| Volume 118 Number 4 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
I am sure you have all heard the many stories about frivolous lawsuits. Stories about people who refuse to take responsibility for their own misconduct and try to collect damages from others. What you may not have heard is “the rest of the story” Click here for more.
Credit Card Laws Save Consumers Billions
According to a report released last week by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB"), The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act has saved consumers billions in fees and penalties since it was enacted in 2009 during the financial crisis. The report indicates that the law helped consumers avoid $7 billion in late fees from 2011 through 2014, and helped them save over $9 billion in "over the limit" fees over the same period. While the law has helped, the CFPB is still concerned about risks to consumers from credit card debt collection practices. Click here for more.
Your Money
Even with the Federal Reserve set to raise interest rates, it appears that mortgage rates should remain low in the coming year. One report estimates that in 2016 mortgage rates will remain below 5%. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Fair Debt Collection Act violation occurrs when bank freezes consumers account, not went notice is sent to bank. The Second Circuit held that the district court erred in finding that the FDCPA violation “occurred” when defendant sent the restraining notice. The court held instead that where a debt collector sends an allegedly unlawful restraining notice to a bank, the FDCPA violation does not “occur” for purposes of Section 1692k(d) until the bank freezes the debtor’s account. Benzemann v. Citibank (2nd Cir. 2015) Click here for more.