Questions and Professional Answers

• Collection Fee

  How many times can a company charge a collection fee? For example charging $50 collection fee then charging late fees, then charging a collection fee again but still charging late fees. I have checked the federal debt collection laws but nothing states about a collection fee. Please advise. This is for maintenance fees in Florida on a timeshare which was paid but I am still being charged an additional $50 collection fee.

  • Re: Collection Fee

    While I am not admitted to practice in Florida and while you have not given us facts to make a reasonable determination as to which state's law may apply, you should consider having an attorney review the contract and law with you. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act applies to debt collectors (the collection company, which is different from the creditor). Collecting unlawful fees may constitute fraud, etc., and/or may also be a crime. Good luck.

    Cary Moseley
    Law Office of Cary Powell Moseley, PLLC
    916 Main Street, Third Floor
    Lynchburg, VA 24504

• Credit Collection Fraud

  How do I stop a collection company from pursuing the collection of a ficticious debt. When requested to substanciate the collection amount, they did not and cannot provide support for the claim amount, but are still threatening to report it on my credit reports if I do not pay. The Creditor is in California, the collection agency is in Philadelphia.

  • Re: Credit Collection Fraud

    your best route here would be to mail a cease and desist letter accompanied by a validation of debt letter as well, both carbon copied to the FTC and respective attorney general's office. this should stop the unscrupulous creditor "dead in their tracks". if you would like our law office to do this for you, contact us directly.

    H.M. Torrey
    The Law Offices of H.M. Torrey
    800 West El Camino Real, Suite 180
    Mountain View, CA 94040

• Compliance third party collection by collector

  I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON FINANCE AND COLLECTION MY OWN FOR LONG PRRIOD OF TIME. NOW IAM WORKING THIRD PARTY COLLECTION.IAM VERY MUCH FAMILAR WITH ALL SMALL CLAIMS.BUT ON THIRD PARTY COLLECTION,I CAN NOT USE SMALL CLAIMS.HOW I CAN RETAIN SOME LOW COST LAW FIRM AND WORK ON THIRD PARTY COLLECTION AS A COLLECTION AGENCY. Thank you Sincerely Moe

  • Re: Compliance third party collection by collector

    if you would like to contact us directly with the following, we may be able to legally assist you with your needs here:1) what exactly would your daily, weekly or monthly legal needs be more or less from the law firm that you decide to retain, as well as what type of "low cost" retainer amount would be within your legal budget for these needs?2) the city you currently reside or do business, as well as your direct contact information if you would like a free phone consultation regarding everything mentioned within your inquirey here.we look forward to speaking with you and helping you any way we can possibly thereafter.

    H.M. Torrey
    The Law Offices of H.M. Torrey
    800 West El Camino Real, Suite 180
    Mountain View, CA 94040

  • Re: Compliance third party collection by collector

    Search for collection attorneys in your area and discuss it with them. If you have it in just one area, might be harder if it is all over. If you find one attorney in your area you and that attorney can work out a simple program for the attorney to accept and process the cases, thus allowing a reasonable fee.Joel Selikwww.SelikLaw.com

    Joel Selik
    www.SelikLaw.com
    914b North Coast Highway 101
    San Diego And Las Vegas, CA 92101

  • Re: Compliance third party collection by collector

    There should not be any reason you cannot use small claims court in your collection activity, so long as the amount is not over $5,000.00. You simply have the third party file the lawsuit in their name, then fill out a form which states that you are their representative for that particular lawsuit.If you need to establish a realtionship with an attorney, there are a number of ways of doing so. One such method is to simply look through the yellow pages, pick an attorney, call them and discuss your needs with them. You can also seek referals from your business associates, or you can always call your local bar association and speak to their lawyer referral section.

    Roy Hoffman
    Law Offices of Roy A. Hoffman
    13800 Heacock Street, Suite C126
    Moreno Valley, CA 92553-6264

• Collection charges

  I recently received letter from collection agency requestiong payment of a delinquent student loan. This collection agency is charging me $1100 collection fee. Is this legal in the state of California to charge such astronomical fees?

