Roughly 94% of collection cases filed against borrowers result in default judgments in favor of the debt buyer, according to industry estimates. The majority of borrowers don’t have a lawyer, some don’t know they are even being sued, and others don’t appear in court, say judges.
These debt collectors view their violations of the FDCPA as a business decision instead of a lawful requirement that may must abide by.
“…the FTC received more complaints about the debt collection industry than any other industry. In 2009, the FTC received 119,364 complaints about first- and third-party debt collectors, up from 104,766 in 2008—an increase of nearly 15,000 complaints.”
Third-party debt collectors generated 78,000 complaints to the Federal Trade Commission in 2008, twice the number received in 2003, according to the agency’s most recent report. That same year, the agency won more than $1 million in civil damages against collection agencies.
Voicemails from bill collectors are a reality when you have been turned over to collections. The dirty secret debt collectors don’t want you to know about is that they very often violate the law.
Debt Collection Harassment Attorney Craig Thor Kimmel was recently interviewed by the radio talk show, “The Voice”, on WEEU 830AM in Berks County, PA.
Consumer credit laws are being created in many states that will force debt collection agencies to prove that the debt they purchased for pennies on the dollar exists and the consumer legitimately owes the money.
With people facing foreclosures, credit card delinquencies and utility shutoffs, the last thing they need is debt collectors harassing them day and night.
The woman is basically saying I am going to penalize you, Bank of America for raising my interest rate again. But is she really making things more difficult for Bank of America, or for herself in the long term?
A file can help fight the debt collector to get the collection calls to stop. The file should include: All dates and times of all correspondence, including voice mails, pre-recorded messages, live phone calls…
