Fair Debt Collection - California Lawyer

New FDCPA Case Filed Against Wolpoff & Abramson and Palisades Collection

My firm has filed a new case against Wolpoff & Abramson, LLP and Palisades Collection, LLC alleging violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the California Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  The case was brought in the United States District Court (Northern District of California) in Oakland and is Case No. C07-03264.

The lawsuit alleges that the Wolpoff and Palisades obtained a default judgment without actually serving my client with the summons and complaint or giving him any notice.  My client successfully moved to vacate the default judgment and then after my firm became involved, Wolpoff and Palisades voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also alleges that a Wolpoff employee continued to insist that the judgment was in effect after the judgment had been vacated by the Court and made threats to garnish my client's wages.  The lawsuit also alleges that Wolpoff telephoned my client's spouse at her place of employment pretending to do an "employment verification" on my cliente in order to intimidate my client into paying the alleged debt.

Credit expert and consumer advocate Bud Hibbs has information about Wolpoff & Abramson here, which he names as one of America's worst debt collection companies, and information about Palisades Collections here.  If you are sued by Wolpoff & Abramson, or suspect they have violated the law in the manner in which they are attempting to collect an alleged debt, do not hesitate to obtain a free consultation with a consumer attorney.  California residents can email me (psmith@paulsmithlaw.com) or telephone me at (858) 679-3396.  Residents of other states should visit the website for the National Association of Consumer Advocates to find an attorney in your state.

My Firm Defending Collection Case Brought By First Resolution Investment and Winn & Sims

My firm has accepted defense of a collection case brought by First Resolution Investment Corporation (allegedly as successor in intererst to Unifund CCR Partners who was allegedly the assignee of Chase Manhattan Bank USA).  First Resolution is bringing the lawsuit via the law firm (actually debt collectors) Winn and Sims.  The case is in San Diego Superior Court and is Case No. IC881247.

If sued by a debt collector, you should immediately consult with a consumer attorney (these cases are often defensible).  Do not delay, as failure to respond within 30 days usually results in a default judgment being entered against you, which is what most debt collectors are primarily seeking.  Obtaining a quick judgment may allow them to garnish wages or bank accounts, or put liens on any real property you own.  Consumers in California should feel free to email me (psmith@paulsmithlaw.com) or call me (858-679-3396) to obtain a free consultation.  Consumers outside California can use the National Association of Consumer Advocates to find an attorney in your state.

Consumer advocate and credit expert Bud Hibbs has information on Winn and Sims as well as First Resolution Investment Corporation here. 

New FDCPA Case Filed Against Creditors Financial Group LLC

My firm has filed a federal lawsuit against Creditors Financial Group LLC for violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the California Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  The lawsuit has been filed in the Northern District of California in the Oakland/Alameda district.

The lawsuit alleges that Creditors Financial Group's employees would frequently telephone my client, even after my client sent them a cease communication letter exercising his right to prevent the calls under the FDCPA.  The lawsuit alleges the phone calls would sometimes occur at a rate of 20 per day, and at odd hours such as 6:45 a.m. on a Sunday.  The lawsuit also alleges that the employees would yell, scream, use profane language, and berate my client, and threaten that my client would go to jail if he did not pay.

The lawsuit also alleges that Creditors Financial Group telephoned my client's sister up to 20 times in one day, insisting that my client's sister was actually his wife and making comments about my client's sexual orientation.  They again threatened to her that my client would be going to jail.

The lawsuit also alleges that Creditors Financial Group spoke with my client's partner, screaming at him, berating him, harassing him, using extremely profane language, and making extremely profane remarks about my client's sexual orientation.

The lawsuit seeks at least $100,000.00 in actual damages plus statutory damages, attorney fees, and costs.

Consumer advocate and credit expert Bud Hibbs has information about Creditors Financial Group that you can read by clicking here.

