With stories like the following, it’s small wonder that the United States Federal Trade Commission reportedly receives more complaints about debt collectors than any other industry.
Here’s what happened to one woman. A collection agency filed a lawsuit against her, alleging nonpayment on a $10,000 Chase credit card debt. She never received any notification of the litigation; in fact, she first got wind of it when a sheriff’s letter reached her, informing her that the money was going to be taken from her pay. It turns out that a judge issued a default judgment against because she never showed up in court.
Here was the problem. For starters, the woman never owned a Chase card. Moreover, documentation from the collection company was flawed, with even the woman’s name being wrong. Further still, the Social Security number listed on relevant documentation was incorrect.
Incensed, the woman filed a lawsuit herself, prevailing against the collection agency.
Increasingly more people across the country, including in Florida, may need to do the same thing, with close assistance from a proven and aggressive debt relief attorney. Incoming evidence from myriad sources and studies indicates that debt collectors have seized upon lawsuits as a preferred vehicle to collect debts — even when their information is incorrect and a presumed debtor owes nothing.
That is happening with increasing frequency, with stories from across the country indicating that many people being sued don’t actually have debt obligations and are not being duly notified of the litigation against them.
The attractiveness of litigation to an unscrupulous debt collector — even when information is incorrect — is understandable. In many instances, defendants don’t made court appearances, and harried judges sometimes issue default judgments rather than taking precious time to scrutinize documents.
One wronged defendant calls such tactics “an injustice,” which is manifestly true and a material understatement. Similarly treated persons can fight back by securing knowledgeable help from a proven debt relief lawyer.
Source: Huffington Post, “Debt collectors have figured out a way to seize your wages and savings,’ Hunter Stuart, June 2, 2014
