| Volume 122 Number 2 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Many debt collectors are now buying very old debts. If the debt collector threatens to sue you for a debt that is more than four years past due, he violates federal law, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Click here for more.
Do not Buy, Sell, or Collect on these Debts
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advises you to neither attempt to collect certain debts nor try to sell certain portfolios. If you do, you will likely be violating either the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, or both. The FTC learned that portfolios of alleged payday loan debts serviced by AMG Services circulating in the debt collection marketplace are bogus. The alleged lenders are USFastCash, 500FastCash, OneClickCash, Ameriloan, United Cash Loans, AdvantageCashServices, and StarCashProcessing. Click here for more.
Your Money
In order to cut your tax bill as low as it can go, smart taxpayers think about their taxes not only when they're preparing their returns but throughout the course of the year. Most people are familiar with special types of accounts that can assist with retirement savings, such as IRAs, 401(k) plans, and other employer-sponsored retirement plans. However, there are other ways to cut your tax bill as well. For example, if you're saving for educational expenses for yourself or for a child, a 529 plan or Coverdell Education Savings Accounts both allow tax-free growth. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
The District Court for the Middle District of Florida held that debt collectors can be vicariously liable for calls made by third parties under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA"). Plaintiff alleges that calls to his cell phone with an automated dialer or a prerecorded voice made by the mortgage servicer to collect past due mortgage payments violated the TCPA. The TCPA imposes restrictions on the use of automatic telephone dialing systems and artificial or prerecorded voice messages when contacting telephone subscribers with commercial messages. The plaintiff contended that because the mortgage servicer made those calls on behalf of the creditor, the creditor was also liable for those calls. A Federal Communications Commissions ("FCC") ruling in 2008 states that "a creditor on whose behalf an autodialed or prerecorded message call is made to a wireless number bears the responsibility for any violation of the Commission's rules." Based upon the FCC ruling and existing case law, the court therefore concluded that the creditor may be held vicariously liable for the calls made by its mortgage servicer. Harrington v. Roundpoint Mortgage Servicing Corp. Click here for more.