If you think a debt collector may have done something illegal in pursuit of an alleged debt, do not hesitate to consult with a consumer attorney.  California residents feel free to contact me for a free consultation by email or by telephone at (858) 679-3396.  Consumers outside of California should visit the website for the National Association of Consumer Advocates to find a consumer attorney in your state.

Judge Vacates Asset Acceptance Default Judgment

A San Diego Superior Court judge has granted my motion to vacate a default judgment obtained by Asset Acceptance through the law firm Bidna & Keys.  Bidna & Keys unsuccessfully fought the motion, which argued that my client had never been served with the summons and complaint.  Bidna & Keys claimed a process server did serve my client, but the judge was swayed by the sworn declarations of both my client and his co-tenant.

Debt collectors file an incredible amount of lawsuits against debtors every day, many of which are never properly served on the consumer-defendant resulting in default judgment being entered.  Many consumers do not even learn about the lawsuit until they get a notice of wage or bank account garnishment.

If you are served with a lawsuit, be sure to immediately take action to respond by consulting with a consumer attorney.  Likewise, if you learn of a judgment entered on a lawsuit for which you had no notice, you should also consult with a consumer attorney.  California consumer can contact my office for a free consultation.  Consumers outside California should visit the website for the National Association of Consumer Advocates to locate an attorney in their state.

Consumer advocate and credit expert Bud Hibbs has information on Asset Acceptance here.  Bud names Asset Acceptance as one of America's worst collection agencies.

Judge Sets Aside Wolpoff & Abramson Default Judgment

A California judge in Orange County's Superior Court has granted my client's motion to set aside a default judgment obtained by Wolpoff & Abramson in 2005 (Orange County Superior Court Case No. 05SL02226).  The judgment was obtained via a petition to confirm an arbitration award obtained by Wolpoff & Abramson via the National Arbitration Forum, but my client was never actually served with the petition/lawsuit.  Instead, Wolpoff & Abramson served a person living at my client's former address.

Default judgments are routinely obtained by debt collectors, sometimes despite improper service of process.  It is very important that, upon learning that a judgment has been entered, a consumer immediately explore options for setting aside that judgment.  California consumers should feel free to contact my office for a free consultation (email me by clicking here, or call 858-679-3396).  Consumers outside California should visit the National Association of Consumer Advocates website to locate a qualified attorney in the state of residence.

For more information about Wolpoff & Abramson's tactics, visit the website of consumer advocate and credit expert Bud Hibbs by clicking here.  Bud names Wolpoff & Abramson as one of America's worst collection agencies.

Palisades Collection and Wolpoff & Abramson Dismiss Collection Lawsuit

A long road for my client has ended in Palisades Collection, L.L.C. and its attorneys (fellow debt collectors) Wolpoff & Abramson, L.L.P. dismissing their collection lawsuit against him that was filed in the Solano County Superior Court demanding $7,242.73. 

Wolpoff & Abramson obtained a default judgment without my client's knowledge.  My client made a motion to set aside the default judgment, which was granted by the court despite Wolpoff & Abramson's opposition.  Ultimately, after receiving my client's written discovery requests Palisades Collection and Wolpoff & Abramson dismissed the lawsuit, over one year after it had been filed.

This case is another reminder that default judgments are often taken against consumer defendants in debt collection lawsuits.  If you find out about the lawsuit after default has been entered against you, you may be able to have the court set aside the default judgment. 

Consumer advocate and credit expert Bud Hibbs has information about Palisades Collection, LLC that you can read by clicking here. Bud also has extensive information about Wolpoff & Abramson that you can read by clicking here, and indeed Bud ranks Wolpoff & Abramson as among the ten worst debt collection agencies.

Always consult with a consumer attorney if you are sued by a debt collector.  California residents can contact me for a free consultation.  Consumers outside California should visit the National Association of Consumer Advocates to locate an attorney. 

Unifund CCR Partners and CIR Law Offices Dismiss Collection Lawsuit

Unifund CCR Partners, through their attorneys (fellow debt collectors) CIR Law Offices, LLP (attorney Michael Kahn), sued my client in Fresno County Superior Court, demanding $9,891.69.  My client engaged me to defend the lawsuit, and I filed an Answer and appeared at the Case Management Conference.

