deceptive credit repair – Attorney Driven Credit Repair

Stop Debt Collector Calls at Work

June 24, 2013 by Eric Stephenson

Are you getting debt collector calls at work? You might be surprised how easy it is to stop debt collector calls at work.

Why You Get Debt Collector Calls at Work

It is a common practice among debt collectors and collection attorneys to call consumers at work to collect debt. The reason they do so is because calling a consumer at work is a very effective collection tool. Consumers feel threatened and pressured by debt collector calls at work. The calls at work cause a fear of losing their job or suffering the embarrassment and humiliation of having their personal financial information being exposed to coworkers and supervisors. Debt collectors are keenly aware that putting this kind of pressure on consumers forces a lot of consumers to pay, whether just or not.

Stop Debt Collector Calls at Work

Although it is generally legal for a debt collector or collection attorney to call you at work there are ways you can stop the calls. The first way is to simply tell the debt collector your employer doesn’t allow collection calls at work. Do so only if it is true however. If you are close to your employer or supervisor you could have them tell the debt collector that debt collector calls at work are not allowed. Either way the debt collection agency is on notice to cease any further calls to you at work. If the collector continues calling you at work after it knows your employer doesn’t allow collection calls at work it is violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

The more drastic way to stop debt collector calls at work is to send the collector a letter notifying it to cease all further communication with you. This is drastic because a cease communications letter stops the collector from contacting you by any means at any place. The debt collector calls at work have to stop but so do the collection calls to your home and cell phone. The collection agency is even required to stop sending you letters to collect the debt.

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act the collector must stop most additional contact with you after it receives a cease communications letter. The only contact the debt collector can have with a consumer after it receives a cease communications letter is to notify the consumer that its collection efforts are being terminated or that it may invoke a specified remedy against the consumer. The cease communications letter may also prompt the debt collector or collection attorney to sue you so please contact a consumer protection attorney before taking this drastic step.

Stop Debt Collector Calls to Your Employer

Sometimes debt collectors and collection attorneys contact your employer rather than you. Calls to your employer or coworkers can be even more stressful, embarrassing, and humiliating than typical collection calls. Fortunately, under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act debt collectors and collection attorneys can only call a third party to acquire or confirm location information and they can only do so once. That means that if the debt collector calls your employer or coworker it cannot do it again. If it does it is breaking the FDCPA and you can sue the debt collector. And you don’t have to send a cease communication letter for this prohibition to apply. The FDCPA prohibits a second communication to your employer or coworker without any further action on your part.

Sue Debt Collectors

If the debt collector or collection attorney continues calling you at work after you tell it your employer doesn’t allow collection calls or after you send a cease communication letter your best way to stop the collection calls at work is to sue. If the debt collector calls your employer or coworker more than once an unfair debt collection lawsuit is also an excellent way to stop the abuse. If you are reluctant to sue that’s okay. Just keep in mind that the collection attorney is not reluctant to sue you nor are they reluctant to abuse, harass, or humiliate you.

Conclusion

Fortunately stopping collection calls to your employer or coworkers is usually easy. First, tell the debt collector to stop calling you at work and that your employer does not allow collection calls. If the collector calls after that notification they are violating the FDCPA. If the debt collector calls your employer or coworkers more than once or even just once to do anything other than acquire or verify location information they are also violating the FDCPA. If either violation occurs, filing a debt collection lawsuit to stop the debt collector calls at work is probably your best option.

If you have questions about these and other possible Fair Debt Collection Practices Act violations please feel free to contact us for assistance.

Credit Repair Scams: Part Two

March 15, 2013 by Eric Stephenson

We previously discussed a few common credit repair scams but believe it or not, there are additional deceptive or fraudulent acts in the credit repair world to be cautious about.

Purposely Delaying the Credit Repair Process

Most credit repair companies charge monthly fees which encourages them to work slowly or inefficiently. The simple fact is that the longer you stay enrolled the more money they make. Credit repair does take time but if the company has already disputed every disputable item twice and tells you the third time is a charm, they are probably lying. The truth is that disputing an item three or more times without any additional justification is highly unlikely to result in a deletion. The only certainty in this situation is that sending the additional disputes will cost you additional monthly fees.

