Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Blog

If you are being sued by a debt collector for an old debt, there are five things you need to do immediately.

First: Read the lawsuit; see who is suing you on this alleged debt. Don’t worry if you do not know who the Plaintiff is. It’s ok. The chances are very good that the Plaintiff who is suing you is not the same company that you may have incurred the debt with.

Continue reading "Five (5) Things To Do If You Are Sued By A Debt Collector / For An Old Debt." »

There’s no question that times are tough right now. Ever-increasing costs of living and disproportionate salaries have become the norm, and many Americans have no choice but to pay for everyday essentials with credit. Of course, creditors are entitled to repayment of any amounts extended to consumers, plus interest, and they are well within their rights to pursue collection of delinquent accounts – usually.
However, the law does not give creditors free rein to collect on debts in any way they see fit. The Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, Florida Statute § 559.55 et. seq., describes certain things that creditors are absolutely not allowed do when attempting to collect on a debt owed to them. Many debtors just don’t know what creditors can and can’t do when trying to collect, and automatically assume that the creditor’s conduct is allowed by the law – after all, a creditor wouldn’t do anything illegal, right? Unfortunately, that’s not the case. It’s important for you to know your rights when it comes to collection activities, because many creditors aren’t playing by the rules, and they’re counting on debtors to be misinformed and thus easily intimidated.

Continue reading "Do You Know Your Rights When It Comes To Creditor Harassment?" »

Debt Collectors often try to collect on Zombie Debts or really old debts that should have died a long time ago, yet, they somehow survive just like a zombie and keep on coming after you.

Please watch this video to learn how to deal with zombie debts.

Attorney Carmen Dellutri of the Dellutri Law Group, tells you exactly how to deal with Zombie Debt Collectors.

Continue reading "Can A Debt Collector Collect On Zombie Debts Or Old Debts?" »

In Part I of this series, I tried to introduce you to the idea of defending your credit card or small claims lawsuit. Over the next couple of blogs, I will go into much more depth on the reasons you, as a consumer in the State of Florida, should seriously consider fighting the debt collectors in Court.

I don't know about where you live but I can only imagine that if the Courts here in Southwest Florida have been busy, so have yours. While I have no problem with Creditors filing lawsuits to enforce their contracts, I do have a substantial problem when either one of two things happens: First, when a debt collector files what I call a frivilous lawsuit; and Second, an individual does not protect themselves or they get steam-rolled because they did not investigate their defenses or did not know that they had defenses to these actions.

Continue reading "The Best Reasons To Defend Your Credit Card Lawsuit Part II" »

As a Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney, I meet with people all the time who are experiencing debt collection problems. One of the things that drives me crazy are the small lawsuits: credit cards, medical bills, etc that are brought by a debt collector five times removed. The reason they annoy me so much is because they prey on people's fears.

If people really knew the facts about these debt collectors and what they have to prove to win their cases, things in the small claims and civil courts would change.

Continue reading "The Best Reasons To Defend Your Credit Card Lawsuit Part I" »

The law encourages assignment of contracts. When your debts are sold to a debt collector, you do not lose your legal rights.

Continue reading "What Happens If My Debt Is Sold To Another Debt Collector?" »

Attorneys Carmen Dellutri and David Fineman of the Dellutri Law Group, P.A. discuss what to do if you receive a letter from a Debt Collector.

Continue reading "What Should I Do If I Receive a Debt Collection Letter?" »

As a Consumer Protection Attorney, I get asked this question quite often, and the answer is always a qualified Yes and No. Let me explain: The first inquiry we have to make is who is the creditor and who is trying to collect the debt. Once, we determine who the creditor is: Let's say it's Visa Card. A typical unsecured creditor.

Then we have to determine who is attempting to collect the debt. Is Visa Card attempting to collect their own debt or did they hire out the debt collection process to a third party debt collector?

This is very important because if Visa Card is attempting to collect their own debts, then we are playing by one set of rules, and if they hired a third party debt collector to collect on the debt, we are playing by another set of rules.

Continue reading "Can A Debt Collector Call You If You Have An Attorney?" »

This week the Internal Revenue Service announced that it is once again offering amnesty to delinquent tax payers. The IRS will allow individuals to pay penalties and avoid jail time. This initiative follows a similar one in 2009 that the IRS deemed to be a success. Of course, the Government has only completed review of 2000 of the reported 15,000 taxpayers cases. Isn't this typical.

The IRS states that an additional 3000 taxpayers came forward after the last amnesty program ended. I think this is great. However, if the IRS doesn't have the manpower to deal with these individuals, why do another amnesty program? Is the United States broke????

Continue reading "IRS Amnesty Program And Thoughts On Income Taxes" »

When credit card companies sue for an amount owed, a consumer may see these two: Open Account or Account Stated and wonder what they are. Although there are several causes of action at a credit card companies disposal, the most prominent among those being breach of contract and damages, Open Account and Account Stated are usually included.

I want to focus on these two causes of action frequently relied on by credit card companies: Open Account and Account Stated because these are the most misunderstood by the consumer.

To properly bring a claim for Account Stated the Plaintiff must allege two elements: (1) that there was an agreement between the parties that a certain balance is correct and due, and (2) there existed an express or implicit promise to pay that balance. When this claim is used, there will often be a paragraph in the complaint alleging that the debtor made no objection to the amount due. Usually, we can object to this claim as consumers usually do object in some fashion.

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In part one of this blog I discussed why a short sale is better than a foreclosure. What can one do to try to avoid having to experience this nightmare? Short Sale the property! A successful Short Sale can result in a win-win scenario for all parties involved. A Short Sale is an opportunity for the Mortgagor to try to prevent any version of the foreclosure nightmare while trying to actively mitigate the losses for all involved. A successful Short Sale handled by a Real Estate Attorney may result in the Bank or Lender releasing the lien of the Mortgage and also canceling (forgiving or writing off) the Promissory Note and providing a full release of their deficiency judgment rights. The best outcome of a Short Sale is the issuance of a 1099C which will be discussed in future blogs.

Continue reading "Is A Short Sale Better Than A Foreclosure Part II?" »

Dorothy Rhue Allen lived in her home and paid each and every mortgage payment on a 30 year mortgage for 29 years and 11 months. She missed her last payment of $432 because she was in the hospital. Rather than allow her to just make up the payment, the bank (servicer) foreclosed. When Ms. Allen purchased the home in 1976, she borrowed $40,000.00. Assuming that her payment was $432 for the last 29 years and 11 months, Ms. Allen had paid $155,088.00 over that time. According to her attorney, Ms. Allen was in the hospital and missed the last payment.

Continue reading "LaSalle (Bank of America) Forecloses On $432 Debt ? " »