Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

Consumers in Oak Park, Illinois and across the country are struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. Many have lost their jobs, and some are considering the possibility of consumer bankruptcy . When you are already struggling with substantial debt, enduring abusive debt collection practices can be devastating. Debt collectors are required to abide by the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), but many debt collectors violate federal law. According to a recent news release from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the FTC in conjunction with “more than 50 federal and state law enforcement partners,” initiated a “law enforcement and outreach initiative to protect consumers from phantom debt collection and abusive and threatening debt collection practices.” Taking Enforcement Actions Through Operation Corrupt Collector The newest initiative from the FTC and its partners is called Operation Corrupt Collector, and it “includes five FTC law enforcement actions,” which incl...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently ruled in favor of a consumer in a case concerning the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Horia v. Nationwide Credit & Collection, Inc . (2019). The Seventh Circuit’s decisions govern cases in Oak Park and throughout Illinois, so it is important for consumers to know how the Court ruled in this recent case. In short, the Court determined that a consumer was permitted to bring a second FDCPA claim against a debt collector for failing to notify a credit agency that the claim was disputed. Why is this case significant for debtors’ rights ? The consumer previously filed a claim against the debt collector for the same issue (but for a different debt), and the claim was settled and dismissed with prejudice. While the debt collector argued that the consumer was trying to obtain “multiple recoveries for a single kind of wrong,” the Court agreed with the consumer. We will tell you more about this case and its implication...

Over the last year, we have discussed the case of Taggart v. Lorenzen (2019) and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to consider whether a creditor can be held in civil contempt for attempting to collect a debt after the bankruptcy court issues a discharge order in a consumer bankruptcy case. The U.S. Supreme Court recently released its decision in this case, and the decision was unanimous. Writing for the majority, Justice Breyer clarified that a creditor can be held in civil contempt only in situations in which there is “ no fair ground of doubt as to whether the order barred the creditors conduct.” The Court went on to clarify that the holding means that “civil contempt may be appropriate if there is no objectively reasonable basis for concluding that the creditor’s conduct might be lawful.” As you might realize from reading this language from the case, the Court’s decision is friendlier to creditors in situations involving bankruptcy cases where the creditor continues t...

When debt collectors contact consumers about debts they owe, the debt collectors are prohibited from using deceptive practices under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in order to convince consumers to pay any debts that they owe. According to a recent report from CNBC , the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently filed a claim against a debt collection company, alleging that it “violated federal law by falsely representing to consumers that its attorneys were meaningfully involved in preparing the collection lawsuits against them.” Between 2014 and 2016, the debt collection company, Forster & Garbus, allegedly filed more than 99,000 lawsuits against consumers. While the debt collection company is based in New York, the CFPB’s decision to file a claim makes clear that debt collection companies that falsely inform consumers that attorneys are involved in filing lawsuits—when there are not actually attorneys involved—may have engaged in deceptive practices...

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) currently limits when debt collectors can make calls to debtors and, in some cases, where those debt collectors can attempt to make contact with debtors. For example, if you ask a debt collector to avoid calling you at work, the FDCPA says that the debt collector must abide by your request. In addition, debt collectors are not allowed to call at any time of day. Debt collectors are prohibited from calling you at unusual or inconvenient times, which include anytime before 8:00 a.m. and anytime after 9:00 p.m. However, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) believes that more restrictions need to be in place to protect debtors from harassment and abuse by debt collectors , according to a recent article in The New York Times. Proposed Rules Would Restrict Number of Phone Calls from Debt Collectors One of the most significant of the proposed rules concerns the number of times that a debt collector can call a debt. According to th...

When you are struggling with debt , or when you first begin to take on more debt than you can manage, you might be wondering about how much time passes from the stage of debt collection to repossession, to a claim being filed against you, to the possibility of consumer bankruptcy . In other words, what is the typical timeline for consumer debt, and for substantial debt that ultimately results in personal bankruptcy? A recent article in Business.com discusses the debt timelines, and we want to provide you with some additional information about how this timeline usually works. While the following is a general timeline for thinking about debt and bankruptcy, it is important to recognize that each consumer’s situation has its own set of facts, and nobody has the same exact timeline. However, it can be helpful to understand the steps in the process of debt collection, and specific timetables for certain actions under the law. You are Struggling to Make Payments on Your Debt This Month T...

Many Oak Park residents have struggled with debt at one point or another, and many continue to face seemingly constant calls from debt collectors . In some cases, debt collectors may be violating the terms of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), even when debtors legitimately owe money, by harassing debtors, calling at odd hours, threatening or intimidating debtors, and using other unlawful tactics. In other situations, debt collectors engage in unlawful behavior by attempting to collect on debts that the person being targeted does not actually owe, or attempting to file claims to collect on debts that have been time-barred by the Illinois statute of limitations. When you already are struggling with debt and attempting to get on top of your monthly bills, having to deal with debt collectors can add enormous stress to your day-to-day life. A recent article in U.S. News & World Report provides some important tips for dealing with debt collectors. Understand Who is Att...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) supervisory and enforcement authority is one of the ways that consumers in Oak Park, Illinois and throughout the country are protected by unfair and deceptive debt collection practices . However, according to a recent article in The Hill , the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a bill that aims to limit the CFPB’s power and the reach of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). What do debtors need to know about the bill and the ways it could affect debt collection practices in the U.S.? Limiting the Scope of the FDCPA and the CFPB We noted that the House bill could limit protections that are currently in place for consumers when it comes to debt collection. More specifically, the proposed legislation, H.R. 5082 or the Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2018 , “would exempt debt collection attorneys from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and preclude the Bureau of Consumer Financial P...

Earlier this year, we discussed plans within the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to hire private debt collection firms in order to track down delinquent student loan debtors. However, according to a recent article in U.S. News & World Report , the DOE “may sever ties with private debt collection firms.” What does this mean for student loan borrowers, and will it have any impact on debt collection practices ? Potentially Good News for Federal Student Loan Borrowers The news that the DOE may cut ties with third-party debt collection companies could be good news for federal student loan borrowers who are currently in default. According to the article, consumer advocates have emphasized that debt collection tactics for past-due federal student loans have been problematic in many ways. In perhaps the least harm—albeit harmful nonetheless—debt collection methods, collectors have not given borrowers clear information about alternatives that could be available to help t...

Many unscrupulous debt collectors violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by harassing consumers and making fraudulent claims about debts that are owed. In numerous debt collection scenarios, the individuals on the receiving end of debt collection calls and other forms of contact never owed the debt in the first place. For other consumers, it is important to know that the statute of limitations may have passed on the debt, which means that the debt collector cannot file a claim in order to recover the debt. Although the statute of limitations does not change the fact that a consumer may owe the debt to a creditor, it does prevent a debt collector from taking action against a consumer after a specific period of time. In other words, a consumer should not need to worry about being the subject of a debt collection lawsuit once the limitations period has run out. This is also known as a time-barred debt. However, there are things that a consumer can do to reacti...