Contractual Waivers of Consumer Rights

Though not strictly considered a credit repair scam, almost all credit repair companies put a waiver of your consumer rights clause in your contract. Arbitration clauses or waivers of your right to participate in a class action are the most common waivers used but others occur as well. In certain situations, such waivers are void and considered to be deceptive sales practices under the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) and also under many state unfair practices acts. In some situations these waivers are actually legal, however, so consult a consumer rights attorney to find out whether this is a violation in your state. Frankly, however, even if these waivers were not unlawful or deceptive you should ask yourself if you really want to do business with a company that proclaims to be a champion of consumer rights yet is so willing to trample yours.

Taking Credit for False Deletions

Credit trade lines naturally fall off your reports after a certain amount of time. The period varies but is generally seven years. Some credit report repair organizations take credit for these natural fall-offs even when the company made no contribution whatsoever to that deletion. They will even take credit for items removed as a result of the client’s self-help efforts. Taking credit for the work of others or for the mere passage of time is a shameful practice but is rampant among credit report repair companies.

Misstating or Falsifying Results

Most credit repair organizations brag about their results. Testimonials are most common but numerous websites purporting to be unbiased reviews are also typical. Though it is difficult to detect which ones, many of those website reviews and testimonials are outright fakes. In many circumstances, the company will use commissioned agents or affiliates to enroll clients. Because the paychecks of these salesmen are tied directly to enrolling clients, they have ample incentive to falsify or exaggerate past results. Be cautious of any company who brags about past results that cannot be independently verified.

Conclusion

These and other credit repair rip-offs are shockingly common in the credit repair industry. Your best method of avoiding these scams is to completely ignore mainstream credit repair companies. Instead, do your own credit repair or find a licensed consumer law attorney who takes his oaths of integrity, diligence, and confidentiality seriously. Either way, it is always good practice to use your best judgment and never rely solely on the words of easily faked testimonials or commissioned sales persons.

Credit Repair Scams

March 11, 2013 by Eric Stephenson

You may be surprised to know that there are many common types of scams in the credit repair industry. Under federal law any deceptive or fraudulent act by a credit repair organization is considered a credit repair scam but other acts can also be unlawful. Many states also have similar prohibitions.

Deceptive Representations

The most common credit repair rip-offs occur when the credit repair organization falsely promises or implies that it can achieve specific, improbable, or illegal results or that it has some special authority that other companies lack. Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) such implications are prohibited. Numerous credit repair organizations commit this violation; however, it occurs most often with credit repair companies who use commissioned salesman to enroll clients. Because sales are driven by commissions, the truth is often obscured by false promises and outright deceptions.

Failure to Adhere to State Registration Requirements

In most states, credit repair organizations are required to register with the state as a credit repair organization. Many companies ignore this requirement and choose instead to operate unlawfully without the registration. Doing so violates not only many state deceptive sales practices acts but also violates CROA. A lack of the required registration is a credit repair scam because it constitutes an untrue or misleading representation of the credit repair organizations services and also constitutes a fraud or deception that the company is operating lawfully when it is not. This violation is surprisingly common.

Charging Fees before the Work is Fully Performed

Another commonly used tactic is to charge the consumer fees before the credit repair firm has fully completed the promised work. This ordinarily occurs when the firm charges a fee to setup the case without performing any substantive work or charges a monthly fee without performing any work the previous month. Indeed, such billing practices are fairly common in the industry.

Failure to Provide Required Disclosures

A less prevalent though still significant credit repair scam arises when the credit repair company fails to provide the consumer with the federally required disclosures. Under federal law, these companies are required to provide certain disclosures to the consumer to instruct the consumer of their legal rights. Some companies fail to provide the disclosures in any form while others provide only partial disclosures. Either way is unlawful.

Conclusion

There are numerous other scams or rip-offs related to credit repair but the few discussed above are the most common. To avoid these swindles you should only hire a credit repair company who takes its ethical and legal obligations seriously and specifically charges you only for actual work performed rather than charging you junk fees to merely start your case. Use diligence and don’t rely solely on website reviews or a high volume of advertised clients to choose a credit repair partner. In most cases, your best partner in credit repair is going to be a local consumer law attorney who will work with you personally and in strict adherence to CROA and his state bar requirements.