The new rule defines attempts to collect a time-barred debt a false or deceptive practice, forbidden to debt collectors. The new prohibition becomes effective November 30, 2021 when amendments to the rules associated with the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act become law. New rule applies to debt collectors Importantly, the FDCPA applies only to […]
How You Can Collect From The Debt Collectors
I team up with consumer lawyer Mike Cardoza to identify your rights against debt collectors and then to preserve those claims through bankruptcy. The longer you resisted filing bankruptcy, the more likely that you’ve endured harassing encounters with debt collectors. And the more encounters you have with debt collectors, the more likely that you’ve been […]
Debt Collectors Distort Law On Debts Of Spouses
Debt collectors claim you are personally liable for your spouse’s, debts. Or even for your ex-spouse’s debts. That’s a (convenient) lie. California community property law is complicated. I get it. It shouldn’t surprise me that debt collectors don’t understand community property. Or maybe, they find it inconvenient to understand. Or maybe, they deliberately distort the […]
Debt Collector Threats: Which Ones Are Real?
“What debt collector threats should people be afraid of?” was the question my friend bankruptcy attorney Cathy Moran asked. To which I replied, “Afraid of? Pretty much none of them!” Because they’re mostly all empty threats. You’re not going to jail, They are not going to come get you, Your credit is not about to […]
You Can Make Debt Collectors Stop
You can make debt collectors stop. You don’t have to endure phone calls and threatening letters. In fact, you have a statutory legal right to be free from harassing debt collection. All it takes is a letter to the collector. We’ll show you how to write that letter and exercise your right. And, if you […]
Collection Law Suits in California
A prospective bankruptcy client often arrives in my office they’ve been sued for debt and they are panicked about the consequences. Almost invariably, the client has leapt to two incorrect assumptions: the world as they know it is coming to an end; and they don’t have to do anything until the date set for the case […]
Debt Buyers Barred From California Courts
Zombie debt may have met its match. California law now bars the door to the courthouse to a debt buyer holding a claim that is beyond the statute of limitations. Civil Code § 1788.56. If the party holding the debt bought it from someone else, after the original creditor had charged the debt off of […]
5 Free Tools To Fight A Debt Collector
When a debt collector calls, the conversation often seems all too one-sided. The collector makes impossible demands. Nothing you say penetrates. Including your assertion that you don’t recognize the collector, the debt, or any legal responsibility for paying. Or maybe you recognize the debt but simply don’t have the money to deal with old debt […]
California Pulls The Plug On Debt Buyers
Up until now, old debts lived on, until the person who owed the debt pulled the plug. That’s right: it is the person who is liable for the debt who can kill the debt off, not the person to whom the money is owed. Because, at law, there’s a limit on the age of a […]
Mix Old Debts & Good Faith Payments For Bad Results
Old debts don’t live forever. The shell of the debt may hang around, like this mummy, but inside the shell, the debt is dead. But just like a bad mummy movie, old, dead debt can be brought back to life. All it takes is an attempt on your part to be honorable , or an attempt by […]
