Michigan Collection Law Blog: Michigan

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Michigan Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Michigan

Michigan Collection Law Blog

From Nitzkin & Associates

Post Frequency: 0.8/day

Last Entry: January 01, 2011 at 10:52:51

When a "reasonable" reinvestigation is unreasonable under the Fair Credit Reporting Act

Posted on November 23, 2009
Being the conscientious person you are, you have decided to pull your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com and you noticed that there is a trade line that does not belong to you. So what do you do? You go on line with the credit reporting agency and posit a dispute to that item...

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...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

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...

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?

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...

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

New Baptist Covenant Blog
Last week, I pointed to the New Baptist Convenant website, now onl...

The Mexico Trucker Blog
I've written before about the perceived problems with relaxed rest...

Property Owner Fights Zoners Over Planned Cross On Lake Michigan
Friday's Grand Haven (MI) Tribune reports that a St. Joseph, Michi...