Debt Collection -- 5 Dirty Ticks -- Credit Reporting After You Win Your Collection Lawsuit

FDCPA Lawsuit - Before You Meet With Your Consumer Attorney

Before you go and meet with a consumer attorney to discuss a potential case under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), you should gather your information so you can clearly lay out what happened to you. This will enable the consumer lawyer to accurately help you and advise you. If you live in Alabama and have further questions, I invite you to pick up the phone and call me at 205-879-2447 or visit my website www.AlabamaConsumer.com or http You can also request our free book on Stopping Abusive Debt Collectors. John Watts Birmingham, Alabama

FDCPA Lawsuit Against LVNV, Collection Lawyers, and Equifax

www.alabamaconsumerprotection.com Alabama consumer attorney John Watts discusses a recent case filed by an Alabama consumer against the debt buyer LVNV, collection lawyers (Couch), and the credit reporting agency Equifax. This all arises out of a bogus collection suit filed by LVNV against the Alabama consumer. She defended the case herself and won. But the collection lawyers (Couch lawfirm) continued to collect against her. Equifax and LVNV agreed to keep the account on her credit report even though she won. We said in our lawsuit this was illegal and wrong.

Debt Collection Lawsuit - How to Respond to A Debt Collection Lawsuit

www.falconcreditmanagement.com Debt Collection Lawsuit at Falcon Credit Management is one of a variety of debt management services we specialize in.

A Homeowner's Defense Against the Foreclosure Lawsuit

This is the second article in a series examining various general issues of relating to foreclosures and the legal environment. Homeowners often avoid going to the initial foreclosure default hearing, which makes it very easy on the bank to win a case and proceed from foreclosure to eviction. Being aware of some of these legal issues, though, can encourage foreclosure victims to make it to the hearing and present their side of the story, which may result in a better resolution to the problem than a sheriff sale. Although these issues may not be come up at all, or the homeowners will find some solution outside of the courts, being aware of these aspects of the foreclosure process can allow them to put together more backup plans if the bank does pursue the default through the county court system.

The previous article discussed what elements of a case that the lender would need to prove in order to win a judgment against the homeowners. These included proving there was a legally binding contract, the lender performed as agreed under the terms of the contract, the homeowners breached some part of the agreement, and the breach caused the mortgage company to suffer actual damages. The lender must prove all of these elements in order to win; if they can not prove one of them, there is no case. For example, if the bank shows everything else but can not prove that they own the paperwork for the loan, due to it being passed around from lender to lender, sold to hedge funds, investment firms, and then sold to the foreclosing bank, but the loan papers are not clear, there may be no judgment awarded.

Of course, if the homeowners do not show up to the foreclosure hearing, the bank will often be awarded a default judgment, with the judge simply assuming that the bank's case is sound. If the homeowners are made aware of their right to defend against the lawsuit, and simply waive that right by not answering the complaint or showing up to court, the judge will assume that silence equals consent and the lender will win.

But, for homeowners making their own defense or hiring an attorney of their own to defend them, it is important to be aware of certain techniques that can be used to answer the foreclosure. The first step should be for the homeowners to identify in the lender's complaint the specific legal claims being made. Obviously, the most common one in a foreclosure lawsuit will be breach of contract, specifically in regards to the mortgage loan. But without reading the complaint, homeowners can not be sure if any other claims are made, or if the bank has failed to make any claim at all. Identifying the claim will help the foreclosure victims begin to understand exactly what they are defending against.

Then, the homeowners may want to figure out the exact elements of each claim made against them. My first article on this subject explains the specific elements that would generally need to be proved in a breach of contract case, although every case will be somewhat unique. But, as stated earlier, the bank will need to show that a legally binding contract existed between it and the homeowners, that the lender did everything as agreed, the homeowners failed to perform as agreed and breached the contract, and the lender suffered actual damages as a result. Although this may seem quite simple in theory, mortgage companies (and all creditors) are notoriously bad at record keeping and attorneys are not always known for competence when their shaky legal claims are challenged. Homeowners who can identify exactly what needs to be proven can often easily poke holes in the case and create a sense of doubt over one or more element, depending on how thorough the bank has been.

The next step may be for the foreclosure victims to identify each fact that the bank may use to prove their case. Some of these items may be the original mortgage paperwork, any assignments of mortgage showing who owns the loan at the present time, mortgage payment records showing the missed payments, and so on. Because the lender is qualified as a debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, it is quite reasonable for homeowners to request specific validation of the debt. If the bank has not kept very clear transfer records, or there is doubt of who exactly owns the loan, there may be no case against the homeowners. For example, suppose the bank can not clearly show the loan was transferred to it. The homeowners may be in danger of being sued by a different lender who actually does own the paperwork, or possibly they have been making on time payments to a different lender who has the right to collect. The bank that can not show it owns the loan can not prove it has the legal right to try and collect payment for the loan.

