A repossessor who takes – or attempts to take – property in breach of the peace (e.g., by force or by illegally entering a locked garage) can be sued for violations of the fair debt collection laws. In fact, the repossessor can be sued under both the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the [...]
12
May
Repossessions from Gated & Locked Garages
A repossessor cannot enter a gated and locked garage to repossess a car. There’s no exception to this rule. If a repossession agency takes a car from a gated and locked garage, the agency has committed a breach of the peace and the consumer can sue the repossession agency. A repossession must be accomplished without [...]
09
May
Your Rights Following A Car Repossession
In California, a consumer generally has two rights following a car repossession. The first right is to “reinstate” the contract by paying all amounts past due, plus any applicable delinquency charges, collection and repossession costs. Depending on the basis for the repossession, the consumer may be required to satisfy any liens or encumberances on the [...]
25
Apr
iwatchvideo: Auto Dealer Fraud
The Center for Public Integrity recently spoke with Jack Fitzgerald, an auto dealer and critic of his industry. Below is a video with the interview, from iwatchvideo’s channel on YouTube. Mr. Fitzgerald speaks about some common scams in his industry, and also about things he believes should change.
15
Apr
Collection Calls for Someone Else
I was recently interviewed by Gerri Detweiler for an article on credit.com regarding collection calls for someone else. I hope you enjoy the article, which I believe is informative and timely in light of the continued increase in automation of debt collection communications and bulk sales of consumer debts. Please feel free to contact us [...]
13
Apr
Consumer Protection Laws & Small Business Owners
Credit.com has posted a good piece on Congressional efforts to extend the protections of new credit card laws to small businesses. You can link to the post here. Extending credit card protections to small business owners certainly is a start, but it should not be the end. I also would like to see the protection [...]
06
Apr
Collection of Time-Barred Debt
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has affirmed the rights of consumers to sue law firms for violations of the fair debt collection laws and other claims when the law firm sues a consumer on a debt even though it is aware of a potential statute of limitations issue. The Court of Appeal held that [...]
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