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debt-collectors
debt-collectors
Sprint Insists I Owe Them $800 For Nonexistent Account
By Laura Northrup on April 5, 2012 8:00 AM
45 Comments
Samit isn't a Sprint customer. He doesn't have a Sprint phone or service. He doesn't have a customer number. But somehow he owes Sprint $800 for service that he neither signed up for nor received. See, he had tried to become a customer. After starting the process of setting up Sprint service, someone took down his social security and credit card numbers, then wandered off. Samit received an iPhone that he never asked for, sent it back, and somehow has racked up $800 in phantom phone bills. More »
Customers Pay Off Bank Of America Credit Cards, Get Sent To Collections Anyway
By Chris Morran on March 30, 2012 10:15 AM
40 Comments
Over at AmericanBanker.com, there is the story of a Maryland woman who spent several years fending off debt collectors even though she had proof in writing that the Bank of America credit card account in question had already been paid off. And in a related investigation, it looks like she may be one of many BofA customers to end up in such a trap. More »
Court Halts Intimidating Debt Collector Calls From People Posing As Cops
By Meg Marco on February 21, 2012 1:00 PM
42 Comments
The Federal Trade Commission announced today that a U.S. district court has stopped an operation that allegedly collected millions of dollars in payday loan debts that consumers did not actually owe. More »
(tramod)
FTC Fines Debt Collector $2.5 Million For Deceiving Consumers
By Chris Morran on January 30, 2012 3:23 PM
42 Comments
After years of writing about shady practices by debt collectors, it's nice to finally write that there's a small bit of justice in this world. Today, the Federal Trade Commission announced a $2.5 million civil penalty against Asset Acceptance, one of the country's largest debt collectors, for making misrepresentations and deceiving consumers in the name of collecting debts. More »
(ninja IX)
Debt Collectors Resurrect Old Debt By Issuing New Credit Cards
By Chris Morran on January 3, 2012 1:15 PM
68 Comments
People with credit scores that prevent anyone but their mom from lending them money are suddenly receiving offers that allow them to have a credit card — on the condition that they pay back part of an old debt that they are no longer legally obligated to pay. More »
Vegas Dismisses $896 Ticket They Gave Car Parked In New York
By Ben Popken on October 26, 2011 2:00 PM
51 Comments
Sometimes it just takes a little followup. That's what got a $896 ticket vaporized that the city of Las Vegas had erroneously slapped on Charlotte's car while it was 2,000 miles away in New York state. More »
Car Racks Up $896.80 Vegas Parking Ticket While Sitting In New York
By Ben Popken on October 25, 2011 3:00 PM
90 Comments
Charlotte is bewildered as to how her Camry somehow got a for $896.80 ticket for parking in a handicapped spot in Las Vegas while it was sitting happily in New York State. Had her car been secretly running out of town to go galavant around Sin City behind her back? More »
4 Things Debt Collectors Won't Tell You
By Chris Morran on October 18, 2011 5:30 PM
110 Comments
Of all the industries the Federal Trade Commission receives complaints about, debt collectors are involved in the most, accounting for around 27% of all complaints received in 2010. A big part of the problem is misinformation about the rules regarding what debt collectors can legally say and how nuch authority they actually have. More »
(Ross)
Obama's Debt Reduction Plan Includes Letting Debt Collectors Robo-Call Cellphones To Collect On Federal Student Loans
By Ben Popken on October 4, 2011 5:00 PM
79 Comments
One part of the debt-reduction bill Obama sent to Congress is a provision that would let debt collectors robo-call cellphones to collect on what's owed to the government, like federal student loans. More »
(°Florian)
You Can Get $500 If An Autodialer Calls Your Cellphone
By Ben Popken on September 28, 2011 3:00 PM
111 Comments
Your cellphone rings from a number you don't recognize. You pick it up. At first there's silence. Then the sound of a call center kicks in and a person asks, "Hello, can I speak to Karen?" It's a telemarketer, or a debt collector, using an autodialer. And they just broke the law. And just for funsies, you can collect $500 or $1500 with just a few hours of work if you go after them. More »
Update: Comcast Sends You To Collections For Bill You Already Paid
By Ben Popken on September 26, 2011 2:00 PM
29 Comments
