Stop Debt Collectors
Here!
Consumer Debt
$2 Trillion
America's appetite for
borrowing money bloats U.S. consumer debt to a record high almost every
month. As of September 2006, the tab stood at $2 trillion and was spurting
at an annual rate of 10 percent. Through good times and bad, spending
tomorrow's dollars today never goes out of fashion.
But all that borrowing
produces a lot of financial heartburn. Every year, banks, retailers and
other consumer lenders write off more than $70 billion in uncollectible
debt, mostly hopelessly overdue credit-card balances. From there, the debts
are bundled for auction and purchased by companies that pay next to nothing
for the opportunity to take one more shot at collecting from debtors.
It is through that process
that about $9 billion in secondhand debt has landed in the offices of third
party debt collectors.
They Cannot Collect One
Penny!
If you see "charge
off" on the account they are trying to collect on your credit report it is
illegal for these debt collectors to collect one penny. The original
creditor took the bad debt as a loss when they filed their income tax and
got a credit benefit from the IRS. See:
Bad Debt Expense and Allowance for Bad Debt
A decade ago, few creditors
tried to collect on old accounts, figuring it wasn't worth the effort.
Today, however, collecting
on old debts is a rapidly expanding industry. Aggressive companies can buy
charged-off credit card accounts from the original lenders for pennies on
the dollar or less. Then, they use credit-scoring and other new technologies
to identify which debtors are most likely to pay. The players in this "junk
debt" market range from fly-by-night outfits to well-established companies
funded by Wall Street investors.
It's a business that's
exploded in recent years as collectors discover gold in old bills. Debt
buyers are expected to snap up $110 billion in face value of delinquent debt
this year, said Paul Legrady, director of research for Kaulkin Ginsberg, a
company that advises the debt collection industry. That's twice what was
purchased in 2000.
It may not be your
debt, but it could be your problem. Collection agencies are bullying
blameless consumers into paying debts they never owed.
We have perfected a defense against the 4th "worst debt collection agency in
the United States," Wolpoff & Abramson.
Here you will find ingenious tricks and traps that can be used by you to win
your case against the debt collectors.
A
federal statute known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (often
called the "FDCPA") gives you specific legal rights to sue debt collectors
who unlawfully threaten, berate, intimidate or harass you; call you during
odd hours, make false representations about the debt or their intentions, or
otherwise act in ways proscribed by the act (and there are many).
Stop Debt Collectors
Most debt collectors are not internal debt collectors at banks or loan
companies but third party debt collectors working for collection agencies.
It's their job to get results. It may not be your debt, but it could be your
problem. Collection agencies are bullying blameless consumers into paying
debts they never owed.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C.1601 is a federal
statute, which regulates debt collection practices. The statute seeks to
protect consumers and prevent abuse in their interaction with debt
collectors. This act covers debt collectors and lawyers who do regularly
collect debts (Before 1986, lawyers were excluded).
Debt
Collector
A person who works in the in-house collections department of an original
creditor or a
collection agency to track down
debtors and get them to pay what they owe.
Debt collectors can be relentless, often using scare tactics, humiliation
and repeated phone calls to extract payments or promises to pay.
Third
Party Debt Collector
The Fair Debt Credit Practices Act (FDCPA) is a strict liability
Congressional Act created to help keep third party debt collectors from
engaging in debt collection practices that are abusive, misleading, false,
deceptive or violate your right to privacy. But what defines "third party
debt collector"?
Well, in the case of Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995) the
Plaintiff sued a Bank on the basis that the Banks law firm violated the
FDCPA by sending her a correspondence in attempt to collect a debt amount on
behalf of the Corporation Bank, not owed and the Court agreed.
Traditionally, we think of a "third party" entity as being someone other
than an employee of the creditor (the person owed the money). However, in
Henitz the United States Supreme Court made a surprising landmark ruling
that holds Attorney's strictly liable in the capacity of a debt collector
even if he or she is an employee of the creditor. Don't get too excited
here.
In August 2005, Congress amended the Act to include a clause for Attorney's
to try and argue out of being held strictly liable in so far as having an
"incidental fiduciary duty or relationship" with the creditor, which comes
automatically in their duty of loyalty to their client, i.e. the creditor.
What is plainly visible is that Federal Courts take the words "strict
liability" very seriously when enforcing the FDCPA. In essence, it is a
Congressional Act with a serious bite even in its' 2005 amended form.
Credit Repair Is Your Right under the Law
Contact us
"The Bank Fraud Victim
Center"
Are you
a victim of mortgage lending fraud?
Is your
bank or mortgage company attempting to foreclose?
Our experienced service professionals have been
helping people with debt resolution, tax freedom, and credit repair for over
ten years. To contact them
click here.
Taking Back Your Power
by Allen Aslan Heart
WHAT CAN YOU DO? Stop playing THEIR game. Take back
your power. Stop paying taxes that are not legal or lawful. Stop paying
bills you don't really owe. Stop using THEIR money. There ARE ways if you
open your mind and look for the gaps in their fences that keep the sheeple
in their pasture. Are you chattel or a real person? You are the one who
makes that choice.
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