Credit and Debt Blog

This is a federal act enacted in 1977 with the goal of preventing abuses by third-party debt collection agencies. These abuses were believed to be one of the main causes of the increase in bankruptcies filed at the time.

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On April 7, 2008 Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced a judgment of $1.3 million to be paid by a debt collector that violated collection laws. Ellis Crosby & Associates, including the owner Ted Ellis Crosby himself, engaged in willful violations of Florida’s Consumer Collections Practices Act and Deceptive and Unfair Business Practices Act.

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Have you ever wondered how much debt collectors paid for your debt? Knowing their investment in the debt can help you know what they might be willing to settle for. The answer might surprise you!

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New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo successfully settled with a debt collector accused of abusing debtors. National Action Financial Services (NAFS) of Williamsville, NY has agreed to pay $85,000 in penalties and costs.

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According to Collections & Credit Risk, credit card charge-offs rose 20% in the third quarter of 2007 over the same period in 2006. Bank of America, Chase, American Express and Citigroup set the pace with a combined $5.57 billion in charge-offs for the three months ending September, 2007. This is less than the second quarter’s [...]

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LTD Financial Services agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission to resolve nearly 1,500 complaints of illegally threatening and misleading debtors. This settlement was announced without any acknowledgment of wrongdoing. And so after this big settlement, you may be surprised that not a dime of it is going to the victims of harassment. [...]

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If you have ever settled a debt, you may have received an unwelcome surprise. Anytime you save $600 or more on a debt balance by negotiating a settlement, the debt collector is required to issue a 1099-C form and report the information to the Internal Revenue Service. So what exactly is a 1099-C form? In [...]

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The newest debt collection trend has a dangerous component. Uncollectible debts are being sought by aggressive debt buyers who pressure unsuspecting debtors into paying them off. Because these debts are no longer legally collectible, they can be bought by debt collectors for almost nothing. Now some creditors are being accused of intentionally failing to update [...]

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It is a known fact that most debt collectors routinely violate federal laws when attempting to collect on a delinquent account. Their greatest ally is consumer ignorance. Most people just do not understand their rights. One such right is listed in the most comprehensive law related to consumer debt collection. This right is what can [...]

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If you have ever fallen behind on your credit cards, you have probably received a few courtesy phone calls as a reminder to make your minimum payment. If you have found yourself a month or more behind, then you may have realized that it is time to seek credit counseling. Once all of your credit [...]

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