Bankruptcy filings are down substantially in 2014 to only 910,090 which is the lowest number since 2007. Yet at the same time, people are still losing their homes especially in Florida, wages are flat or down and the cost of living continues to rise other than gas which isn’t too…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently fined DriveTime Automotive Group, Inc. $8 million for harming customers for making harassing debt collection calls and providing inaccurate credit information to credit reporting agencies. Such a large fine underscores the importance of the consumer protection laws such as the FDCPA, the FCCPA…
Revocation of Consent One of the pressing issues in pending litigation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is whether a consumer can revoke consent to receive calls on a cell phone. The TCPA requires prior express consent before a consumer can be contacted on a cell phone using an…
I don’t know if this is occurring to our Florida bankruptcy clients, but I imagine it is. The ABI I have a warning for you about scam bill collectors. Criminal gangs are posing as law enforcement officials. They are calling people and emailing phony threats to collect on fake debts…
Many of our Tampa Bay, Florida clients facing foreclosure want to speak with their mortgage company and reach some kind of agreement for a loan mod, deed in lieu, cash for keys or short sale. Many do not. They’ve been there and done that and no longer want to receive…
Have you ever provided your cell number to a company and it later started to call you incessantly to collect a debt of someone else. I’ve recently had that happen to me. My father was hospitalized with a stroke and I gave my cell phone number to somebody at the…
A three judge panel federal court ruled recently against Dell Computer when Dell continued to use an automated dialing system to make debt collection calls to a consumer. This consumer had written Dell asking it to stop calling her cell phone. Dell ignored the letter. The 3rd Circuit Court of…
At the end of February 2013, the Middle District, Tampa Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court announced an amended Uniform Chapter 13 Plan would have a new choice for debtors. Debtors can now choose whether they want property of the estate to vest in the Debtor’s name upon confirmation of…
Don’t be fleeced by debt collectors. You have protections. In Florida, we have the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act and the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act available to our clients. I was reminded this week that not everyone knows their rights when the mother of a debtor called me. She…
In Florida, typically someone who is sued is served with the lawsuit and given 20 or sometimes 30 days to file a response. If the lawsuit was filed in small claims court, you are given a date to appear at a pretrial conference instead of filing a written response. The…