How To Fight Debt Collection Harassment In Maryland
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July 2016
FTC Fines and Closes National Check Registry
National Check Registry and related companies were abusive debt collectors. Thanks to the FTC, they are no more. National Check Registry, all the related companies and the three individuals behind the enterprise agreed to lifetime bans on working in debt collection and to give up “virtually all of their assets” to partially satisfy an $8.3… Read More »FTC Fines and Closes National Check Registry
Debt Buyer Collected On Already Paid and Disputed AT&T Accounts After Purchasing Them For 2 Cents on the Dollar
Debt buyer and collector EOS CCA (associated with EOS Holdings, Inc., Collecto Inc. and their wholly-owned subsidiary debt buyer, US Asset Management, all of which will be called “EOS” here) bought debts from AT&T in 2012. According to the CFPB, EOS paid $35.4 million for debts with a face value of $2.3 billion, about two… Read More »Debt Buyer Collected On Already Paid and Disputed AT&T Accounts After Purchasing Them For 2 Cents on the Dollar
Truth In Lending Rescission: A Letter Is Enough
The Supreme Court gave a unanimous opinion in Jesinoski v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., agreeing in substance with an amicus brief filed by five consumer and civil rights groups: National Consumer Law Center, Center for Responsible Lending, AARP, ACLU and the National Association of Consumer Advocates. This is a rare victory before the Supreme Court for consumers.
Read More »Truth In Lending Rescission: A Letter Is EnoughCan a Debt Buyer Prove They Bought Your Debt?
The Colorado Court of Appeals has addressed this issue in an unpublished opinion in LVNV Funding v. Ramsdale. The Colorado Court of Appeals is an “intermediate” court, meaning that, like the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, it hears appeals from trial courts, but it is not the highest court in Colorado – that is the Colorado Supreme Court.
The debt buyer in Ramsdale, LVNV, showed that it bought a portfolio of debts from Bank of America, providing bills of sale showing the assignment. However, the only evidence showing that the defendant’s account was part of that portfolio was an affidavit produced by LVNV. The affidavit was said to be based on “business records” but LVNV failed to provide those business. The Colorado Court of Appeals found that the affidavit was not enough: the records had to be produced.
Read More »Can a Debt Buyer Prove They Bought Your Debt?Joint Enfocement Action: Maryland Attorney General and CFPB Act On Illegal Mortgage Kickbacks
In a time of limited resources, perhaps a new model is emerging of joint CFPB/State Attorney General enforcement actions. The 2015 joint action by the Bureau and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh provides a nice case study. In 2015, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took an action against a… Read More »Joint Enfocement Action: Maryland Attorney General and CFPB Act On Illegal Mortgage Kickbacks
Encore and Portfolio Fined By CFPB
The two largest debt buyers in the US, Encore Capital Group (owner of Midland Funding, LLC) and Portfolio Recovery Associates spoke with officials at the CFPB for over a year, a fact repeatedly mentioned by Encore and PRA in calls with their investors. In September, the results of those talks were announced by the CFPB.
Read More »Encore and Portfolio Fined By CFPBFrederick J. Hanna Associates To Pay $3.1 Million And Stop Filing Suits Without Proof
A proposed Consent Order has been filed in the CFPB’s enforcement action against Frederick J. Hanna Associates. This was the first enforcement action by the CFPB directly against a collection law firm and was the subject of a vigorous defense by Hanna and much comment in the trade press. Hanna lost its motion to dismiss in July 2015, made an unsuccessful motion for an interlocutory appeal and discovery was ordered to proceed.
The case attracted a lot of attention: from the Wall Street Journal to trade publication InsideARM which said that “[t]he case should be front and center for all law firms practicing in this space“. In light of the excitement about the case, the bottom line of the Consent Order is, rather disappointing: Hanna is to pay $3.1 million in penalties to the CFPB and agrees to injunctive relief(all without admitting any of the CFPB’s allegations). There is no relief for consumers targeted by Hanna – that is presumably left to private law suits.
Read More »Frederick J. Hanna Associates To Pay $3.1 Million And Stop Filing Suits Without ProofPRA and Post-Judgment Interest
Portfolio Recovery Associates, the second largest debt buyer in the US, issued an annual report in 2014 containing an interesting message from CEO Steve Fredrickson: We do not charge interest on U.S. accounts, except in rare cases in which a court mandates an interest award in a legal case. This helps give light at the… Read More »PRA and Post-Judgment Interest
Vermont Supreme Court Throws Out Unifund’s Inconsistent Assignments
In Partners v. Zimmer the Vermont Supreme Court held that Unifiund, a large debt buyer, was unable to prove the chain of title in a collection case. Unifund claimed to have bought the right to collect a debt originally owed to Citibank. The trial court refused to admit papers said to prove the chain of… Read More »Vermont Supreme Court Throws Out Unifund’s Inconsistent Assignments