Debt collection broken

let's take a look

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Legislators pledge to fix state's 'broken' debt collection system

A day after a federal agency declared America's debt collection system "broken," two Minnesota lawmakers pledged to write legislation to better protect consumers.

By CHRIS SERRES, Star Tribune

A day after a federal agency declared America's debt collection system "broken," two Minnesota lawmakers pledged to write legislation to better protect consumers who are sued or jailed over their debts.

Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park, and Rep. Joe Mullery, DFL-Minneapolis, said Tuesday that they intend to address a growing public concern -- highlighted in a continuing Star Tribune series, "Hounded" -- that debtors are being sued for money they don't owe and, increasingly, jailed when they fail to appear in court. Latz and Mullery plan to introduce a package of debt-collection reforms when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

The Star Tribune investigation found that the use of arrest warrants against debtors jumped 60 percent in the past four years, with 845 cases in 2009. Some debtors who were arrested said they were unaware they had been sued for their debts and were required to appear in court.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/98380794.html

Bogus Debt

Phantom debts, real anguish

By CHRIS SERRES and GLENN HOWATT, Star Tribune

Last update: June 30, 2010

The page was mostly blank. It contained only a name, three words and a series of tiny numbers. But in Minnesota's creditor-friendly court system, the page became the sole legal evidence that Darren Sabinske had defaulted on a

Citibank credit card nearly eight years ago.

Sabinske, a security technician from Albertville, was ordered to pay $7,595 to Debt Equities LLC of Golden Valley, whose business is collecting old debts. Sabinske insists he never owned a Citibank card but was soon to learn the frustration of trying to defend himself against a computer database that listed his name near that of the bank.

"All they had was a row of numbers," he said.

In the hands of the new breed of debt collectors, those rows of numbers have become gold mines. Firms with little known names, like LVNV Funding and Unifund CCR Partners, buy massive databases of unpaid debts for cents on the dollar, and then inundate courts with legal actions seeking to collect the full amount, plus interest and fees. These firms, known as debt buyers, base their claims on data up to 15 years old that can be impossible to verify.

http://www.startribune.com/projects/96995289.html

This is another example of debt collection gone awry. Anytime there is an attempt to collect a debt a debt collector is required to produce validation when asked. If they can't properly validate the debt they must cease collection activity. IF you have questions about debt validation contact credit-repair-houston.