Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has approved legislation making it easier for debt collectors to go after defaulting consumers and small businesses. Brewer signed House Bill 2664 into law today. The measure allows collection agencies to use final billing statements as a basis to show amounts owed and interest rates as they seek court judgments and…
The American Banker’s Jeff Horwitz recently put together a fantastic story exposing widespread internal irregularities at Chase regarding its credit card practices. The story is pulled from information gathered from a number of current and former Chase employees. It all began back in 2009 when Chase’s credit card team sold off credit card judgments valued…
In a series of 2009 and 2010 transactions, Bank of America sold credit card receivables to an outfit called CACH LLC, based in Denver. Co. Each month CACH bought debts with a face value of as much as $65 million for 1.8 cents on the dollar. At least a portion of the debts were legacy…
Bank of America says it has begun a pilot program offering some of its mortgage customers who are facing foreclosure a chance to stay in their homes by becoming renters instead of owners. The “Mortgage to Lease” program, which was launched this week, will be available to fewer than 1,000 BofA customers selected by the…
When the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was enacted in 1978, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter did not exist. No one could have anticipated how much of an impact social media would have on our lives but the debt collection industry is taking full advantage of our lives on public display. MSN recently…
According to a report last month from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, student debt is now at $870 billion, topping the total owed by Americans on credit cards ($693 billion) and even cars ($730 billion). Right now, 27 percent of borrowers are in default. The nation’s bankruptcy attorneys have warned that unpaid student…
Consumer attorney Craig Thor Kimmel spoke with Eyewitness News via Skype about consumers’ rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: PA Home Page posted the video on their website here: Know Your Rights with Debt Collectors – video has been taken down, link removed.
Debt collectors have been known to use various techniques to secure payment, some of which violated the Fair Debt Collection practices act (FDPCA). This can include pestering debtors, their friends, relatives and co-workers with calls at inappropriate times and places. In other cases, debt collections for debts of the dead, can rise from the grave…
A NJ man recently received phone calls from someone claiming to be a debt collector. As it turns out, he paid his loan back months ago but the phony collection calls still tried to scam him out of hundreds of dollars. He’s telling his story to warn others of the threatening calls and collection harassment…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges that debt collection agency, West Asset Management, violated the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) on multiple occasions, leading to thousands of consumer complaints. Century Negotiations President Amy Michalo-Rojas urged clients, and the general public, to stay informed about these types of cases so they can recognize when a…