This is one reason why homeowners may want to put together documents that they have received that can disprove the lender's claims, as well as evidence that proves the claims the homeowners will make. As long as any one element of the mortgage company's lawsuit is defeated, there can be no judgment against the homeowners for foreclosure. If the bank's transfer documents are far different from the foreclosure victims' own information, there may be doubt that a legally binding contract exists between the bank and owners. Although this may just require more documents to be produced by the bank, rather than the whole case being thrown out, it will show the lender and their attorneys that not every homeowner is willing to be pushed around and intimidated by an unfamiliar court system.

Admittedly, it will be very difficult for homeowners to get the foreclosure lawsuit completely thrown out of court, leaving the bank with no other alternative than to write off the loan or start over and try to prove their case some other way. This happens in only a very small number of cases. But, homeowners with some knowledge of the foreclosure process in the court system, and the general theories of what the bank must do and how it can be defeated, will be in a much stronger position to come to a resolution that does not involve losing the home. Judges can order the parties to consider settlement ideas through mediation or arbitration, but homeowners too fearful even to show up at court will lose their opportunities for such alternatives to foreclosure. Even when homeowners are represented by an attorney, having a background understanding of the legal process will make the experience easier to comprehend.

Served a Summons Or Credit Card Debt Lawsuit - Don't Call the Creditor!

I receive e-mails every week from people who have had the misfortune of receiving a summons notice on their doorstep or the joy of having a stranger sidle up to them and say, "You've been served."

Not fun. Oftentimes, these same people tell me that the first thing they did was to pick up the phone, call the collection agent or collection attorney in many cases and try to work out a payment plan or settlement agreement. This is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.

Once you have been served a summons, this means that the collection agency is SUING YOU. You are being sued and the collection agency is now the Plaintiff and you are the Defendant. Any and ALL communication with the Plaintiff should be done via written correspondence only.

It's too late for "I'll send you $50 buck a month, I promise." Way too late. Now is the time to take responsibility for your financial future and face your fears (debt) head on. Even if the collector was to agree to a payment plan, they cannot be trusted. While you are "working it out" they could be in the process of putting a lien on your property and searching for your bank account information in order to seize your assets.

Here's what you need to do. First of all, DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED. This is difficult, after all I'm sure you feel badly about the debt in the first place and it's probably been haunting you for years. The sad truth is that many of these debt lawsuits are brought about on out-of-statute debt and the collection agencies and debt attorneys are notorious for re-aging the DOLA or Date of Last Activity on your credit report. It's in your best interest to dig up any old credit reports and bank statements to prove the the date of the last payment you made on the defaulted account. If that date is past your state's statute of limitations on open credit card debt, they have the right to try and collect, but they cannot sue you and must drop the lawsuit.

Additionally, very rarely is a debtor sued for the actual amount they owe...penalties, interest, and other assorted fees are generally tacked on to the balance. Make them prove their case!

There are many other defenses that can be raised against one of these collectors. The key is that you need to communicate with them through the court system. They don't expect you to fight back, over 96% of debt lawsuits end in default judgment. The chances of them backing off and dropping the lawsuit are HUGE if you take the time to properly format what is called a Notice of Appearance, Answer, and Certificate of Service.

It takes some time and research to properly file these documents, but it's your financial future at stake. A default judgment can not only freeze your bank account or garnish your wages but it will also ruin your credit for a minimum of 7 years. A few states offer basic templates for the forms you will need to file with the court, a simple Google search should offer up some resources. You can purchase Word templates (w/ affirmative defenses for third-party debt collectors) for the "Answer to Complaint" document and more at www.IHaveBeenServed.Info and alternatively there are very helpful people on several internet "debt" message boards who can offer up advice when drafting your own documents.

Additionally, you should fax and mail (certified, return receipt) a Cease & Desist Letter to the creditor informing them that they must communicate you with via written correspondence only and now that they know how to communicate with you they must refrain from contacting any of your neighbors, friends, relatives or employees in an attempt to collect their debt. If they violate your request, you can threaten to sue them for an infraction of the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) which allows $1,000 for each violation.

Now is the time to action. If you do nothing, the creditors will find your assets and take them. Bottom line. File your Answer and other supporting documents and wait and see. The best that can happen? They won't want to fight you in court and drop the lawsuit (they rarely have the supporting documentation to back up their claims) or you'll receive a courtdate and you'll be given the chance to work out a settlement agreement at that time. Either way you will have avoided a default judgement which is looked upon as poorly as bankruptcy in many cases.

