Due Process and Collections Litigation At some point, most businesses, especially those involved in interstate or international transactions, are going to have to sue someone to collect an overdue bill. When dealing with a debtor that resides or does business primarily in another state, one critical issue to consider will be: can I sue the […]
Selling a Debtor’s Property
A Dramatic and Effective Remedy – That Should Rarely Be Used Usually, as soon as a judgment is entered against an individual, the first question a creditor asks is, “Can I force her to sell her house?” If your judgment debtor owns property, it is by far the most tempting target for enforcement, especially if […]
Convenience Fees and Collection Costs
Do Your Standard Practices Violate the FDCPA? It’s such a standard business practice we generally don’t think twice about it anymore: when making a payment, if the payer wishes to use a credit card or check-by-phone, she can expect to be charged a “convenience fee”. These fees can be a flat amount, or calculated as […]
Why John Oliver Is Wrong About Debt Collection
Debt Buyers and Bad Actors Should Not Define an Industry More and more Americans turn to comedy shows for news in addition to entertainment. These shows make plenty of jokes, but they also claim to present facts, presumably accurate, in a journalistic way. While not always a problem, Last Week Tonight’s recent episode on […]
Judicial Reference: An Enticing Alternative to Arbitration
This firm has long enthusiastically supported the use of arbitration clauses in contracts for the extension of credit, and arbitration clauses have been extensively utilized and litigated throughout the United States. However, many collection professionals are unaware of an alternative to arbitration available in California: Judicial reference. The Basics. California Code of Civil Procedure, Sections […]
Arbitration Update
This office has long enthusiastically supported the use of arbitration clauses in contracts for the extension of credit. Arbitration favors the creditor in several ways: disputes are more quickly and cheaply resolved, and it offers the parties more control over how the dispute will be handled. Although arbitration provisions have recently come under fire from […]
Judgment Collection: Taking It All Back
The Challenge of Judgment Collection Debtors can avoid a creditor for a long time. Repeated, but failed, promises to pay, increasingly unbelievable excuses, and simply ignoring the creditor are all tactics debtors employ to delay collection. It can be remarkably frustrating. But, if a creditor is persistent, vindication will come in the form of a […]
Can I Pull a Debtor’s Credit Report?
Imagine that a document exists that gives you a debtor’s financial history, addresses and phone numbers, outstanding and disputed debts, and many other salient facts about your debtor’s financial health. There is, of course: the debtor’s credit report. However, given the power of this document, access is limited and protected by California and federal law. […]
Trial in Collections Cases
The goal of any collections professional, including lawyers, is to collect the claim with as little time and cost as possible. The creditor must constantly make the calculation: is the additional time and money I’m going to spend on this claim worth the increased return? This calculation becomes most intense when considering trial in collections […]
Corporate Status Can Be a Debt Collection Issue
Who Owns This Debt? A client recently placed a substantial commercial debt for consulting services with my firm. Upon contacting the debtor, I found that the debtor had beaten us to the punch: They had filed a Complaint for breach of contract to preempt my client’s collection activity. In such a situation, unless the debtor […]