| Volume 128 Number 6 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
A debt collector may call you at work until he or she knows your employer prohibits such calls. Once to tell the debt collector the calls are prohibited, federal law says the calls must stop. Click here for more.
Honda Recalls Over 300,000 Vehicles for Parking Brake Defect
Honda recently issued a recall of 350,083 2016 Civics because of parking brake issues. Civics with the 1.5-liter turbo and 2-liter engines have a risk of the electric parking brake not engaging when the engine is turned off, leading to the possibility that the car could roll away and crash. Honda said that no accidents have occurred as a result of the parking brake malfunctioning. The issue was discovered by analyzing warranty claims. Click here for more.
Your Money
If you have students loans and are still in school, you can make payments on your loans before graduation. Many people avoid the thought of their loans until they have to make payments, usually six months after leaving school. Paying down the principal of your loans faster lowers the amount in interest you'll pay over time. For example, just $75 a month will save you $694 in interest by the time you graduate and most students are only starting to pay off their debt. There are also banks and online lenders that will refinance both federal and private student loans. If eligible, your new interest rate will be based on your debt-to-income ratio and credit score. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Voluntary language to pay off a debt in a demand letter is not misleading and thus does not violate the FDCPA. The demand letter to the plaintiff stated that the consumer has “the chance to pay what [he] owe[s] voluntarily.” The Illinois District Court reviewed the language offering the consumer a chance to pay voluntarily as being, at most, puffery and held that such statements are allowed under the FDCPA since “it is perfectly obvious to even the dimmest debtor that the debt collector would very much like him to pay the amount demanded straight off, sparing the debt collector any further expense.” Blanchard v. North American Credit Services (S.D. Ill. 2016). Click here for more.