  • Re: Collection charges

    I cannot understand from your e-mail how you can be charged such a fee. If you fax me to 714 363 0229 all of the documentation and letters that you have, I will call you as soon as I received these items and provide you with free consultation.

    Larry Rothman
    Larry Rothman & Associates
    1 CITY BOULEVARD WEST, SUITE 850
    Orange, CA 92868

  • Re: Collection charges

    That does not sound legal, but we need to know more. Who is the collection agency and how are they denominating the charges?

    Alexander Trueblood
    Trueblood Law Firm
    10940 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1600
    Los Angeles, CA 90024

  • Re: Collection charges

    No it is not

    Ken Koury
    Kenneth P. Koury, Esq.
    22425 Ventura Blvd., #286
    Woodland Hills, CA 91364

  • Re: Collection charges

    Under virtually no circumstance is that high a charge enforceable. Only a reasonable fee can be charged, if they are incurred by your lender. Whether or not you are obilgated to pay any collection fees depends on what the terms of your agreement with the lender are. You'd better read what you signed to get the loan.

    Sheldon G. Bardach
    Law Offices of Sheldon G. Bardach
    1305 Via Zumaya
    Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274-2821

• Collection Fees

  If I have a client sign an agreement for services and one of the conditions states that 33% but no more than 33% will be added to any unpaid balance if turned over to a collection company and the collection company adds a % fee without our knowledge, which inturn exceeds what was stated on agreement, Can client file a law suit? and if so, can we file suit with collection agency for wrongful collection? This is pertains to business to business debt collection.

  • Re: Collection Fees

    Did you add more than 33% to the outstanding invoice? If not, then you've not breached your contract. Did you warn the collection agency that you had a cap on the collection? If you did, they may be in the wrong.Usually, though, the agency is not bound by your cap on the debt; they just can't demand more than your stated amount for repayment but attorney fees, etc. are added to that if it goes to litigation.

    Peter Bradie
    Bradie, Bradie & Bradie
    6606 FM 1488, Suite 148-363
    Magnolia, TX 77354-2544

• Got a collection notice 3 1/2 years later

  Just got a collection notice for my divorce proceeding 3.5 years later. I fired my attorney for being neglignet and took things into my own hands. The collection letter says that they have been trying to reach me, but this is the 1st form of communication I had with them. Are they still liable for collection after 3.5 years? The letter is also a fraud for saying that they attempted to contact me. FYI my credit is over 720 and had no issues with a collection agency for over 10 years.

  • Re: Got a collection notice 3 1/2 years later

    The statute of limitations is 4 years on a written contract, which means the creditor has 4 years from the date you stop making payments to sue you. So, the creditor still has some time left. As to the issue of credit reports, there are a bunch of laws which creditors and credit reproting agecies are supposed to follow--but never do. To keep your credit score from being damaged, you most likely will have to file a civil action.

    Robert Mccoy
    Law Office Of Robert McCoy
    204 N. San Antonio Ave.
    Ontario, CA 91762

• Collection of a debt through bankruptcy

  I was in a dispute, with an attorney I retained to settle a divorce, regarding charges. He concurrently filed for bankruptcy due to illness. A collection agency was retained by his estate's BK attny to collect. An attny on behalf of the collection agency filed and was granted a judgment against me to collect. The ill attorney's BK has subsequently been adjudicated. The collection agency (who has not proven to me that they ''own'' the collection) is still pursuing the collection. Q: Does the collection agency have the right to continue to collect if the BK has been adjudicated? Under what laws/actions/circumstances do they have to continue collection? Am I still obligated to pay? If not, how do I resolve the judgment? Rectify my credit w/the reporting agencies? Thank you for your help. Kind regards, MH

  • Re: Collection of a debt through bankruptcy

    It would be important to know the type of bankruptcy the attorney filed and the exact current status, because that would determine the legal standing he has to pursue the claim or to hire someone to collect it for him.The judgment/claim against you is an asset of the banruptcy estate. If the asset was properly listed and this was a chapter 7 case, then the Chapter 7 trustee would be the person to have standing unless he/she abandoned the asset back to the attorney/debtor.If you call me next week with debtor's name and case number, I can look up the records online and provide some further guidance on how to proceed.

