By: Robert J. Nahoum THE PROBLEM: In New York, the quickest way for a debt collector to collect on a judgment is with a frozen or “restrained†bank account. Often, a consumer doesn’t even know he or she has been sued in a debt collection lawsuit until a check bounces or the ATM doesn’t spit out any money. The problem […]
What To Do When a Debt Collector Freezes a Joint Bank Account
How To Ensure Debt Collection Lawyers Obey The Law
By: Robert J. Nahoum Federal debt collection laws known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA for short) regulates the collection of consumer debts by third party debt collectors.  The FDCPA precludes debt collectors from using false, misleading, deceptive and harassing debt collection tactics. A “debt collector†is defined under the FDCPA as “any person who . . . […]
NY Court System Adopts New Rules For Consumer Debt Collection Cases
By: Robert J. Nahoum New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman announced that new rules have been adopted to prevent the entry of unwarranted default judgments in the 100,000 plus debt collection cases filed yearly in New York state courts. According the Chief Administrator’s office, “the new rules reflect the most comprehensive effort by a court system nationally to ensure a […]
Treadmill of Lost Wages: New York Wage Garnishment and Judgment Interest
By: Robert J. Nahoum For debt collectors, being awarded a judgment in court is the easy part; enforcing the judgment and collecting the money poses a much greater challenge. There are a variety of tools available for enforcing judgment but the most prolific may be the wage garnishment. In a far reaching report produced by NPR and ProPublica, it was […]
Subsequent Debt Collectors Must Provide FDCPA Validation Notice
By:Â Robert J. Nahoum THE PROBLEM: The debt collection industry moves fast – a debt collector calling you today may be different from a debt collector that called you the previous week trying to collect the very same debt. Â How do you know who you are dealing with? THE RULE: Federal debt collection laws, known as the Fair Debt Collection […]
A Check List of Steps For Filing an Order to Show Cause to Vacate a Default Judgment
By: Robert J. Nahoum You have just discovered that a default judgment has been entered against you by a debt collector because you didn’t answer a debt collection lawsuit.  In order to reverse (or as the lawyers call it “vacateâ€) a default judgment, you need to file an “Order to Show Cause†with the court. Here is a checklist of […]
Could Stronger State Debt Collection Laws be Coming to New York State?
By:Â Robert J. Nahoum On May 28, 2014, the New York State Assembly passed a series of bills aimed at debt collectors. Â Included in the proposed laws is an enlargement of disclosure requirements to consumers, stronger court filings requirements and in debt collection lawsuits and a mandatory statewide licensure for debt collectors. The Assembly is committed to doing whatever we […]
A Check List for Answering a Debt Collection Lawsuit in New York Pro Se
By: Robert J. Nahoum You’ve come home to find legal papers taped to your door. A closer look reveals that the legal papers are a debt collection summons and complaint – you are being sued you for an old debt.   A summons and complaint in a debt collection lawsuit must be answered and never ignored or risk the certainty of […]
Who Are Consumer Attorneys?
By: Robert J. Nahoum There are all kinds of lawyers out there: real estate lawyers, personal injury lawyers, corporate lawyers, Wall Street lawyers and consumer lawyers to name a few. The good old days of the country lawyer who did it all have given way to specializations, attorneys who focus on or discrete areas of law. If you’ve never had […]
Five Ways to Stop Debt Collector Harassment
By: Robert J. Nahoum Whether it’s mounting credit card debt, unexpected medical bills or even defaulted student loans, when you fall behind on your bills, the debt collectors will harass you. Understandably, anyone who has dealt with debt collectors feels abused, harassed and bullied. This is due in large part to the heavy-handed tactics of the debt collection agents. Most […]