagues. But what the hell...here it goes. Are you delinquent with your credit card debt? Is the credit card company dunning you? You should know that it is highly unlikely that they will compromise this debt...

Defense Attorneys - be careful when filing those affirmative defenses

Posted on October 14, 2007
My colleague, Mary Jane Elliot has been sued by Frank Glover for violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. I know Mary Jane. She is a very bright, and very astute individual. I don't know the facts of this case, but merely want to talk about a recent development in this case that has made money for the Plaintiff's counsel at her expense...

Collection agencies - when is manipulating your Caller ID signal a violation of FDCPA?

Posted on October 14, 2007
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") prohibits the use of false or deceptive means in the connection with the collection of a debt. So...when Mr. Glover was dunned for a consumer debt and the collection agency that called him had its caller i...

Asset Protection Blog....Its great and I hate it

Posted on September 29, 2007
My friend and colleague, Howard Young, is a partner at a very prestigious firm here in Michigan called Weisman, Young, Schloss & Ruemenapp, P.C. They are business lawyers with a twist. You see, Howard just started a blog that makes me kind of nervous; it deals with Asset Protection Planning...

Why and how attorneys should sue for their fees

Posted on September 29, 2007
I attended the State Bar of Michigan convention this week. It was fabulous. Among the top speakers was a practice management coach named Dustin Cole. His company, Attorneys Master Class, teaches attorneys how to run their practices efficiently. He opened my eyes to so many things this week that my head was spinning when I left his seminar...

Asset Protection - CAN AN ORCHESTRATED DIVORCE BE USED AS AN ASSET PROTECTION DEVICE

Posted on September 12, 2007
My good friend, Howard Young, is a seasoned and brilliant lawyer. His firm, Weisman Young Schloss and Ruemenapp, P.C. is a group of highly respected business, transaction, and litigation attorneys. The bad news is he works on the opposite side of the table from me...