Woman claims that debt collector threatened to dig up her deceased daughter’s grave if she didn’t pay debt
November 29, 2010 by Todd Murray · Leave a Comment
A Belleville, Illinois woman was on the receiving end of some appallingly vulgar threats from a California debt collector attempting to collect a funeral home debt. The woman captured a recording that included threats like “We’re going to have your dog arrested, we’re going to shoot him, and we’re going to eat him,” and, “Are you going to pay this bill or not or am I going to have to kill you?” Although not caught on tape, the woman also claims that the debt collector threatened to dig up her deceased daughter’s grave and hang her from a tree if she didn’t pay the debt.
When initially reached for comment, the debt collector claimed that the recordings were “suspect” and that the incident “resembles the kind of unfortunate communication breakdowns that occur when people are under tremendous stress.” The debt collector later apologized and offered payment to the woman.
If you live in Minnesota and have been threatened or harassed by a debt collector, feel free to contact me for a free case evaluation.
Belleville woman irate after vulgar phone calls from debt collectors | KMOV.com | November 10, 2010 (via Consumerist)
Debt collector apologizes, offers payment to local woman after making vulgar threats| KMOV.com | November 12, 2010
You can’t make this stuff up: debt collector allegedly set up fake courtroom to trick debtors into paying.
November 2, 2010 by Todd Murray · Leave a Comment
I’ve seen and heard about so many illegal tactics that debt collectors use to try to collect debts, that I’m rarely surprised any more. But I have to admit that this one did shock me a little.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General recently sued a debt collector, Unicredit, for setting up a phony courtroom, complete with a raised bench and a “judge” in an effort to trick debtors into making payments. The suit also alleges that Unicredit used fake police officers to deliver court summonses to debtors and implied that failure to comply would lead to arrest. At the “hearings”, debtors were often pressured into giving their bank account information, as well as information about other assets.
“This is an unconscionable attempt to use fake court proceedings to deceive, mislead or frighten consumers into making payments or surrendering valuables to Unicredit without following lawful procedures for debt collection,” Attorney General Tom Corbett said in a statement.
Debt Collection Firm Accused Of Setting Up Phony Courtroom | Consumerist | October 29, 2010
Minnesota collection agency Allied Interstate Inc. agrees to pay $1.75 million to settle FTC lawsuit
October 22, 2010 by Todd Murray · Leave a Comment
The Federal Trade Commission, the federal agency tasked with enforcement of the FDCPA and other consumer protection laws, filed a lawsuit yesterday against Allied Interstate Inc., one of Minnesota’s largest collection agencies. The lawsuit alleged a number of FDCPA violations, including:
- contacting people after being told by these people that they did not owe the debt;
- making illegal collection calls to parties other than account debtors;
- placing multiple collection calls over a short period of time;
- using abusive language during collection calls;
- revealing the existence of a consumer’s debt to third parties;
- threatening to sue consumers without any intention of actually doing so.
If true, these allegations show that Allied repeatedly violated virtually every important consumer right under the FDCPA.
Also yesterday, the FTC announced that Allied had already agreed to pay $1.75 million to settle the lawsuit. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, it’s the second largest civil penalty the FTC has obtained from a collection agency in a debt collection case. In a press release, an FTC spokesperson focused on Allied’s alleged attempts to collect debts from people that didn’t owe them. “Debt collectors had better make sure their information is accurate, or they could end up paying a big penalty,” said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “There is no excuse for trying to collect debt from someone if you can’t confirm that they actually owe it.”
Minnesota debt collector to pay $1.75 million to settle harassment charge | Star Tribune | October 21, 2010
FTC Press Release here.
PDF version of the FTC’s lawsuit here.
Franken to introduce legislation limiting the use of arrest warrants in debt collection cases
September 27, 2010 by Todd Murray · Leave a Comment
Senator Al Franken (D-Minnesota) plans to introduce a bill that will ban the use of arrest warrants by private debt collection firms. The proposed bill would also require collectors to give consumers more information about what they owe, including an itemization of fees and interest, and notify people of what rights they have.
The bill will expand upon the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), but will increase the penalties, add triple damages for willful violations and allow judges to issue injunctions to stop continued wrongdoing.
Franken said he believes his bill will “clarify what is acceptable and what is legal and isn’t.”
Franken moves to curb abusive debt collection | Star Tribune | September 27, 2010
(photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chadwho1ders/3439663825/)
Todd Murray featured in Sunday’s front page Star Tribune story about deceased collections
September 22, 2010 by Todd Murray · Leave a Comment
The latest installment of the Star Tribune’s “Hounded” series, which appeared in last Sunday’s paper, focuses on the sub-industry of deceased collections. The story included a few quotes from me about my very brief stint attempting to collect deceased debts and how the experience convinced me to ditch the collection business once and for all and start my consumer law practice.
The article also includes a great deal of information about the somewhat mysterious deceased collection industry and reviews some of the questionable tactics that they use to try to collect debts from recently deceased consumers. The moral of the story: when you die, the assets from your estate are used to pay creditors. If your estate has no assets, then the creditors are out of luck. And family members have no personal obligation to pay the debts of the deceased.
If you’ve recently lost a loved one and are being harassed by creditors for payment, I strongly recommend that you contact an attorney that is knowledgeable about the probate process. And if the harassment is especially egregious, consider talking to a consumer rights attorney.
UPDATE: The StarTrib has removed the “Premium” pay wall.
Death won’t stop these debt collectors (PDF link here)| Star Tribune | September 19, 2010
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