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The Holland Law Firm, P.C.

Criminal Records Identity Theft – What Does it Entail?

September 2014

CFPB Fines USA Discounters

September 28, 2014

USA Discounters, a business that targets service members, has been fined $400,000 by the CFPB for misleading its customers. The CFPB’s action comes less than two months after a joint Washington Post/ Pro Publica report detailed USA Discounters’ collection practices.

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National Consumer Law Center Report: Pounding Student Loan Borrowers

September 26, 2014

This report from the National Consumer Law Center examines the consequences of the Department of Education’s outsourcing of student loan collections to private debt collectors. The report reveals that the Department of Education does little to protect its borrowers from debt collection abuse, and points out that in some respects, the way the DOE pays collectors positively encourages abuses.

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Collecting the Debts of the Dead, An Insider’s Story

September 25, 2014

Vox carry the story of Danielle Kurtzleben’s experience collecting debts from the families of the recently deceased here. The story illustrates one of the most outrageous practices in debt collection: contacting bereaved families and asking them to pay their loved one’s debts, even though those debts are not legally enforceable.

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CPFB Proposes to Regulate Non-Bank Auto Finance Lenders

September 23, 2014

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed new rules to regulate non-bank auto finance lenders, including the lending divisions of large car manufacturers. The proposed rules are here. CFPB estimates that the new rule would cover 38 auto finance companies, which make 90% of all consumer auto loans in the country. These companies have never been regulated before.

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FTC Shuts Down “Payday Loan” Scam

September 22, 2014

The FTC has shutdown a Missouri-based scam operation, which claimed to be a payday lending business. The scam operated by depositing $200-300 into consumers’ bank accounts without their permission, then repeatedly withdrawing money from the same account as “finance charges”, using fake documents presented to consumers’ banks. The FTC press release is here and the court’s order shutting down the scam is here.

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Home Depot Hacked

September 21, 2014

A major security failure at Home Depot has led to millions of credit card details falling into the hands of hackers. Home Depot says that hackers used custom written malware to attack the store’s registers. However, former Home Depot employees report that, for several years, the company ignored warnings about the potential for just such an attack.

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Maryland Void Judgments May Be Attacked at Any Time, at Any Place, and in Any Proceeding

September 20, 2014

“[A] void judgment…is open to attack [ ] in any proceeding, direct or collateral, and at any time or place….”

Finch v. LVNV, 212 Md. App. 748, 768 (2013).

In Maryland, the law is clearly established that a debt collector must be licensed to collect debt in Maryland, either by letter and phone calls, or by filing lawsuits. The question arose as to whether judgments obtained by unlicensed debt collectors (many of whom later went on to obtain a license) are valid. The court in Finch stated loudly and clearly that judgments obtained in Maryland by unlicensed debt collectors are void.Read More »Maryland Void Judgments May Be Attacked at Any Time, at Any Place, and in Any Proceeding