I also served written discovery on Unifund CCR Partners, demanding that they respond to questions under oath about the alleged debt and produce documentation that would properly evidence the debt.  Shortly after serving the discovery, I received a telephone message from Aimee Morris at CIR Law Offices stating that they are dismissing the case.

You can click here to read about what consumer advocate and credit expert Bud Hibbs has to say about Unifund CCR Partners, whom he ranks as among the very worst debt collection agencies.

Remember, if you are served with a collection lawsuit, do not ignore it.  You have a limited time to respond, or the court will enter a default judgment against you, which may entitle the collection agency to garnish your wages and bank accounts or enter liens against your property.  California residents feel free to contact me for a free consultation.  Consumers outside California should visit the website for the National Association of Consumer Advocates to locate an attorney in your area.

Worldwide Asset Purchasing and Rory Clark Dismiss ANOTHER Collection Lawsuit

Debt collection agency Worldwide Asset Purchasing, LLC, through their attorney (debt collector) Rory W. Clark, filed a debt collection lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court against my client demanding payment of $7,399.02.

My client engaged my firm to defend the lawsuit.  We responded to the lawsuit, and served "discovery" demanding that Worldwide Asset Purchasing answer questions about the alleged debt under oath, and produce any documentation in their possession that evidenced the alleged debt.  Rather then respond, Worldwide Asset Purchasing and Rory Clark dismissed the lawsuit.

If you are sued by a debt collector, do not delay.  You must respond to the lawsuit or the debt collector will obtain the court's default judgment against you, which may entitle them to garnish your wages and bank accounts as well as put liens on any real property that you own.  California residents can contact my office for a free consultation.  Otherwise, contact the National Association of Consumer Advocates to locate an attorney in your area with experience in litigating against debt collectors.

For further information about Worldwide Asset Purchasing, you can read what consumer advocate and credit expert Bud Hibbs has to say about them by clicking here.

Rory Clark and Worldwide Asset Purchasing Dismiss Collection Case

Worldwide Asset Purchasing filed a collection case against my client in California Superior Court in San Diego through the Law Offices of Rory W. Clark.  My office filed an Answer asserting various affirmative defenses and served written discovery on Clark's office seeking documents that relate to the debt and written answers under oath about the debt. 

Rather then respond to the written discovery, Clark's office has filed a dismissal of the case.

Consumer advocate and credit expert Bud Hibbs has information about Worldwise Asset Purchasing here.  If you are sued by a debt collector, be sure to contact a consumer attorney familiar with debt collection.  California residents can contact my office, and residents of other states can locate an attorney through the National Association of Consumer Advocates.

Arbitrator Rules Against Unifund, Unifund Dismisses Collection Lawsuit

Debt collection agency Unifund CCR Partners filed a collection lawsuit against my client seeking to collect on an alleged credit card debt.  Unifund was represented by Kenneth J. Miele of the debt collection law firm Kenosian & Miele, LLP.  The case was filed in the Superior Court of California in the County of Riverside.

The judge sent the case to judicial arbitration, where the arbitrator found that Unifund had not responded to discovery and therefore could not produce documents at this stage of the proceedings.  Having no admissible evidence to present, the arbitrator denied Unifund's claim and ordered it to pay all my client's statutory costs incurred in the lawsuit.

Unifund, undeterred, then filed a Request for Trial de Novo.  However, after some elapsed time Unifund eventually gave up and dismissed the lawsuit.

Consumer advocate and credit expert Bud Hibbs names Unifund the 4th Worst Debt Collector in America.  Please visit Mr. Hibbs's website entry on Unifund for detailed information on this collection agency.  If you are sued by Unifund or any debt collector, consult an attorney!  California residents can contact my office, and non-California consumers can find an attorney through the National Association of Consumer Advocates website.