Government Bill Collectors OK To Keep Pursuing Families Of Fallen Soldiers

When is giving all not enough? When you are killed in the line of duty and government bill collectors come after your surviving family members.

A bill in the Senate to protect families of fallen soldiers has been stopped by Senator Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii.

Legislation had been introduced that would change Title 38 of the U.S. Code and forgive the debt owed by men and women who had lost their lives in combat. Debt like that of an Army soldier killed by a sniper's bullet. He owed the federal government $389 in "education overpayment." His family paid after they buried him.

Another soldier, an Army sergeant, attended two different colleges on VA loans. He was killed in a bomb explosion while serving in Iraq. At the time of his death, he owed $2,282 in student loans. His wife and four children were asked to repay the government after they were told of his death. They did.

They shouldn't have had to.

The money owed Uncle Sam by soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in a war that costs billions, couldn't have mattered that much. It couldn't have mattered enough to disturb grieving families at the worst point in their lives.

The Combat Veterans Debt Elimination Act would relieve these families of the burden.

Senator Akaka should let the bill go forward for a vote on the Senate floor. Then he should apologize to the families who have already paid enough.

FTC Negligence Pays Off For Abusive Collection Agencies

The Federal Trade Commission enforces the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. It is supposed to regulate collection agencies so that they do not abuse consumers or try to collect from the wrong people.

To call the FTC blind as a bat, however, would be unfair to blind bats.

In its Annual Report 2007: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the FTC noted it received more than 69,000 complaints from consumers for abusive practices by debt collectors. The FTC admitted this is likely a tiny percentage of the consumers who are actually being victimized by abusive and fraudulent collection agencies.

The FTC will only bring suit against a debt collector where it has determined there is a culture of harassment within a particular company, which is affecting numerous consumers. The FTC noted that in 2006 it only brought one suit and settled two others.

Though it is a noble effort to report abusive debt collectors to the FTC, they will not help you. Your rights under the FDCPA will only be protected by you or you and an attorney in a local or federal court.

The FTC report explaining you are on your own is here.

Predatory Lenders Have The Feds As Partners In Crime

Former crime busting NY Attorney General, and current NY Governor Elliot Spitzer, explains the collaboration between the feds and predatory lenders that worked to defeat state consumer protection statutes in today's Washington Post.

Happy Valentines Day, Mr. President.

Spitzer explains how the administration is conducting its war to prevent states from protecting their residents. The weapon of mass consumer financial destruction employed by Washington is called the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

More...

Failure To Prosecute Usury Laws Allows Payday Lenders To Steal Social Security Checks

The latest crime from the loan sharks, aka: the "payday" loan industry, is targeting recipients of Social Security and other government benefits, including disability and veteran's benefits to steal their entire incomes.

Although the law prevents the government from sending a recipient's benefits directly to lenders, and courts don't allow garnishments of Social Security, the loan sharks are arranging for borrowers to have their benefits checks deposited directly into bank accounts the loan sharks control. The banks immediately transfer the government funds to the lenders. The lender then subtracts debt repayments, plus fees and interest, before giving the recipients a dime. The loan sharks end up collecting annual interest of 400% or more, and gain total control over the Social Security recipients' finances, sometimes leaving them with nothing.

More...

Bad Credit Could Mean No Health Care

The Fair Isaac Corporation is collecting payment history information from large hospitals across the US.

The Fair Isaac Corporation is the company that developed the FICO credit score for lenders.

A new tool nicknamed “Med-fico” is in development, and would help hospitals determine a patient's ability to pay before they were treated. Your credit could soon affect your access to medical care.

MORE...

Private Student Loans Setting Lifetime Debt Traps

Private student loan lenders are bombarding families of high school students with offers at much higher rates than federal student loans. Some private loans include variable rates that escalate like adjustable-rate mortgages, as wells as daily-compounding interest that begins while the students are still in school.

According to Student Loans for Higher Education a California Research Bureau (CRB) report, practices in the student loan industry are ensnaring some students and their families into an insurmountable lifetime of debt. And under federal law, students and their families cannot discharge student loan debt, even if individuals file for bankruptcy and even if the loans could only be described as predatory.

Credit Card Rates Increase As Interest Rates Are Cut

The Federal Reserve's recent cut of interest rates was meant to help the economy and distressed Americans. But some people are finding their credit card rates going up instead.

Dramatic jumps in interest rates have occurred even when a customer is paying on time, like in the case of Carita Marie Gamble.

More...

Collection Agencies Hounding Identity Theft Victims

On most days Nelda and Alton Luster get an overdue notice from a credit card company or a nasty telephone call from a collection agency even though it isn’t their credit that’s in shambles. The bills are addressed to Alton Luster’s sister, Eva Jewell Rich.

And Eva Jewell Rich is a victim of identity theft.

More...

Class Action Suit Launched Against Predatory Mortgage Servicer Homecomings Financial LLC

Homecomings Financial LLC, a subsidiary of GMAC, is often in the news. And the news is rarely good. Recently Homecomings failed to pay an insurance policy for a customer even though that customer's homeowners insurance premium was escrowed and included in their mortgage payment. It wasn't an issue until the family's house was destroyed by an electrical fire and the family became homeless when they found out their insurance had been canceled for non payment.

Now Homecomings is in the news again because the law firms Mehri & Skalet and Sprenger + Lang have filed a multi-claim, nationwide class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota against them. The complaint alleges Homecomings, a loan servicer handling nearly 800,000 mortgages, has engaged in a nationwide scheme of illegal, unfair, unlawful and deceptive business practices that violate both federal and state laws in the servicing of home-secured loan transactions, including using deceptive fees to deliberately put borrowers into default in order to maximize profits.

More...

Collection Agency Sued For Ripping Off Child Support Money

The state of Virginia is suing Supportkids Inc., a private collection agency based in Texas, to prevent the company from stealing money meant for children in the Commonwealth.

The theft works like this:

1) Supportkids, Inc. sends wage-withholding notices to employers of noncustodial parents. In these documents, the company refers to itself as “Child Support Enforcement,” a name easily confused with Virginia’s “Division of Child Support Enforcement.”

2) Supportkids, Inc. unlawfully directs the employer to send payments directly to the company’s office in Texas, rather than to Virginia’s DCSE.

3) Supportkids, Inc. then takes a 34% fee from the payment before forwarding what's left of the payment to the custodial parent, regardless of whether it has undertaken any work on behalf of the parent to collect such payments.

More...

Top Collection lawyer Targeted By State Bar

Eugene, OR lawyer Derrick McGavic may have his license revoked by the bar for violating professional standards. Separately, McGavic faces new federal lawsuits alleging he ran afoul of the 1978 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by trying to squeeze debtors.

McGavic has already settled six federal lawsuits in the last two years after allegedly threatening defendants with jail time and sued people who didn’t actually owe money.

More...

NCO Financial Systems: Racketeering For Fun And Profit

Kim Mullen filed for bankruptcy in 1993. The bankruptcy code promises a fresh start and she has made good use of hers. She has achieved a good credit rating.

However, despite federal law, NCO Financial Systems contacted her in December, saying she had an unpaid card balance of $5,655 from 1992 (prior to the bankruptcy) and so much interest she had to pay NCO $19,400.

The demand from NCO shattered Mullen.

More...