In early December, the Urban Institute featured an interactive map of the U.S., down to the county level, of the proportion of people with debt in collections. In 2016, fully one American in three owed a debt that was held by a debt collector. The Urban Institute distinguished the median amount in collections from the …
Urban Institute: One-Third of Americans Have Debt in Collections Read More »
Not all areas of the law are the same, which can lead to confusion for people who are unfamiliar with the law. This can be especially true for bankruptcy because it’s a mundane court process that millions of Americans have encountered, even though it takes place in federal court. One question debtors may ask is …
In mid-August The Washington Post ran an article in its business section warning of the perils of consumer debt returning to record high levels. “Haven’t we learned?” it moans. The better question is, “So what?” It appears the author has not learned that population growth, higher incomes, different debt compositions, and low interest rates should …
Record Consumer Debt Coincides with Higher Credit-Card Delinquencies Read More »
Sometimes people will refer to bankruptcy as a shield and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) as a sword, or vice versa. It’s contradictory, but the point is that both laws are designed to protect debtors in different contexts that hopefully don’t overlap. Bankruptcy allows debtors to get rid of debts without punishing overbearing …
Remedies for FDCPA Violations Versus Discharge Injunction Violations Read More »
Tax debts can bedevil debtors. They are not easily discharged in a chapter 7 New York bankruptcy, and they are priority claims that must be paid in full without interest in chapter 13. Unsurprisingly, the IRS’s collection efforts will cause more anxiety to debtors than mere credit-card-debt collectors. However, a recent New York Times article …
Talk to a Bankruptcy Lawyer Before Negotiating With an IRS Debt Collector Read More »
In May I wrote about how debt collectors were adopting new technologies to target borrowers, specifically noting a new technique called, “ringless voice mails.” The New York Times recently ran a full article on the topic, and along with the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that debt buyers are exempt from the Fair Debt Collections …
NYT: ‘Ringless Voice Mail’ a Plague That May Descend on Debtors Read More »
A few months ago I alerted readers to a case before the U.S. Supreme Court addressing whether the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) applies to buyers of defaulted debts. The FDCPA offers debtors legal options for resolving disputes with debt collectors. In Henson v. Santander, the Court unanimously sided with the debt-buyers, closing off …
U.S. Supreme Court: Bad-Debt Buyers Are Not Debt Collectors Under the FDCPA Read More »
A few months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court chose to hear a case deciding whether a chapter 13 bankruptcy debtor could sue a debt collector for violating the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) for filing a proof of claim on an expired debt. For New York bankruptcy debtors, the answer already is no, but …
U.S. Supreme Court: Bad Proofs of Claim Do Not Violate the FDCPA Read More »
Going by a Bloomberg article, the City of Detroit has not learned about debt collectors that are adopting new technologies to target borrowers. Like cities in New York State, Michigan authorizes its municipalities to collect income taxes from its residents. Detroit concluded its chapter 9 bankruptcy in late 2014, and in the meantime nearly half …
Detroit Learns That Threatening Letters to Tax Debtors Gets Results Read More »
A couple years ago, New York bankruptcy lawyers discovered debt collectors on social media. In that medium, they seek out debtors who have moved or changed their contact information. Even more recently, according to a NerdWallet article, it appears debt collectors are using other advances in communications technology to target borrowers while avoiding the Telephone …
Debt Collectors Adopting New Technologies to Target Borrowers Read More »
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