    Carl Starrett
    Law Offices of Carl H. Starrett II
    1941-C Friendship Drive
    El Cajon, CA 92020-1144

  • Re: Collection of a debt through bankruptcy

    When the attorney filed for bankruptcy, all of his debts and all of his assets became the "bankruptcy estate," which is then administered by the trustee. I will assume that the attorney filed a Chapter 7 because you stated that the estate has already been administered and because had the divorce attorney filed a Chapter 13, the money that you owed to him would be factored into the bankruptcy analysis for the Chapter 13 plan purposes. [Chapter 13 estates are not liquidated by the trustee and the trustee does not pursue assets.] In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, all non-exempt assets are then liquidated by the trustee and the proceeds are used to pay the creditors of the bankruptcy estate.In your case, whatever amount you owed to the divorce attorney became an asset in the bankruptcy estate. The trustee retained his/her own attorney to collect against you. A lawsuit was filed against you and a judge made the decision that you owed money to the bankruptcy estate. The trustee can employ agents to act on his/her behalf, and in your case, the trustee employed the collection agency. Whether or not the collection agency will continue to pursue you depends on your own financial situation. However, keep in mind that the trustee most likely has investigated you to determine if it was worthwhile before he/she filed to collect the money you owed your divorce attorney.

    Gloria Gong
    Law Office of G. Gong
    PO Box 1168
    Bakersfield, CA 93302-1168

  • Re: Collection of a debt through bankruptcy

    You have quite a few questions that are best answered over the phone. However, in a nutshell, an original or third party creditor must validate the alleged debt in which they are attempting to collect, upon the written request of the debtor at issue under FDCPA laws. If you would like a free phone consultation, contact us directly.

    H.M. Torrey
    The Law Offices of H.M. Torrey
    800 West El Camino Real, Suite 180
    Mountain View, CA 94040

• being sued by collection agency

  I received several collection letters from a texas collection agency. I requested a validation every time within the 30 day period. The collection agency never validates. I just receive yet another letter from a different attorney stating the same thing. My question is if the law firm doesn't validate after you request it, can that win a law suit for me

  • Re: being sued by collection agency

    Probably, if you word your pleadings correctly.

    Theresa Langford
    Langford Law Firm
    PO Box 866354
    Plano, TX 75086-6354

• Statute of limitations on a collection

  I just recieved a collection letter in the mail reguarding a bounced check from 1996 that I do not remember. What is my recourse to dispute this collection attempt and is there any statute of limitations on a collection that is 6 years old?Thanks,Josh

  • Re: Statute of limitations on a collection

    On a written contract, the statute of limitations is 4 years. It is 2 years on an oral contract. You may have a law suit against the Collection Agency for violation of the Fair Debt Collection Act if the statute of limitations has run and they knew about it. I would be glad to provide you with free consultation if you fax me all documentation you have to 714 363 0229.

    Larry Rothman
    Larry Rothman & Associates
    1 CITY BOULEVARD WEST, SUITE 850
    Orange, CA 92868

  • Re: Statute of limitations on a collection

    You are past the statute of limitations for a law suit, but not for them to collect. They can keep it on your credit report for 7 years.

    Ken Koenen
    Koenen & Tokunaga, P.C.
    5776 Stoneridge Mall Rd., Suite 350
    Pleasanton, CA 94588

• collection law

  Could someone please tell me where I can find the law regarding collecting an old debt. I can't find any where that states after 6 years from the date of the last collection attempt. A collection agency is taking me to small claims court in November regarding a debt that was last attempted collection was Oct. 31, 1997.Thanks,Cindy

  • Re: collection law

    In Massachusetts, look at Chapter 260 of the General Laws. The legislature has a web site: go to https://www.state.ma.us/legis/laws/mgl/gl-260-toc.htmGood luck!

    David Baker
    Law Office of David Baker
    236 Huntington Avenue, Room 306
    Boston, MA 02115