Fight back! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Debt Collectors' Favorite Tricks - The Threat of Bringing a Lawsuit and Others

Sure, the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practice Act (FDCPA) defines the borders within which all debt collectors should stay when dealing with delinquent debtors. But are they really that law-abiding? This article lists the most widely used threats that debt collectors may use when talking to you over the phone or in the process of face-to-face encounter. Are the things that they are threatening you with legal? Read this article to the end to understand it - and choose a perfect resistance tactics for yourself.

The statistics concerning the amount of people's complaints concerning the work of debt collection agencies is oppressive - in 2004 there has been as much as 58,000 debtors addressing the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) claiming that they were harassed by the debt collectors - and the number only keeps on growing! Complains about illegal methods of debt collection hold one of the first places in the FTC's rating - currently, 17% of all complaints concern this problem.

The following list states the most common threats used by abusive debt collection agents - and states how true they can be in reality.

1) The threat to take away the debtor's house if he/she doesn't make the payment immediately. This threat has nothing to do with reality unless your loan is actually secured with your home (mortgage or home equity loan). Only in this case will a debt collector be able to seize the real estate in your property.

2) The threat to arrest the debtor if he/she doesn't start paying off immediately. First thing you should know about if your creditor ever tries this intimidation technique on you is that a delinquent debt is a civil matter, while only a person committing some criminal act can be arrested.

3) The threat to keep on with regular collection calls in spite of the cease communication note sent to the creditor. Federal law states that a cease communication note received by the creditor obliges him/her to stop all efforts to contact the debtor. If your creditor fails to follow this regulation, remind him that this activity may be considered a breach of the law.

4) The threat of assault. Yes, you might be surprised but some debt collection agents use that as well. FTC receives an average of about 300 complaints caused by the threat of violence to a debtor. There's no law that would allow the debt collectors to resort to such means, so if you ever happen to be the target of it, it will be you who is recommended to bring a lawsuit against your creditors, not vice versa.

Threatening the debtor is not the only illegal method that and abusive debt collection agency may be using. It's important that you realize which of your creditors' activities can be considered illegal and use this knowledge to protect yourself. Remember that your debt collection agent is breaking the FDCPA if he/she is:

- sharing the information about your debt with third parties - except your neighbors, relatives, and employers who may be contacted in order to obtain any required information about you. However, you should know that contacting these people is only allowed if the creditor doesn't mention anything about your debt at all;

- calling you at work despite the fact that you notify him/her you are not allowed to receive personal phone calls during your working hours. However, there are very few debt collectors that really do follow this rule - most of them keep on calling you no matter what. Consider resorting to legal protection means if that happens to you;

- using rude or profane language or raising his/her voice at you during collection calls;

- calling you too frequently, thus making your life really stressful;

- ignoring written disputes;

- providing public access to debtor information.

What can you do to fight off the illegal debt collection attacks? The very first thing that you should do as soon as debt collection calls begin is surfing through the detailed description of consumer rights under FDCPA. Do it even if the collection calls are not bugging you really bad. You can easily get this information from the official website of the Federal Trade Commission.

If any of your debt collection agent's activities turns out to be illegal, file a formal complaint with your state's Attorney General and the FTC. In case these authorities receive enough complaints about the activity of a given creditor or debt collection agency, heavy fines may be imposed as the penalty for their illegal practices. This will definitely make them think twice before doing that again. Plus, you shouldn't forget that you have the legal power to file a counterclaim against a harassing or exceptionally abusive debt collection agent.

On the other hand, you should remember that everything listed above applies to third-party debt collection agencies and attorneys that your creditors may resort to only. Your creditor's own debt collection department representatives are subject to only a few of the FDCPA regulations listed. Nevertheless, you shouldn't forget about other consumer protection laws that might help you to resist the abusive activity of debt collectors and even the creditors themselves. Thus, you shouldn't hesitate to file a complaint with your state's Attorney General and FTC if you believe that your creditor is harassing you. In this case, an abusive creditor may be considered guilty under state law or some other FTC act.

Fighting off illegal debt collection attempts may be a really hard thing to do - but you should remember that this may get your out of your debt sooner and easier than you think, so... Educate yourself!

Credit Card Lawsuit - Important Facts You Need to Know

Nowadays, the collection agencies do not bother to dial for dollars because of the simple fact that it is not effective. Many Americans are actually petrified of being sued and just to avoid any courtroom drama, they go through any amount of torture. Well, this is far from the truth as there is a fair chance of the individual actually winning the credit card lawsuit. When a credit debt lawsuit is filed against a person, he has two options - first to allow the law firm to acquire a default judgment which is what most Americans do or fight back.