Last week we brought you the story of Bruce, whom Comcast had sent to collections over a bill he should have never been charged in the first place. After his story went up, Comcast reached out through us to Bruce to give him sweet satisfaction. More »
Debt Collectors Fighting Laws Aimed At Making Them Do Their Jobs Properly
By Chris Morran on September 22, 2011 1:50 PM
65 Comments
In recent years, a number of U.S. states have crafted legislation intended to make sure that debt collectors are doing a thorough job of properly identifying debtors and proving that a debt is actually owed. But now these collections folks are fighting these laws because they apparently make debt collecting a less profitable venture. More »
Comcast Sends You To Collections For Bill You Already Paid
By Ben Popken on September 19, 2011 1:00 PM
43 Comments
Bruce cut the cord with Comcast and returned all his gear. It looks like the right hand didn't know what the left was doing, as Comcast has now sent him to collections for a bill that he already paid. More »
(og2t)
Chase Drops Thousands Of Debt Collection Cases Against Borrowers
By Ben Popken on July 1, 2011 12:00 PM
28 Comments
Chase is dropping thousands of pending debt collection cases against defaulted credit card borrowers, WSJ reports. Remember the big deal over robo-signing foreclosure cases a few months ago? The problem of bulk signing sloppy paperwork, and, in some case, filing fraudulent documents, could be even bigger when it comes to credit cards. It looks like JP Morgan Chase is trying to get its house in order before they're forced to by government and legal forces. More »
Debt Collectors Out To Prove They Are Not All Zombie Bullies Who Want To Eat Your Face
By Chris Morran on June 13, 2011 12:43 PM
44 Comments
For decades, U.S. debt collectors have plied their trade under the watchful but lazy eye of the Federal Trade Commission, which has the authority to go after the worst of the bunch but can't create new rules governing these businesses. But later this summer, debt collectors will come under the supervision of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau... and that scares them, especially after complaints about debt collectors jumped 17% last year to 140,036. More »
Mother Wins $7,500 After Suing Debt Collector
By Ben Popken on May 19, 2011 3:00 PM
73 Comments
Mayling, mother of two, says she was inspired by Consumerist stories and when a harassing debt collector wouldn't stop calling her family, she took matters into her own hands. With a 6 month-old and a toddler in tow, she sued them in small claims court and won $7,500. This is her story. More »
4 Magical Words Debt Collectors Use To Open Your Pockets
By Ben Popken on May 18, 2011 12:00 PM
66 Comments
Debt collection is all about mind games. NotSoDeepSouth blogged about the four magical words that he used to use as a debt collector that acted like a crowbar on people's wallets, getting formerly relcacitrant people to empty out their pockets. More »
Debt Collector Evaporates At First Sign Of Resistance
By Ben Popken on May 16, 2011 11:00 AM
48 Comments
Ryan shares with us his consumer kicking booty story of how he got a debt collector to run off with their tail between their legs. It sounded like an amazing deal. He got a letter from a debt collector telling him that they represented AT&T and would cut him a special break and settle for only $69.30 instead of $693.30. Wowzers! Problem was, he didn't owe AT&T any money at all. More »
Never Pay A Debt Collector The Full Amount
By Ben Popken on May 12, 2011 2:00 PM
113 Comments
The dirty little secret of debt collecting is that most of them are not working directly for the original company you ran up the debt with. They're an outside third party and they bought your debt for pennies on the dollar. The debt collector's goal is to get the most money out of you for the least amount of effort. This means all you have to do to make this calculus work to your advantage is settle with the debt collector for around the same price he paid to buy your debt. So start low. More »
Free Sample Letters For Dealing With Credit Bureaus
By Ben Popken on May 12, 2011 1:00 PM
13 Comments
Cleaning up a dirty credit report usually involves a lot of letters. Because just mustering the strength to sit down and face this task may have already drained you of your creative juice, via Frugal For Life here are a few sample letters you can use when dealing with the credit bureaus, debt collectors and creditors. Use them as Madlibs or as inspiration to kick your own cleanup spree into high gear. More »
