Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

When someone files for bankruptcy protection they don't expect to have their discharged bills come back to haunt them. Zombie debts are not unheard of, but are rarely seen in the multitude that has been alleged against Capital One by a court-appointed monitor. Some of these debts, including one sought fourteen years after it was discharged, are for thousands of dollars.

Unlike most lenders, Capital One handles most of it's debt collection internally, rather than outsourcing to collection firms. This may be part of their problem as collection firms are usually well versed in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Out of the 15,500 bogus claims made by Capital One only about 800 of those borrowers filed lawsuits against the creditor. 130 of these cases were settled without Capital One admitting fault. Not all attorneys will file suit against a creditor for attempting to collect a discharged debt, but it's important that debtors know that they can. Without the remedy of suing the creditor, there would be little to no use of the bankruptcy court at all.

If you have debts that have been discharged in bankruptcy, but the creditor is still attempting to collect, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney or call us at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation.

Upon filing for bankruptcy protection, an automatic stay is put in place. This means that creditors can not try and collect from you. So a creditor cannot call you to request payment, send bills to you, garnish your wages anymore, or repossess your car without court permission. If there is a foreclosure suit against you, that suit must also stop immediately. If your home is sold and you filed prior to the sale, that sale can be vacated. Obviously, this is a powerful tool bankruptcy. Many people file to stop creditors from taking actions against them or their property.

The automatic stay will remain in effect until one of the following things occurs:
1. A creditor petitions the court for relief from automatic stay and the court enters an order granting it;
2. You receive a discharge in your bankruptcy case; or
3. Your case is dismissed.

If you have creditors that you would like to keep at bay by filing for bankruptcy and getting automatic stay protection, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney today for a free consultation to discuss your specific case.

The U.S. House of Representatives introduced a new bill, the Mobile Informational Call Act of 2011, that would allow businesses to dial consumers' cell phones using an automatic dialing system. This practice is oftentimes called "robo-calling". This means that the operator does not have to manually dial each number. Rather, the computer system can dial the numbers and play a prerecorded message on many phones at once. The current law is that operators have to manually dial the numbers (unless the customer consents to robo-calling), which is not very profitable for many collection agencies.

The down side to this bill would obviously be that creditors would be able to start robo-calling your cellphone. This does not sit well with many consumers. But some creditors say that the current regulations have not kept up with the technology of today, and that a lot of people do not have home phone lines anymore. Creditors are wanting robo-calling access to cell phones.

The upside to the bill, however, is that an airline company could robo-call passengers if a flight was cancelled or is running late. Or your credit card company could set up a system to automatically call you if they think someone is fraudulently using your card. Or your bank could robo-call with a message that someone changed the address or PIN number on your account.

It does not look like the bill will be passed as it is. But the proponents may make some changes and re-introduce the bill. Either way, remember that the FDCPA is still in effect. Creditors cannot harass you. Creditors can only call at certain times during the day. Creditors cannot be abusive. If you have problems with creditors, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney today.

There's not much that inspires us to act (or not act) than the threat of imprisonment. Collection agencies are using a new angle on collections that can lead to the arrest of unwitting debtors.

The Fourteenth Amendment states that "[n]o state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law". Despite the protections of this amendment, collectors are satisfying the requirements of due process by filing suit, unilaterally scheduling hearings, and when the debtors fail to appear for court, they have they ask the judge sign an order for them to appear. If they don't show up for the second hearing, the judge will issue a warrant for the debtor's "willful" non-appearance before the court. The next time the debtor is pulled over for a route traffic stop, they can be arrested.

The problem with this satisfaction of the due process requirement is two-fold. First is the fact that most collection agencies have bad or outdated addresses for debtors. People move all the time, especially those with financial troubles. If the address is incorrect, then the debtor never gets notice of the hearing. This makes the "willful non-compliance with a court order" no longer willful. If the debtor didn't know, how could they willingly not comply?

The second and perhaps more concerning problem with this methodology is that the debtor is broke. One of the victims of this scenario spent four days in jail over $730 dollars. If you have no money to pay your debts, you probably don't have the money to pay for an attorney. Lacking charity, that means that it's up to the debtor to fight for their legal right to due process.

Fortunately, we have not seen a lot of these kinds of cases here in Jacksonville, but it's impossible to tell what angle collection attorneys will try next. If you fear you may have a warrant out for your arrest for non-compliance of a court order, or fear that this may happen to you, please contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney or call us at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation.

Jeffrey Summers, of Taft, California, and Stafan Miller, of Santa Clara, California, perpetrated a scam upon multiple creditors. They formed Maxwell, Turner & Associates, a collection services company who employed around 20 people. From February 2009 until May 2010, their company did not deliver on their promises to clients. Summer and Miller would provide false information about legal proceedings and tell their creditor clients wrong contact information for debtors. Also, if the company did collect any money from debtors, it would not pass this money along to the appropriate creditor. Instead, the two would pocket the money. The scheme took in more than $2.7 million.

