PA Credit Card Laws

What can a collector do to me?

Greg Artim — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:44:44 +0000

This is the number one question at my law office right now, everyone wants to know what the creditor can do to them. I usually do not answer this question until I ask several of my own questions first. Who is pursuing you? That is the most important quesiton that I ask in every case. If the answer is ” a collection agency” or “A debt buyer”, then I do not ever answer the client’s initial quesiton of “what can they do to me” because it will never matter. If you are being sued by a debt buyer, then you MUST hire a consumer attorney, whether its my firm or another firm, because you are very likely to prevail in court and then it will never matter “what they can do to you”, as they will not be able to do anything after we beat them.

Now having said that, not every case that my office handles is a winner. There are times when an original creditor will beat us and the question “what can they do to me” has merit. The first thing is that if you do not file an appeal, their judgment can become final in the Court of Common Pleas. That judgment will accrue interest at the rate of 6% essentially forever. After judgment, they can attempt to garnish a bank account, if they know where you bank, and if the account is not a spousal account (spousal joint accounts cannot be garnished by a collector unless the judgment is against both husband and wife… this protection applies to ALL spousal assets). The collector can also try to place a levy on your personal property (to expose it to public sale) but this route is taken in less than 20% of all judgment cases, in my opinion.

The collector CANNOT garnish wages in PA for this type of debt. That being said, they can garnish a bank account that has wages in it. Once a wage is deposited into a bank account, it is no longer a wage.

The collector can also send out what are called “Discovery requests” in the form of interrogatories. These are questions asking you to list all of your assets. Unfortunately, you must answer these questions or you can be subject to sanctions from the court. Once the creditor learns of any assets after using these forms, they can try to execute on these assets using a Sheriff and a Writ of Execution.

This is pretty much the gamut of what we see being done by collectors. If you are facing a credit card or other collection lawsuit, please contact my office for a free consultation.

Brachfeld Law Group

Greg Artim — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:41:13 +0000

Have you received a letter from Brachfeld Law Group? We have come across a few of these recently, and we have discovered that some of their letters violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. We have discovered that their initial letter to alleged debtors fails to include language that is required under 1692(g) of the FDCPA , informing the debtor that any disputes regarding the validity of the debt must be in writing. The failure to include this language is a clear violation of debt collection laws.

If you have such a letter, you must act quickly. Fax a copy of the letter, front and back and the envelope that it came in to 412-386-3184. Please be sure to include your contact information (email address, phone number) so that we may get in touch with you.

We never charge upfront fees on FDCPA claims because we simply don’t have to. The FDCPA has a fee shifting provision that requires the debt collector to pay our reasonable attorney fees when we are prosecuting an FDCPA claim.

District Justice vs. Court of Common Pleas

Greg Artim — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 19:02:08 +0000

I get asked quite often about the difference between the District Justice and the Court of Common Pleas. The differences are many. The most important difference is that the District Justice is an elected official. Anyone can be a District Justice, that is, anyone who can win the election. In most instances, District Justices ARE NOT attorneys. There are a few who are attorneys, but I would estimate that less than 10% are attorneys. The District Justice claim is capped at $12,000. If your claim is over $12,000 then you must proceed to the Court of Common Pleas. Claims at $12,000 or below may be filed in either court. The proceedings in front of a magistrate are usually very informal. Rules of evidence are followed, but to a lesser degree in many instances.

The Court of Common Pleas is divided into two divisions — Arbitration and regular court. Arbitration is mandatory for all claims that are $$25,000 or less (this number varies from County to County, but $25,000 is the norm). At arbitration, your case is heard by three attorneys picked at random from the community who act as judge and jury. In regular court, a Common Pleas Judge will be assigned to your case.

Portfolio Recovery Associates – Who are they?

Greg Artim — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:35:00 +0000

We have seen a surge in recent lawsuits being filed by Portfolio Recovery Associates. Portfolio Recovery is a large company whose sole business is to purchase allegedly delinquent credit card accounts for pennies on the dollar and then try to collect on the full amount. The most recent data that we have seen shows that Portfolio is now purchasing bad debt for 1.75 cents on the dollar. A great price for them, don’t you think? Generally, after purchase, Portfolio will send a letter to you (they are required to do this by law, but they do not always do it) and/or they will call you. They do not want to sue you, they want to collect money from you, and they hope that you will voluntarily pay them. A lawsuit will occur if you do not. I have not seen many instances where Portfolio sells its accounts to other purchasers, so if they obtain your account, you either pay them or they will sue you.

