The Law Firm of Morrow and Artim, P.C. would like to announce that Attorney Matthew E. Becker has joined the firm as an Associate Attorney.  Mr. Becker’s practice will focus on Criminal Defense, Consumer Protection, and Credit Card Defense.  He believes that aggressive representation is the best way to defend his clients’ rights and money.  Before joining the Pennsylvania Bar, Mr. Becker attended the West Virginia University College of Law where he concentrated his studies on the practical side of the law.  Aside from competing in mock trials and earning the top score for Appellate Advocacy, Mr. Becker interned at The Harrison County Public Defenders’ Office in Clarksburg, WV where he defended indigent Criminal clients from Preliminary Hearings to Trials.  He then worked in the West Virginia University College of Law Clinical Law Program where he continued to represent clients with legal issues both in and out of the courtroom.

Today, Mr. Becker brings his wide range of experience to better serve those who need an attorney.  He has successfully represented clients at Preliminary Hearings, Magistrate Hearings, Arbitrations, and Trials.  He prides himself on giving his clients the attention they need to fully understand the often confusing legal process and their options at every step of the way.  If you are looking for an aggressive attorney to fight for you, give Mr. Becker a call.

There has been a growing trend with the collection agencies towards filing their credit card lawsuits at the local magistrate or district justice.  My belief is that this is a cost savings measure on their part.  Statistics show that approximately 85% of the people who are sued by collection agencies on credit card debt do not defend themselves.  The cost savings for the collection agencies works like this:  At the DJ level, there is no hearing unless the defendant notifies the court that they intend to defend the case and would like a hearing.  In other words, if the plaintiff (collection agency) files a lawsuit at the local DJ, and the defendant fails to respond, then the DJ automatically enters judgment against the Defendant, without even having a hearing.  The plaintiff company does not need to send a representative/attorney to court in this instance.

Our best advise, obviously, is to have a consumer attorney representing your interests even at the district justice level, whether its our firm or another firm.  As we have mentioned in previous posts, collection agencies are rarely prepared to do battle at the district justice level and our chances of success are extremely high.  If you are facing a collection agency or credit card lawsuit, please contact our office at 412-823-8003 or 1-888-536-6644 for a free case review.

In previous posts, I have advised all of you to avoid Debt Settlement Companies like the plague.  In my experience, I have found that they either are outright scams, or, they simply charge way to much for the service that they provide.  Lately, we have found a new issue with a few of these companies and it has really been making me angry.  We are only 11 days in to this month, and I have already received 3 calls from potential clients who allowed a debt settlement companies to prepare or assist in preparing a response to a lawsuit.  In each case, I had to explain to the potential client that the responses that they allowed the debt settlement company to prepare were hurtful to their lawsuit.  All three of these clients likely would have won their lawsuits had they hired us from the start.  Unfortunately, they allowed these companies to prepare the responses, which were improper and/or inadequate, and which put the client in a disadvantaged position.  The sad part is that the responses were prepared by attorneys for the debt settlement company.  (Note: not any old attorney can prepare a response to a credit card lawsuit, and this is especially so when the attorney is not licensed in Pennsylvania). 

In each case, I had to advise the client that their case had been undermined by the inappropriate response of the out of state attorney that was retained by the debt settlement company.  It would now cost more in legal fees to try to correct or minimize the damage that had been done versus if they had hired us from the beginning.  The message here:  DO NOT LET A DEBT SETTLEMENT COMPANY ASSIST YOU IN PREPARING A RESPONSE TO A LAWSUIT.

2010 was a prettygood inaugural year for Morrow & Artim.  On the plus side, we won almost every single case that we handled. We helped consumers successfully defeat the claims of collection agencies to the tune of about 25-30 victories per month.  We saved those consumers over $1,000,000 in allegedly defaulted credit card debt. 

On the negative side, we lost 2 credit card cases to original creditors and we lost 2 credit card cases to collection agencies/junk debt buyers.  Both of the collection agency lawsuits were appealed.  We won one of those cases on appeal and the other one is still pending.  UPDATE:  We won the second case on appeal. 

In terms of the FDCPA claims that we agreed to represent clients on, every single case that Clay Morrow handled  either ended in a settlement or in a courtroom victory.  Kudos to Clay for a successful 2010.

In terms of the Lemon Law claims that we handled, every single case that we worked on either resulted in a settlement or a courtroom victory with the exception of one single case.  Our lone Lemon Law defeat occurred because our client simply didnt want to pursue his claim any further and failed to show up for the scheduled hearing.

The advertisements for debt settlement companies are all over the radio and television.   “Information the Credit Card companies don’t want you to know” and  “You are entitled to lower your credit card debt by 70%”.  “We can lower your payments substantially and cut your debt in half”.  “Be debt free in less than a year”. The words fraud and scam come to mind when I hear these phrases.