Summers was convicted for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and sentenced to 8 years in federal prison. Miller was ordered to serve 6 years and 9 months for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering. The two have also been ordered to repay $1,311,700 in restitution to the victims of their fraudulent scheme.

If you feel that you have been defrauded in any financial situation, you should speak with a Jacksonville Consumer Law Attorney to see if a remedy this available for you.

Filing for bankruptcy can be very confusing for those trying to go it alone. As an in-depth legal process, it is greatly beneficial to have a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney to help you navigate your way through a successful bankruptcy. Here are some reasons why:

1. There are many calculations that must be done correctly. To file for bankruptcy, you must first know which Chapter you qualify for, a Chapter 7, 13, 11 or 12. One step to figuring it out is by completing a Means Test. This is complex thing to do. You must know things which deductions you can use for food, clothing, personal care, health care, housing, and many more. You'll need to how the allowances for vehicles work and what involuntary deductions you can take. You must know how to list future debt payments correctly. And the list goes on and on. Without the proper knowledge and skill, this can be very difficult to do right the first time. If you do not do this correctly, the court could dismiss your case without a discharge, penalize you with fines or in rare cases, even send you to jail. Hiring a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney would be beneficial because someone with knowledge and experience would be handling these issues, taking the stress off of you.

2. Another daunting task is drafting a Chapter 13 Plan. This Plan is very important, as it outlines your responsibilities over a three to five year period. You must know which creditors get paid, how much is required to go to unsecured creditors, and how to allocate the Trustee's portion. You want to make sure that you get all the benefits you can through your Plan. It is not the job of the Court or Trustee to watch out for your interest, it is there job to be sure that the code is being applied properly.

3. A Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney can negotiate with creditors for you, if need be. We can dispute claims on your behalf or negotiate lesser amounts owed. If you hire us, then you will not have to deal with creditors on your own. Once creditors know that you are represented with regard to their debt, then they cannot contact you anymore. This can be a relief, especially if the creditors are calling multiple times per day or you have multiple creditors calling.

4. Time can be saved by hiring counsel. While it may only take an attorney a short time to fill out a document correctly, it might take you hours. An attorney is trained to know how to fill out the paperwork quickly and efficiently. Since you do not do this everyday, it will likely take you much longer.

These are just a few reasons to hire a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney to file your bankruptcy. There are many more. Contact us today at 904-685-1200 to set up a free consultation.

Is your credit card company driving you crazy? Think they are trying to rip you off or aren't taking your complaints seriously? The Dodd-Frank Act created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), an agency to whom you can voice concerns regarding your credit card companies. Since their opening in July 2011, the office has fielded more than 5,000 consumer complaints. Some of the most common complaints dealt with collection practices, debt protection services, account closures, identification theft, fraud, and fees.

After a complaint is filed, the CFPB acts as a go-between in order to resolve the issue between you and your credit card company. So far, approximately three quarters of the complaints have been either partially or fully resolved by the credit card company. The rest are either still under review or there was no relief found.

Consumers can submit their complaints either online with Consumer Finance's Government Site or by calling 855-411-CFPB (855-411-2372). In the near future, CFPB will be fielding complaints for all kinds of consumer financial products, including mortgages and other loans.

If are having some of these issues with a credit card company or any other financial company, don't hesitate to contact a Jacksonville Consumer Law Attorney at 904-685-1200 to discuss your options.

Jacksonville has plenty of options when it comes to payday loans, be it "Check 'n Go" or "Advance America", you know they're all over town. A relatively new study out of Vanderbilt University and the University of Pennsylvania suggests that payday loans may actually cause bankruptcies.

Paige Marta Skiba and Jeremy Tobacman both have doctorates from esteemed establishments (UC Berkeley and Harvard respectively) and a 57 page collaborative work titled, "Do Payday Loans Cause Bankruptcy?" attempts to prove that these loans, despite only being for amounts around $300, do in fact cause an increased probability of filing bankruptcy.

The statistics they give are quite telling, for instance, the interest rates given on payday loans are often quoted as being small because they're based on a few days or weeks, however when you amortize a 18% loan over two weeks out to a per annum (yearly) basis, the total interest percentage is actually 468%. It's these high interest loans that Skiba and Tobacman say force some people to file for bankruptcy.

If you find yourself habitually taking out "Payday loans" and can't seem to get out of the hole, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney or call us at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation.

Imagine that you're a single woman who has some unpaid debt but like everyone else you're just trying to live your life and get by. Perhaps one lonely evening you create a personals ad on an online dating service. Soon you are happy to get a response from a young man who asks you to meet him. You prepare for the date, show up on time and he shows up too. You order drinks, then food and then he declares that he is in fact a debt collector for the company you owe. He tells you that you need to pay your debts, gets up and leaves.

