Karen Oakes, Southern Oregon consumer protection agency, explains five secrets about a consumer’s legal rights that the debt collection industry does not want you to know. Read the article to learn that you have rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
September 2009
You can fight back against bill collectors. One man, from Parsons, Tennessee got so mad at a collection agency trying to collect an old debt that he decided to use some of their own tactics against the bill collectors themselves. Newschannel 5 in Nashville reports that Randy Falkner fought back. First Faulkner sent the collection agency a certified letter [...]
Historically, homes face foreclosure when the homeowner cannot afford to make the payments. Usually, the homeowner has tried to get a mortgage modification or other relief, and makes some payments, misses some, and tries to send in what he or she can. A strategic mortgage default, as explained by Larry Doyle, is a homeowner who [...]
Some of my clients come into my office already knowing what chapter of the Bankruptcy Code they want to file under. Others have no idea how they want to proceed. So which chapter is “best”? The answer, of course, depends on the details of the case. My general rule of thumb is that, unless there [...]
The Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. § 1601, et seq.) requires that lenders in consumer credit transactions disclose certain facts. In mortgage transactions lenders must disclose: Identity of the creditor. Amount financed, Itemization of amount financed Annual percentage rate, including applicable variable-rate disclosures, Finance charge, Total of payments, Payment schedule, Prepayment/late payment penalties, If [...]
Nicholas F. Ortiz, a Boston bankruptcy lawyer specializing in debtor-side issues, and John S. McNicholas, a creditor-side attorney with Korde and Associates, spoke together recently at the Boston Bar Association about bankruptcy case law developments in the First Circuit. Highlights included a discussion of the recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for [...]