If you have ever heard the saying that its too good to be true, then it likely is. These ads fit that description exactly. You are not “entitled “ to lower your credit card debt under any law  that I am aware of.  “We can cut your debt in half”, well, only in very extreme and lucky circumstances.  Cutting the debt to 70% is a more reasonable goal (unless you are dealing with a debt buyer and not the original creditor. You can get a better reduction, but you should not pay anything to them) and this sort of reduction only applies where you can pay a lump sum or make substantial monthly payments.  “Be debt free in less than a year”? Only if you file bankruptcy or hit the lottery.

The truth of the matter is that these claims are false, misleading, and in my opinion, fraudulent. These claims are merely a sales pitch to get you to hire a debt settlement company. They know that you are having financial difficulties and will do anything to get out of it. The worst part about these false claims isn’t that they can’t back them up and make them come true. No, the worst part is that they charge you an outrageous fee when you sign on with the company, usually a large percentage of the debt (I have seen upwards of 20%) and an additional monthly fee.  The fee is typically paid up front, before any creditors are paid.

Here’s how the debt settlement companies work. They promise to reduce your debt. You hire them. They arrange for you to make payments to their account. When the account builds up enough money, they contact creditors one by one and try to settle cases. To be blunt, this is a horrible idea.  What do you think is happening while you are paying into the account? The creditors are getting upset and are filing lawsuits against you, all the while, the interest continues to accrue at a rate approaching 30%.

Let’s look at a hypothetical situation. Mike owes $25000 in debt to credit card companies. He hires XYZ debt settlement company to work on his debt problems. They establish an account, he pays $500 per month to the account. Since their fee is 20% (that would be $5000 here), and they get paid first, the first 10 payments are solely to pay the debt settlement company. I have to shoot out a common sense question here, is that money well spent? How much interest accrued during that 10 months? How many lawsuits were filed during that 10 months?  Even though they may tell you otherwise, signing on with a debt settlement company does not stop a creditor from filing a lawsuit. To the contrary, it may expedite the filing of the lawsuit because many creditors do not work with debt settlement companies.

The moral of the story here is to contact a consumer attorney in your area if you are faced with credit card debt. There are a number of issues that need to be reviewed, including who the creditor is, how old the debt is, who is representing the creditor, whether the debt has been sold, on and on. Perhaps negotiation is the way to go. On the other hand, perhaps defending a lawsuit is the way to go. Bankruptcy is always an option to consider. Spend the time to consult with a consumer attorney if you are struggling with credit card debt.  Hire the debt settlement company, and you are simply burning money.

Potential Client X sent an email to me today advising that she was in trouble.  She has several credit cards in default, so she hired a debt settlement company to assist her. (This is always a HUGE mistake as all debt settlement companies are either scams or not worth the exhorbitant fees that you pay them). The company is charging her 20% of her outstanding debt and have asked her to make monthly payments of $500 into their account. Because her total debt is about $40000, their fee is going to be $8000!  (I wish that I could charge that much, but my conscience doesn’t allow me to do that).  The best part (maybe the worst part) is that the company gets its money first.  The first 16 monthly payments go to the settlement company before they do any work.  Isn’t that just great!  Of course, all of the credit card companies are going to wait this out until the company gets its fee, right? 

The sad part, if it could get any sadder, is that the company told potential Client X that the credit card companies would not sue her because they were involved now. They mentioned that if a lawsuit did come, that they would take care of it.

Well, the lawsuit from Citibank did arrive. Potential Client X notified the company and they advised her that they would handle it.  They advised her to send an extra $125 per month to make payments to Citibank.  Potential Client X complied, only to find that while the funds did go to Citibank, the debt settlement company did not respond to the lawsuit and a judgment was entered against her for the full amount plus attorney fees. They told her that they thought Citibank would like to have 6 months of payments and then they would review her case, because ” that’s how they have handled things in the past”.

This entire fiasco could have been averted if Potential Client X had contact my office, or the office of another consumer attorney, rather than the debt settlement company.  Moral of the story, all debt settlement companies are a waste of your time and money.

Even if they get a reduction of 40%

We hear about unsavory collection agencies on a daily basis. They either make illegal threats, such as wage garnishment, pressing fraud charges or jail time, or, they harass you by calling you names like deadbeat, ignorant, loser and so forth.  Then, they contact your family and friends to try to get them to pay the debt for you, or, they contact your neighbors and employer with questions about the debt. 

All of the above actions are illegal under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDPCA for short) is a federal law that governs what a debt collector may do or say when it is attempting to collect a debt.

A debt collector may not threaten to take any action that is illegal, period. In the above examples, wage garnishment is a big one that we see quite often. To be clear, a debt collector may not garnish your wages in Pennsylvania for a credit card debt. There are no ifs, ands or buts to that statement. Therefore, if a debt collector makes such a threat, it is illegal and you may have a claim against them for their unfair practices.

Again, referring to the above examples, we hear of debt collectors who contact family, friends, employers and neighbors about outstanding debt. This type of activity is usually illegal, but not always.