Does this sound impossible? Well it isn't. In fact, someone seeking help with creditor harassment described a very similar situation to me just yesterday. This behavior comes out of left field for creditors as it requires more time and resources than we'd expect from a creditor. It also appears to violate the Fair Debt Collect Practices Act (FDCPA) as creditors cannot use deceptive means in an attempt to collect or enforce a debt.

If you think that a creditor is doing something unethical in an attempt to collect a debt, it may be illegal. Contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer or call us at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation.

Sometimes debts that are supposed to be 'dead and gone' don't stay buried. These debts are nicknamed, "Zombie Debts". With the difficulties in the economy, debt collectors are being more creative with their collection attempts.

A Zombie debt is one that shouldn't be collectable. It's been paid, discharged in bankruptcy or was never valid to begin with. The debtor thinks the debt has been disposed of but some day, often years later, a collector sends a notice. Then it begins again.

Sometimes creditors sell the rights to collect on a note that has already been paid, other times creditors simply make mistakes. Either way, average people shouldn't have to deal with it. If a creditor starts calling about a debt that you don't think you owe, contact a Jacksonville Creditor Harassment Attorney or call us at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation. Typically, there is no cost to the debtor as these cases are usually dealt with on a contingency fee basis.

Did you know that in the state of Florida it is a violation of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA) section 559.72 (8) for a creditor to swear at you or a family member?

This protection exists even if the collector is from out of state as all collection agencies are required to register with the state of Florida before contacting it's citizens in an attempt to collect a debt.

If you live in Florida and a creditor does contact you using profane or vulgar language, you can sue them under the FCCPA. If you would like to discuss the quality of your case and see what we might be able to do for you, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer or call us at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation.

With more than 800 million active users, it's no surprise that creditors are using the social networking site to contact debtors in attempts to collect monies owed. One Florida woman from St. Petersburg Florida received a friend request from a creditor using a fake name. Once she accepted that request her telephone number and 'friends' contacts were made available to the creditor who then contacted her family regarding her debts.

Similarly, a Chicago case dealt with a man who was 'friended' on Facebook by a young woman in a bikini. Once he accepted her request she posted on his public wall, "Pay your debts, you deadbeat."

Although these situations were found to be violations of the Florida Consumer Collection Protection Act (FCCPA), that hasn't stopped creditors completely. A report out of Great Britain has shown that their Office of Fair Trading is now working to implement laws to protect debtors from creditors taking the same actions in their country. A 59% increase in new complaints about debt collecting has been reported, some of which is probably linked to Facebook activities.

If a creditor is using means to contact you which you think may be illegal, please contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer or call us at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation.

UPDATE

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has agreed to ban debt collectors who have been using social-networking sites to hassle and embarrass people to pay the debts.

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), a debt collector cannot communicate with any person other than the you without that your permission. There are some exceptions, such as situations if you gave permission to the collector to speak to other people or when the debt collector is speaking with your attorney.

A debtor cannot tell your neighbor that you are behind on your mortgage without your prior permission. If this has happened to you, it is a violation of the FDCPA and we may be able to sue the creditor on your behalf.

If you think that a creditor is doing something unethical in an attempt to collect a debt, it may be illegal. Contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer or call us at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation.

If you have filed a bankruptcy in Jacksonville and have had debts discharged in the Florida bankruptcy court, a creditor cannot make an attempt to collect on that debt. If the creditor does, they are likely violating 11 USC §524. §524 serves as an injunction preventing the creditor from contacting the discharged debtor. This is similar to an injunction in family law commonly known as a Restraining Order. However, while a violation of a Restraining Order can lead to imprisonment, violation of a bankruptcy discharge injunction often leads to money being awarded to the client.

Discharge violations occur often and are sometimes overlooked by clients who just want to move on with their lives. The amount of money a client can be awarded depends on the severity and frequency of the collection attempts. Generally, the cost to bring an action against the creditor is paid for by the money collected from them. That means that a client could pay nothing out of pocket and could still walk away with cash.

If you are being contacted by a creditor who should have been discharged in your bankruptcy and would like them to stop, please contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer or call us at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation.

If you would like to file for bankruptcy, come in and speak with our Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney during a free consultation. Call 904-685-1200 to schedule an appointment that is convenient for you. During the consultation, the attorney will discuss your particular situation. Next you need to fill out a bankruptcy questionnaire, which will aid us in drafting your bankruptcy schedules. You will be given this questionnaire at your consultation and can fill it out at your leisure. Before we file for you, you will need to complete your credit counseling. There are many different online sources that offer this service. If you supply them with our fax or email address, they will send over a certificate after you have completed your counseling. After we have drafted your schedules, you need to review them to make sure that they meet with your satisfaction. Then we can file your case!

The process is designed to be convenient and as seamless as possible. Contact our Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer today to get started!