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debt collectors
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debt collection
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debt collectors
Universal default
How A Forgotten Blockbuster Video Caused A 2 1/2 Year Battle With Discover Card And Collection Agencies
"Universal Default" is when your credit card company adjusts the terms of your loan because you "defaulted" with another company. In reader P.'s case the "default" was a Blockbuster video that his friend forgot to return. Discover Card took this opportunity to double P.'s interest rate. When he tried to fight it by closing his account, it launched him into a 2 1/2 year legal battle with Discover, a collection agency, and now the credit bureaus. More »
scams
Moreno And Woods: Scammy Debt Collectors Who Lie And Harrass
Erin was the recipient of a recent scam attempt from Moreno and Woods, a debt collection agency that—according to her account and others found online—uses abusive tactics and fraudulent claims to try to con people into paying off debts they never owed to avoid things like wage garnishments and lawsuits. Erin fought back, and shared her story with us to warn others. More »
odd
Tampa Woman Tries To Collect Loan Made By Her Great-Grandfather During Civil War
Some debt collectors are mighty persistent. More »
identity theft
Collection Agency's Server Stolen; Had 700,000 Accounts On It
Indiana broke its own record for computer security breaches last month, when a server containing personal data on 700,000 people was stolen from the offices of Central Collection Bureau, a debt collection agency. The stolen data included names, personal billing information, last known addresses, and social security numbers of people who hold delinquent accounts with a variety of companies, including utilities and hospitals. The company said the server was behind "three locked doors" and "was protected by two passwords, but was not encrypted." More »
leaks
An anonymous tipster sent us AOL's 153 page internal collections guidebook for prying money out of delinquent account holders. The guide shows that AOL is following some of the debt industry's most egregious collection tactics by encouraging agents to deceive and lie to customers. After the jump we present AOL's scare tactics, tricks to negotiating a substantial discount, and the full collections guide.
More »
Exclusive: AOL's Collections Guide Encourages Agents To Lie And Deceive
An anonymous tipster sent us AOL's 153 page internal collections guidebook for prying money out of delinquent account holders. The guide shows that AOL is following some of the debt industry's most egregious collection tactics by encouraging agents to deceive and lie to customers. After the jump we present AOL's scare tactics, tricks to negotiating a substantial discount, and the full collections guide.
More »
debt
Consumers Reported 69,204 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Violations. FTC Responds With One (1) Lawsuit
Consumers have filed over 69,000 complaints against scummy debt collectors for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, prompting the FTC to rush to our collective defense by taking action against three debt collectors who showed a "culture of harassing the debtors from which they collect." Two debt collectors settled and one went to court. Still, when you receive over 69,000 complaints—and these are from the people who know to complain to the FTC—it's reasonable to assume that more than three collectors encourage a culture of harassment. More harrowing revelations from the FTC's annual report to Congress, after the jump. More »
debt collection
"Why I Never Want Anything To Do With Verizon Ever Ever Again"
Verizon is finally installing FiOS in my area. But I'll never use it. I'll never sign up for another Verizon account in my life, and I'm encouraging my parents to change to a different service when their Verizon cell contracts end soon. Over the course of eight months, I've become completely appalled at the horrible customer service I've gotten from that company. More »
fair debt collection act
Racial Slur-Dropping Debt-Collection Agency Settles With FTC For $1.3 Million
A debt-collection agency settled with the FTC for $1.3 million after thousands of complaints were lodged against the company for abusive and illegal practices. LTD used threatening language and racial slurs against debtors. They also threatened they would garnish debtor's wages, something that can't happen without a trial. Company managers were found to be complicit in its employees illegal actions. LTD collected debts for major credit card companies and retail chains.
LTD is said to be taking the federal action "seriously," and that, "One complaint is one too many."
Debt collector settles charges for $1.3 million [Star-Telegram] (Thanks to David!)
RELATED: Things Debt Collectors Can't Do
Sample Letter For Disputing A Debt Collection Notice
Sample Letter For Telling A Debt Collector To Drop Dead
bankruptcy
Zombie Debt: How Credit Card Companies Illegally Reanimate Your Old Debt
In what BusinessWeek calls "financial Night of the Living Dead" credit card companies are refusing to stop reporting legally discharged debt to credit reporting agencies—illegally forcing consumers to pay debts that they no longer owe in order to get approved for mortgages. More »
fair debt collection act
Sample Letter For Telling A Debt Collector To Drop Dead
Is debt collector calling and calling or sending you letter after letter? Clark Howard has a quick and easy sample letter on his site you can use to tell them to swallow a fork.
Under Federal Law, you can tell them stop. They do not have the right to keep contacting you simply to try to get you to pay. That's called harassment.
If they still keep contacting you, you can sue them and win in small claims court and win cashola. Which you can then use to pay off your debts. Nice.
Drop Dead Letter [The Clark Howard Show]
(Photo: Interpunk)
fair debt collection practices
Hospital Sends Debt Collectors After Homeless Man
Phil Hughes is a homeless handy-man who'll paint your house number on your curb for $5 and some turkey leftovers, says Mary Olsen, a homeowner who hires Hughes for occasional odd jobs. More »
fair debt collection practices
4-Year-Old Leaps From Moving Car After It Was Repo'd With Him In It
We checked but couldn't find a clause in the Fair Debt Collection Practices act that dealt with the legal implications of repossessing a SUV with a 4-year-old child inside of it, but we're fairly sure it's not really allowed. More »
confused vigilantes
The Midlothian Police Department Should Not Collect Private Debts
The Midlothian, IL Chief of Police thinks it's appropriate for his officers to help local businesses collect private debts. Midlothian's local mechanic, Merlin's Muffler and Brake, performed $500 of work for Angela Proctor, who paid back all but $108 before falling into financial trouble. From The Star: More »
shady
"National Credit Audit Corporation" Tries To Collect Bogus Debt
Brian writes us, enraged at Popular Science for sending him to a debt collector in an attempt to get him to renew his subscription. We were unsurprised to learn that Brian had received a notice from the "National Credit Audit Corporation" of lovely Peoria, IL. More »
debt collection abuse
Discover's Debt Collectors' Threats Drive Woman To Suicide
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act starts out this way:There is abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors. Abusive debt collection practices contribute to the number of personal bankruptcies, to marital instability, to the loss of jobs, and to invasions of individual privacy.One of the things debt collection leads to that is missing to the FDCPA's introduction is this: suicide. More »
fair debt collection
Is It Legal For Debt Collectors To Leave A Message?
An interesting question was brought up over at the Consumer Law & Policy blog yesterday. There is a legal gray area when it comes to debt collectors and voice mail or answering machines. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was enacted in 1977, when answering machines were not in common use. According to Jeff Sovern, debt collectors reach a legal dilemma when faced with such a device. More »
lending
Sallie Mae Is Still Ruining Your Life!
Remember the guy who lost his job due to threatening phone calls from Sallie Mae? He found a new job but he still can't really afford his student loan payment. Unfortunately, the advice Consumerist readers gave him last time didn't work. He was not able to consolidate with ed.gov. He writes with an update:The FDSL just sent me a loan cancellation letter. They have decided that they will only take federal loans now to consolidate and Sallie Mae is primarily a private lender, and that is what they report my loan as. What the difference between a federal guaranteed loan and what they consider a federal loan through a private company is beyond me.More »
