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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.

Read More »National Consumer Law Center Report: Pounding Student Loan Borrowers

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.

Read More »Collecting the Debts of the Dead, An Insider’s Story

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

Can a Judgment Holder Assign a Judgment Several Years After the Corporation Was Dissolved?

September 20, 2014

In Maryland, a judgment is valid for 12 years, and may be renewed at any point within those twelve years. In Maryland right now, there has been a rash of new debt buyers garnishing people’s wages by claiming to be the assignee of judgments that are as old as 10 years, and which were obtained by prior debt buyers which have long since filed articles of corporate dissolution. [1] In several active cases, the original judgment creditor was Platinum Financial Services Corporation (which filed Articles of Dissolution with the State of Maryland on March 25, 2009), and the new purported Assignee is Palisades Acquisitions XVI, LLC. The validity of those assignments depends on whether a corporation that has been dissolved can legally later assign judgments 3, 4, 5 or more years after the corporation filed its articles of dissolution.Read More »Can a Judgment Holder Assign a Judgment Several Years After the Corporation Was Dissolved?

Is Your Private Student Loan A Contract Under Seal?

September 20, 2014

In many private student loan cases in Maryland (as well as in other cases), the collection lawyer will argue that the statute of limitations is 12 years instead of 3 years. The reason, they argue, is that many private student loan contracts are “contracts under seal.” Lately I have seen a spate of private student loan contracts where the word “SEAL” does not appear anywhere on or near the signature line, and despite this absence, collection lawyers argue that it is still a contract under seal. Maryland law seems clear that absent the word “SEAL” next to or near the signature, there is not a “contract under seal” and thus there is not a 12 year statute of limitations.

Read More »Is Your Private Student Loan A Contract Under Seal?