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]
debt collectors
Debt Collectors Resurrect Old Debt By Issuing New Credit Cards
By 1.3.12
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 10.26.11
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 10.25.11
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 10.18.11
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]
Obama's Debt Reduction Plan Includes Letting Debt Collectors Robo-Call Cellphones To Collect On Federal Student Loans
By 10.4.11
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]
You Can Get $500 If An Autodialer Calls Your Cellphone
By 9.28.11
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 9.26.11
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 9.22.11
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 9.19.11
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]
Chase Drops Thousands Of Debt Collection Cases Against Borrowers
By 7.1.11
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 6.13.11
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 5.19.11
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 5.18.11
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 5.16.11
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 5.12.11
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 5.12.11
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]
Debt Collector Can't Harass Through Facebook Friends, Court Rules
By 4.18.11
In a precedent-setting case, a court has ruled that a debt collector can’t continue to contact a debtor’s friends and family on Facebook about her car payments, reports the Orlando Sentinel. The debt collector had already emailed, texted her, and called her at home and work, according tot he lawsuit, 23 times in one day. [More]