That may scare most people, but it shouldn’t scare you. If you are here reading this, then you are smarter than most of the general public. It means that you are doing research, and that is a good thing. It also means that you are doing research in the right place, which is even better. The truth of it is that a lawsuit filed by Portfolio Recovery Associates in Pennsylvania should not scare you. It should concern you, sure, but it should not scare you.

When Portfolio purchases these accounts, in most instances they do not obtain the documentary evidence that they need to prevail against you in a court of law. Their business model is based on 3 things: 1) they acquire the accounts cheaply; 2) they assume that many people will be frightened and will pay them voluntarily; 3) they assume that you are not smart enough to contact and/or hire an attorney.

Our New Associate

Greg Artim — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:49:01 +0000

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.

Credit Card Lawsuits – What NOT to do!

Greg Artim — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 03:07:25 +0000

The sheriff arrives at your door with papers, or, the mailman asks you to sign for a certified letter. Uh oh, you have just been served with a credit card lawsuit. What do you do now? Let’s start with what you should NOT do… with number one on the list being: ignore the lawsuit. You can’t pretend that you didn’t receive it, and you cannot hope that it will go away on its own, because it won’t. Number two, do not call the creditor. This is a huge mistake that many people make. You are not a negotiator, (well, chances are that you are not a negotiator) so you shouldn’t speak to the creditor (in addition, you might be better off defending the lawsuit than negotiating it). Number three, do not call a debt settlement company. As we have mentioned in other posts, every single debt reduction or debt settlement company that we have encountered has either been in a best case scenario a company that grossly overcharges and in a worst case scenario a complete scam.

So what do you do? Call a consumer attorney. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why this isn’t everyone’s first choice. My office offers a free initial consultation on a credit card lawsuit, as do most other reputable consumer law firms. Let an attorney who deals with this sort of issue on a daily basis review your lawsuit. I will tell you if you should defend the case, negotiate, or take another action. Certain cases should absolutely be defended, and others absolutely should be negotiated. A good consumer attorney can usually make this judgment in a few short minutes. Take the time and contact our office or the office of another consumer attorney if you are faced with a credit card lawsuit. 412-823-8003 or 1-888-536-6644 for a free consultation.

District Justice Lawsuits

Greg Artim — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 19:59:21 +0000

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.

Super Lawyer! Rising Star 2011

Greg Artim — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 02:20:35 +0000

Morrow and Artim, P.C, is pleased to announce that founding partner, Gregory T. Artim, Esquire has been named to the Pennsylvania Rising Stars list as one of the top attorneys in Pennsylvania for 2011. No more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected to the list.

Super Lawyers, a Thompson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a rigorous multi-phased process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area.

The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers magazines and in leading city and regional magazines across the country. Super Lawyers magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law. For more information about Super Lawyers, go to superlawyers.com.

The first Super Lawyers list was published in 1991 and by 2009 the rating service had expanded nationwide. In February 2010 Super Lawyers was acquired by Thomson Reuters the world’s leading source of intelligent information for business and professionals.

Debt Settlement Companies and Lawsuits

Greg Artim — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 19:22:45 +0000

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.

LVNV Goes Down!

Greg Artim — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 19:09:04 +0000

Justice has finally been found for one Washington County, PA client of ours. LVNV sued our client, Mr. G, on an old WalMart account. LVNV was asking for approximately $4500 in damages in the lawsuit. At the arbitration hearing, LVNV presented approximately 1 years worth of old statements. They did not produce a signed agreement, or any agreement for that matter, and they didnt provide any real evidence that they had purchased Mr. G’s alleged account. Despite this lack of evidence, the Arbitrators ruled that Mr. G owed $2250 to LVNV. Our educated guess is that the Arbitrators simply were not familiar with basic contract law… To that end, we filed an Appeal for Mr. G because we knew that LVNV didnt have any other evidence. At the bench trial, LVNV again came in with the same lack of evidence, but this time, they included a few “Affidavits”, wink, wink, that alleged to support the sale of the accounts. These “Affidavits” didnt support anything, they were vague and incomplete, and they referenced other documents that were not presented at trial. I felt bad for the attorney who was representing LVNV, he is a very nice man who is forced to handle cases where he only has about 30% of the evidence that he needs to prevail. Anyways, long story made short, we won on appeal, complete judgment for Defendant.