Abusive Debt Collection…Is There No End To Their Abuse?
As a Consumer Lawyer who fights debt collectors for abusive debt collection practices, I have heard many debt collection nightmares. Recently, I read an article that honestly did not shock me after hearing numerous stories from clients who told me they were surprised to find out that they had a judgment against them. The article is about a process server and officer manager that have been criminally charged in false service filings for debt collectors in Las Vegas. I truly hope this conduct is isolated but would not be surprised to find out it isn’t. It seems the process server was allegedly attempting to help a debt collector obtain default judgments in debt collection lawsuits.
The alleged conduct, if true, is appalling and is a slap in the face to one of the most guarded Constitutional protections, due process. Due process requires all persons be given notice of actions against them and an opportunity to respond to those actions. If people are defaulted without proper service, they are being robbed of their due process rights.
A process server acts as an officer of the court and great credibility is given to their affidavits of service which state that the process server properly served the defendant. If the defendant does not respond to the suit before the expiration period following the date of service, or supposed date of service, a default can be entered against the defendant. Once the default is entered, the debt collector can seek a final judgment and begin executing on it in methods such as garnishments of bank accounts and wages, seizing assets, and liening property; all without the debtor ever knowing it, at least not until it’s too late.
As great credibility is given to a process server’s affidavit of service, it is very hard to overturn a default based upon a claim that service was not made. Under the case law in Florida and most other jurisdictions, mere denial of service is not sufficient. Rather, you must present some other corroborating evidence to show service was not made; if a significant amount of time has passed, it may be nearly impossible to do so.
This story reflects a scary possibility that is without a viable solution as criminal conduct by its very nature does not play by the rules and checking court records for your name every twenty days is absurdly unreasonable. As stated earlier, hopefully this conduct is limited to a very small number of cases but it shows how proactive we must be to protect ourselves in today’s day and age with our legal and financial matters; the explosion of identity theft is another good example of how passiveness can result in grave consequences.
So what can you do to protect yourself? Take early action; do not let things go. Do not let debts become stale and sold off to some of the unscrupulous debt collectors out there who are willing to abuse the system. Pull your credit reports at least once a year to verify all the reportings, see who has been requesting your credit report, and dispute any inaccuracies you find immediately (free credit reports from Experian, Transunion, and Equifax may be obtained once a year from www.annualcreditreport.com).
If you are having trouble with your debts, debt collectors, or improper reportings on your credit report, you should speak with a bankruptcy or consumer defense attorney early to ensure you are doing everything possible to protect yourself.
This Blog was written by Attorney David Fineman, Esq. of The Dellutri Law Group, P.A. Mr. Fineman practices Bankruptcy Law, Fair Credit Reporting Act Law, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Law and in other areas of Consumer Law.