To explain, generally, a debt collector may not speak with or contact anyone else about your debts. For the most part, an employer may never be contacted about a credit card debt. With regards to friends, family and neighbors, the same is true but with one general exception.

If a debt collector cannot find you, they may contact others to ascertain your location and contact information.  Again, they have this permission only if they cannot find you. They may not speak with others about the nature of their business, they may not tell anyone that you allegedly owe a debt.  Their sole purpose in contacting a friend, neighbor or family member can be only to locate you.  If the debt collector has a valid address and phone number for you, they have no reason or right to contact anyone else about your alleged debt.  Such an action would be illegal.

If one of the above examples should happen to you, please know that you have rights under the FDCPA. Our firm, specifically through my partner, Clay Morrow, can bring a claim against the debt collector for its illegal activities. Generally, you are entitled to a statutory damage amount $1000 AND you receive your reasonable attorney fees for prosecution of the claim. In that regard, we do not charge an up-front fee to pursue these claims on your behalf.

If a debt collector has threatened you, or discussed your alleged debt with someone else, please contact our office right away so that we can begin a claim for you.

As of January 1, 2010 I am pleased to announce that I have formed a new partnership with one of the best consumer attorneys in Pennsylvania, Clay Morrow.  Clay and I have been working together on cases for quite some time now and we decided that it was best to form a partnership that would better serve our clients.

Clay has been practicing consumer law in PA for over 20 years now and has seen just about everything that there is to see in that arena. Clay is a member of NACA, which is the National Association of Consumer Attorneys, and is quite active with that group.

Clay will handle all claims that are filed against debt collectors. These claims are often based upon illegal threats or activities that debt collectors engage in when they are trying to collect a debt from you. Clay bases most of these claims on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) which provides consumers with an array of rights and protections. Clay is able to handle these claims on a no-cost basis, which means that you typically do not have to pay our firm a retainer to pursue an FDCPA claim against a debt collector.  Our firm will earn its fee and have it paid by the offending debt collector.

I will continue to handle the defense of collection agency and credit card lawsuits as I have in the past. What I have found in my experience in handling these matters is that there is often a violation of the FDCPA that is made either before the lawsuit is filed, or, in the lawsuit itself.

So in a nutshell, I will act as your shield in defending you, and Clay will act as your sword in attacking these violating debt collectors.

As the second largest city in Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh receives hundreds of Credit Card and Collection Agency lawsuits each week.  Because of the high volume of cases, there have been several court rulings regarding these cases, to keep an even flow and to prevent them from clogging the Pittsburgh court system.

The most important rule is the 120 rule issued by Judge Wettick.  This rule applies to credit card or collection agency cases that are defective.  (As per my other posts, almost all of these lawsuits are defective initially).  Judge Wettick’s ruling is essentially that the credit card companies and collection agencies have 120 days to correct the defects inherent within their lawsuits.  If they are unable to correct the defects, the case is dismissed (which means thrown out of court). 

If they make a minor correction, that cures a few defects, but not all of them, then objections can be filed a second time.  If this occurs, then Judge Wettick gives the collection agency or credit card company an additional 30 days to make corrections.  Typically, Judge Wettick does not afford further opportunity to these companies. 

The ruling has obvious benefits to the court system.  The collection attorneys know what they need to have to proceed with a case, and the consumer attorneys such as myself who are defending against these lawsuits know exactly how the court will rule on a given case.

I am amazed at the number of people who choose to hire a debt settlement company.  I realize that you are being bombarded with advertisements that claim that they can help, but the truth is that most of these agencies are scams, or, in a better light, simply not worth the money.

The scams are quite frequent.  I have had a number of clients contact me with the same claim, that they have paid several monthly payments, sometimes up to 18 months worth,  only to find that the settlement company has done nothing or worse, gone out of business. 

Other clients contact me and say that the settlement company did help them.  When I hear that, I always dig further.  Client X called me a few months ago and told me that a debt settlement company got a $20,000 credit card debt reduced to $12,000, which he thought was a great deal.  Then I asked him about payments and he told me that he had made 19 $1000 payments to the company.  I asked him to do the math and I could see his jaw drop through the phone.  He was charged $7000 to obtain a net  $1000 reduction on his claim.  To make matters worse, we found out that they have given him bad advice on a claim that they could not settle.  (That is why he contacted me). 

He received a lawsuit from a collection agency that the debt settlement company could not settle.  The debt settlement company advised him to send a letter to the court explained his financial difficulties.  Fortunately, he contacted me before sending the letter.  Had he sent that letter, he would have lost the  case for sure.  Instead, we filed objections to the lawsuit (for a very, very small fraction of the $7000 that he was charged on the other claim) and had the claim dismissed.

If you are facing a collection agency claim, generally the last place that you want to go is to a debt settlement company.  Call my office at 412-823-8003 or 1-888-536-6644 for a free, no obligation review of your claim.