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New rules were announced last year for the manner in which the three main credit reporting agencies (CRAs) will handle unpaid medical debts. The CRAs are still in the process of implementing the new rules, and the overhauling of their practices will reportedly continue through 2017. One of the most significant changes is the fact that consumers nationwide, including here…
Federal and Ohio laws against abusive debt collection practices have been in place for long enough that you might think that anyone tempted to engage in such activity would be deterred by them, but as recent news events demonstrate such a belief would be wishful thinking. In fact, the problem remains serious enough that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has…
Debts, creditors and collection agencies have one thing in common: ignoring them is not a sound strategy to make them go away. A frustrated creditor may turn to a collection agency; and a frustrated collection agency may turn to litigation in an attempt to make you pay a debt. Sometimes you may receive a warning that a lawsuit is imminent,…
As a general rule it is not advisable to attempt to “hide” from your creditors if you are experiencing financial difficulties, because Ohio law provides them with mechanisms to seek out what money you do have on hand or in the form of wages to recover what they are owed even if you refuse to acknowledge them. A frequently-used tool…
“Night of the Living Dead,” “Dawn of the Dead” “The Walking Dead,” what do these have in common with debt collection? Irritating zombies. Some consumers’ credit ratings are being consumed by zombie debt. And one U.S. Senator from Ohio wants to do something about it. Senator Sherrod Brown has started a campaign to make banks and buyers of debt accountable…
When consumers in Ohio fall behind on their bills, one route creditors can take to recover the debt is through wage garnishment. This may be a term you have heard on television or in movies, but how does it actually work? Creditors cannot simply take money from you. There is a process that they must follow. Whether you are a…
Owing debt you can’t pay is a bad enough feeling. But when you are being harassed to pay debt you’ve already paid off, debt that has been discharged in bankruptcy, or even debt you never owed at all, the feeling goes from bad to frustrated and even angry. These feelings are now being compensated by one of the biggest names…
Anyone who has ever watched television or dealt in-person with debt collectors in Cincinnati knows how sneaky they can be. Generally, there are certain rules set out by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that creditors must follow when calling about a debt. These dictate what they can and cannot say. But what if you never knew about the debt…
In an earlier post, we discussed how the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act protects you from creditor harassment. Essentially, the FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from engaging in harassing, deceptive, or unfair practices in order to collect from you. The FDCPA also prohibits debt collectors from trying to collect on time-barred debts. According to Ohio law, debt collectors have eight years…
Some Hamilton County, Ohio, residents live with the daily fear that their home, car or even their furniture and personal belongings will be taken away from them to satisfy a consumer debt on which they have defaulted. If you default on payments, your creditors have the legal right to take you to court to obtain a judgment that authorizes them…