Well, you should go with the second option of fighting back especially, if you are falsely accused. You need not be a lawyer to defend yourself. If you believe in yourself and your case then there is nothing that can stop you from winning a credit debt lawsuit. You could even find a good attorney so that he can get rid of your credit card lawsuit in a short period of time, while you are free to pursue other matters. It should be noted that fighting a credit card lawsuit by yourself is a time-consuming agendum. You should not suffer any kind of injustice that banks or any collection agency do to you. You should always remember the fact that during the recession in 2008 it was you who had bailed out a lot of banks through the taxes that you pay by way of the government.

You should first understand who has filed a credit card lawsuit against you and why. Most probably a debt collector sues a person. These debt collectors, most of the times, file a case for the original creditors. Debt collectors tend to violate the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act because of the big reward and the fact that most people do not respond to the lawsuit notices. Also, it should be noted that most of the debt collectors do not have any kind of proper documentation. This is the basic reason why you can easily win a credit card lawsuit. A case needs documents to be heard fairly.

If you are planning to defend yourself in such frivolous lawsuits, then you should start by spending plenty of time in the law library where you can actually research about such cases and how to defend yourself. I'm sure you will get plenty of useful information while reviewing the documents competent attorneys use while defending credit card lawsuits. You may even have legal coaches or seek advice from friends for free. It is very important to have a legal adviser or a person who is well acquainted with the legal system and its processes.

As a conclusion, you do not always have to spend big amounts of money to hire a reputed attorney in any credit debt lawsuit which you can very well handle yourself.

Do You Know The Best Strategies To Defend Yourself In A Credit Card Debt Lawsuit?

Using the FDCPA in a Foreclosure Lawsuit Defense

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that is designed to protect consumers of credit from predatory actions of debt collectors which are pursuing a debt. It provides various protections for borrowers and puts restrictions and limitations on what actions collection agencies may engage in.

When a lender or law firm violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, homeowners may mention these violations in their foreclosure lawsuit defense. Although the Act may not apply in every situation, many mortgages have been sold to third parties, investors, other lenders, and servicing companies, under the appropriate circumstances, and the law would come into play.

Disclosure notice guidelines, dispute procedures, and even stopping collection calls on a debt are covered by the law. The law also allows credit consumers to initiate lawsuits directly against a debt collector in order to obtain monetary damages for violations of the FDCPA, and it can be surprisingly simple for collectors to violate the Act.

When a mortgage goes into default, the current owner of the loan, however, will not be considered a collection agency when it is pursuing collection on its own debt. It must use its own official business name and must not engage primarily in the business of collecting debts. In the case of the mortgage lending business over the past decade, a large number of loans are transferred to a new owner once they go into default.

The FDCPA applies when a mortgage loan is sold or transferred and another collector begins debt collection attempts in the case of foreclosure. It is important for borrowers to keep in mind, though, that if the lender before the default holds onto the loan, the FDCPA does not apply. But if the bank transfers the loan to another company, the law will apply to the new owner.

Once the lender or servicing company changes after default, though, the new company which purchases the debt counts as a collection agency and falls under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Any law office that the lender hires to pursue the debt or bring the foreclosure paperwork in the county court system must also follow the FDCPA and may be held responsible for any failures.

Homeowners have a number of protections under this law. If they inform the debt collector (or lender or law firm) in writing of their desire not to be called regarding the debt, any further communication is a violation of the Act. As well, lawyer fees that are charged to an account that are not specifically authorized in the original documents is a violation of the Act.

The FDCPA also outlines violations due to harassment, abuse of borrowers, misleading representations, and debt validation, among other provisions. Other rights protected under the Act can be found by reading the Act itself or consulting with an attorney familiar with the law in detail. There are also many websites that go into further detail about this particular federal law.

Each violation of the Act may cause liability on the part of the debt collector for any actual damage suffered by the borrowers, $1,000 per offense, and costs of any action to defend the foreclosure lawsuit, initiate a foreclosure lawsuit, and attorneys fees. In effect, there are numerous ways to violate the law, and many collection agencies do not care enough about it to follow it as outlined.

When fighting back against a foreclosure complaint, homeowners may want to use violations of the FDCPA (and they may be amazingly easy to discover) to offset the judgment the bank is seeking. Violations may be included as counterclaims in answering a complaint. The law firm retained by the mortgage company also counts as a collection agency and may be brought into the lawsuit for its own violations of the Act.