Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

Do you have concerns about fair debt collection and protections that are in place in Oak Park to help consumers who have been subject to fraudulent debt collection practices ? According to a recent article in The Detroit News , a piece of proposed legislation by U.S. Rep. Dave Trott would amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in such a way that consumer advocates argue would harm debtors immensely. Indeed, “Drawing the ire of consumer groups,” the bill “would allow attorneys and law firms to sidestep federal law barring abusive debt-collection practices such as making false threats and pressuring people to pay debts they don’t actually owe.” To be clear, the bill would exempt lawyers from liability in certain FDCPA violation cases. It is important for the FDCPA to be a law that Oak Park consumers know is there to protect them if they are harassed by a debt collector, or given misleading or fraudulent information. To better understand what this bill aims to ...

Have you heard about allegations against National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts? Student borrowers with loans held by this creditor have made allegations about fraudulent lending and collection practices . In response to those complaints, the creditor settled with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for “nearly $19 million in penalties and borrower refunds,” according to a recent report in The New York Times . In addition, National Collegiate Student Loan Trusts “could be on the hook for millions in additional payments and forgiven loans.” And it is not the only entity that will be paying up. Transworld Systems, a debt collection company hired by National Collegiate, “will pay an additional $2.5 million.” What are some of the harmful practices in which National Collegiate engaged? What can consumers do if they have been impacted by these allegedly false and misleading debt practices ? Filing Claims Against Consumers without Proof of Loan Documents On...

It might not sound immediately obvious that your social media activity could impact your personal bankruptcy case. However, it is important to think about the ways in which your image and your lifestyle are developed on sites like Facebook and Twitter, and to take care about how you present yourself when you are planning to file for bankruptcy. Specifically, when you file for consumer bankruptcy in Illinois, you will need to give the court information about your finances. If you fail to mention certain assets, you could be accused of bankruptcy fraud . If you are accused of bankruptcy fraud, not only can you risk losing the ability to seek a bankruptcy discharge, but you could also be charged with criminal offenses. We will say more about how you should be careful on social media to ensure that your profiles do not negatively affect your bankruptcy. In the meantime, if you have questions about filing for consumer bankruptcy , you should speak with an Oak Park bankruptcy attor...

Were you the victim of an unfair or fraudulent debt collection practice over the last year? According to a recent news release from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), some of those companies will be paying substantially for harm caused to consumers. Indeed, the CFPB has recovered $14 million for more than 100,000 consumers who were impacted by illegal debt collection practices in the first half of 2017 alone. As the news release explains, supervisory actions by the CFPB “resulted in $14 million in relief to more than 104,000 harmed consumers from January through June 2017.” What are some of the illegal practices that are covered in the monetary relief? CFPB Assesses Millions for Misleading Practices The news release discusses a recent CFPB report that names some of the problems that led to the supervisory action and relief for consumers: “some banks misled consumers about checking account fees or overdraft coverage, and some credit card companies d...

Consumer protections for student loan borrowers are not just for younger adults who have graduated recently from an undergraduate institution or from a graduate program. Protection from abusive lending practices concerning loans actually extends beyond adults who have gone back to school to complete a degree or to earn an advanced degree. According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune , many senior citizens are in need of protection from harmful debt collection practices for student loans. You might be asking yourself, are a lot of elderly residents of Chicago going back to school and taking out loans? In general, the answer to that question is no. Rather, many of the older borrowers who are facing significant student loan debt have taken out the loans for their children and grandchildren. The article refers to this segment of the borrowing population as “the fastest-growing category of student loan debtors.” Do the same protections against unfair and deceptive lendin...