Debt Collection Lawyer Offers Relief

There are a tremendous number of people looking for relief from debts collectors. If you are receiving threatening, persistent or scary phone calls from a collector's agency, hiring a specialist to help may be the best thing you could do with your money. Of course, no one wants to wind up owing vast amounts of money on credit cards or to lenders and most any debt collection lawyer realizes this embarrassing situation, wanting to help.

If you aren't sure where to turn for help, there are a number of avenues you can take to find the right attorney. It is extremely likely, with a slow economy, that you have a number of people in your immediate circle that have had a similar experience as you. Check in with friends and family and see if they have any advice to offer as far as hiring counsel for your situation.

You may be surprised to find that they are able to help you find someone. Many people don't realize when a friend or colleague has gone to a debt collection lawyer for help with a frustrating debts situation. Often when people do seek the help of an attorney, the attorney can work to keep their case as private as possible. Many in the community won't ever hear about it.

It would be great if you could find an attorney with experience this way. Because they come pre-approved, you can skip a lot of the groundwork. You won't have to set up a consultation with them to see if they have the right experience and attitude. You won't have to question whether or not they have a demeanor that makes you comfortable. Your friend, family member or colleague that is recommending them will have already gone through these hoops.

So, what happens if you aren't able to find someone that comes highly recommended? Perhaps you are new to a community and haven't established yourself within a circle of knowing people. Perhaps you don't feel comfortable asking your friends for advice on a debt collection lawyer. Whatever the reason, you need to start the process of finding an individual to help.

This really isn't as difficult a situation as it may seem. You can easily find a few names of individuals in your area that practice the kind of law that you are looking for. You can find names by doing a search on the Internet. Or, you can go a more traditional route and seek names from a local business guide or even the phone book. The point is you do need to find a few different names to ensure you settle on the right person.

Once you have found a few names, the rest is mostly up to you. You will need to schedule a few different appointments to discuss your concerns as well as details like retaining fees. With a little bit of time you can find the right debt collection lawyer.

Talk to a Loveland debt collection lawyer and end the harassing phone calls. To learn more, just visit: http://www.coloradofdcpa.com/.

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Indebted to Those Who Serve: Servicemembers and Debt Collection

In the year 1940, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (also known as the SCRA) was enacted into law. The intention of this act was to save military personnel from dealing with lawsuits while they were on duty. The main reason the government introduced such an act in the first place is quite simple: they want all deployed Servicemembers to be able to concentrate on their duties and responsibilities without having to deal with the stress of any kind that may be awaiting them back at home.

If you are a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, then it is in your best interest to know and understand that the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act helps to either postpone or suspend any obligations that you may have in regards to paying off particular debts. Debts that are included in this act are those that pertain to mortgages, taxes, termination of any leases and even credit card debts. The bottom line is that any debt that existed before you joined the military can be subjected to the SCRA.

One of the most important provisions in the SCRA is how it assists deployed military personnel. Servicemembers on active duty are eligible for reduced interest payments for a temporary period. Certain debt interest rates can be reduced from rates as high as 22-25% to something as low as 6%. This can amount to significant cash savings. This is applicable even if these debts have been occurred jointly with the spouse of someone in the military. Servicemembers who can apply for such an interest rate reduction are those who get called away to active duty that lasts more than thirty consecutive days. In special circumstances, this protection of the SCRA may extend to families of qualifying Servicemembers. It should be noted that this interest rate reduction is only temporary and enforceable while active duty is going on. When active duty ends, the interest reverts to the original rates.

Unfortunately, even though the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act has been in force for some time, some debt collectors still try to ignore it and prey on the families of active forces personnel to try and get the money owed. These creditors have no legal right to try and repossess any property or terminate any lease contracts or similar contracts without a court order - and that can be very hard to obtain. The SCRA provides legal protection in these cases. If you have fallen victim to unscrupulous debt collectors, then you are well within your legal rights to take the debt collection agency to court.

Sergei Lemberg, Esq. is the Principal of Lemberg & Associates, a law firm specializing in fair debt collection law, lemon law, and other consumer law.

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Can a Collection Agency Garnish My Wages? What Are My Legal Rights?

The question of the ability of a collection agency to garnish wages is one that comes up very often. Some may tell you that it's an area filled with shades of grey, and although it's surely not black and white, neither is it very complex. Collection agencies are notorius for breaking the rules, and that is particularly true when it comes to the most important guidelines which are laid out in the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collections Practices Act).

If you are not familiar with the FDCPA, although you can find recaps of it on many websites, the only truly authoritative information can be found at the Federal Trade Commisson website, FTC.gov where you will find a copy of the law along with very clearly written explanations of its many facets.

Now, to the focus of this article, can a collection agency garnish your wages? The short answer is yes they can. However, they must first go through a series of steps, all of which will provide the debtor with an opportunity to prevent it. As a consumer, you have a myriad of rights that can protect you from these types of actions. The sad truth is that the vast majority of consumers, when faced with a law suit, choose to do nothing.

Although you have legal rights in such an event, it's up to you to exercise them. Many people mistakenly believe that it's up to the court to protect them from those that violate their consumer rights. That is not the case, and it's critical to your financial well being that you understand this right away. The court is an impartial body, charged with hearing the facts of a case, and making a decision based on those facts.

When it involves a case in which a collection agency is suing you for a debt, you have the legal right to appear in court to present an affirmative defense. This type of defense can take on many different positions. The two that are most common are proving that this debt is not yours, or that the collection agency does not have legal standing to collect the debt.

Very often, in fact the majority of the time, people ignore a summons because they feel they owe the debt and it would be time consuming and pointless to appear in court. This inaction on the part of the defendant is very foolish and usually will result in the worst possible outcome. If you are employed, it is very likely that your wages will be garnished.

However, there are other factors to take into consideration about wage garnishment. Some states do not allow wages to be garnished, while others allow certain percentages.

Making an appearance in court is wise because you may be able to work out a comfortable repayment plan. Most courts are very flexible about this type of arrangement and will allow it. It may also be to your advantage to contact the collectors prior to court and see it arrangements for payments and/or settlement is possible. It will save you court costs and other fees when the court is involved.

David Miller is a freelance writer and marketing consultant. He has written extensively about bankruptcy, debt settlement, debt consolidation, credit and credit cards, collection agency abuse, consumer law, credit card defense, FDCPA guidelines and complaints, loan modification scams, and foreclosure.

He contributes regularly to financial and real estate blogs.

He currently edits several websites and is a contributing author to many of them including http://lawfirmslongisland.com/

His articles about foreclosure, debt discharge, student loan debt and many other topics in the area of bankruptcy, credit and can be found at http://lawfirmslongisland.com/ along with links to other resources which he has been a contributing author.

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