Consumerist
-
debt collectors
Lawsuit: Debt Collector Harassment Contributed To Man's Death
When a Florida man suffered a heart attack, he needed to leave his job. Between everyday expenses and medical bills, he fell behind on his mortgage and other bills, and debt collectors began calling. And calling. And calling. Eventually, a lawsuit alleges, the stress from the harassing and abusive phone calls led to the man's death. Frivolous lawsuit? Maybe not. More » -
warnings
Wave Of Fake Debt Collectors Hints At Possible Data Breach
The Better Business Bureau has released a warning to be aware of scammers calling to threaten people with arrest "within the hour" for defaulting on payday loans. What makes them stand out from normal debt collecting scammers is these callers have huge amounts of personal info on their victims, including Social Security and drivers license numbers; old bank account numbers; names of employers, relatives, and friends; and home addresses. More » -
lawsuits
Debt Collectors Will Stop Calling If You Sue Them
"Litigant Alert" from WebRecon promises to help debt collection companies ferret out "overly-litigious debtors" with "a history of suing collection agencies." It's basically a Do Not Call list of troublemakers who had the nerve to fight aggressive collection practices with the law. Debt collectors are apparently willing to pay $1,595 to figure out who they should leave alone. More » -
debt
Got Debt So Bad It's Defaulted? 3 Ways To Deal
Getting into debt is easy. Winding up in default is easier yet; all you have to do is not pay your bills for several months! So how do you deal when the lender doesn't want to wait around for you any longer and has moved on to more drastic action? Here's three ways, only two of which are advisable. More » -
debt collection
"Empathetic" Debt Collectors Want You To Pay The Debts Of The Dead
Who is responsible when dead people owe money? The New York Times says that the law varies but, "generally survivors are not required to pay a dead relative's bills from their own assets." That doesn't mean they're going to tell you that when they come calling about an unpaid bill. More » -
debt collection
"Seriously, Is The Attorney General of Florida After Me For A $14 Bounced Check?"
Apparently the answer to that question is "yes." CNN is reporting that several states have outsourced bounced check collections to a company that will track you down — even for minor accidental bounced checks — and make you take their personal finance class. By the way, the class costs $160. More » -
debt collectors
Debunking The Debt Collectors' Spin Doctors
The nation's economic woes make debt collection a topic du jour, but while there are some good bits mixed into the Washington Post's article, "When Debt Collectors Disrupt Dinner," it probably should have been titled "What Debt Collectors Would Like You To Say And Do When They Call About The Credit Card." Read it with a shaker of salt. Read on for the good, the bad, and the lazy reporting, plus what you should actually to protect and exercise your rights as a debtor... More » -
tragic
Man Sets Himself On Fire At Rent-A-Center After Receiving Too Many Late Payment Notices
There are lots of good ways to escalate your complaints. Going to the store, dousing yourself with lighter fluid and setting yourself on fire is not one of them. Unfortunately, that's exactly what one Newark, NJ man did after becoming frustrated with the amount of late payment notices and collection calls he was receiving from Rent-A-Center. More » -
-
discover card
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 » -
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 » -
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 » -
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 » -
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 » -
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: More » -
maxed out
Credit Card Documentary "Maxed Out" Opens Today
Maxed Out, a documentary about the credit card industry, is opening today in select cities (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Washington DC, Seattle, and Austin) and next week in a few more (Chicago, Boston, and Minneapolis). More »
debt collection
New York, 9:12 PM
Sun Nov 22
7 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip Your Editors:
tips@consumerist.com
tipline: 347-42C-ON95
Co-Managing Editor:
Ben Popken
Email | AIM | Twitter
Co-Managing Editor:
Meghann Marco
Email | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Chris Walters
Email | Twitter
Weekend Editor:
Laura Northrup
Email | AIM | Twitter
Associate Editor:
Alex Chasick | Email
Associate Editor:
Phil Villarreal
Email
