Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New York

Re: Debt collector's disclosure of information

From what I read, everything appears in order.

Good Luck

RRG

Re: Debt collector's disclosure of information

Possible DAMAGES for EMOTIONAL DISTRESS under FDCPA 813 (15 USC 1692k).

As an additional point which may be of interest to you:

No, generally speaking, the debt collector cannot disclose that information to an employer just to verify employment, it is generally ILLEGAL under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) which is section 1692 of Title 15 of the U.S. code (15 USC 1692), which is U.S. federal law, provides as follows under FDCPA Section 805 (15 USC 1692c) (COMMUNICATION IN CONNECTION WITH DEBT COLLECTION)in FDCPA 805(b) (15 USC 1692c(b)) (COMMUNICATION WITH THIRD PARTIES) as follows: The debt collector is NOT allowed to contact your employer and disclose your debt because the employer is not included in the list below:

WITHOUT the prior CONSENT of you, the debtor, a debt collector may NOT communicate with ANY person OTHER than the debtor, or his/her attorney, or "a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law",or the creditor, or the creditor's attorney, or the debt collector's attorney.

Section 804 of FDCPA does allow the debt collector to communicate with third parties other than those listed above in order to LOCATE the debtor, (NOT to verify employment), but even then, the debt collctor "shall NOT state that such consumer owes any debt." (FDCPA Section 804(2))

I must note that there is an exception written into this law, where the debt collector can communicate with third parties not on this list without your consent if it is "reasonably necessary to effectuate a post judgment judicial remedy.

However, my preliminary research indicates that consumers have brought substantial lawsuits against debt collectors under FDCPA SECTION 813(asking for damages in the thousands of dollars, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars), where the debtor SUES the debt collection agency for, among other complaints, the debtor's emotional distress, due to embarrassment, etc., caused by the debt collector's ILLEGALLY disclosing the debt to debtor's employer.

Note also that the law firm in this case may also have violated applicable state laws in addition to violating the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Re: Debt collector's disclosure of information

You received two completely opposite comments! the first one says everything is in order and the second one says you can sue for THOUSANDS! Which one is correct? I think the first one is probably more correct than the second one. Sorry. Under the law, a "debt collection agency" (in this case the lawyers for your creditor who obtained the judgment) have every right to contact your employer to verify employment and have to demonstrate their interest in you (the judgment--in order for the employer to respond). It is not an embarassment, its the law. Garnishment requires contact with your employer and a claim that a judgment is entered. Want my advise? Since you said you did not have any prior notice of the matter YOU SHOULD NOT SIGN ANY SETTLEMENT STIPULATION BUT GO TO COURT ASAP AND FILE A MOTION TO HAVE THE JUDGMENT VACATED. It is called an OSC. ASk or the PRO SAY clerk for help and they will assist you in filling our the forms. You simply state you don't recall owing any money at all and you were not aware that a law suit was comnenced against you. IF you are successful, they cannot go to your employer (no judgment and no garnishment) and you can negotiate a better settlement. If you win your motion (and if you are breathing you should win) the court will ask that you file an ANSWER to the COMPLAINT which was supposedly served on you by the lawyers...The complaint alleges you owe money...but they have to PROVE that at trial if you insist you don;t owe it. Most of what you owe is probably interest and late charges and in many instances the JUDGE will pressure the attorneys to cut you a deal that removes most of those charges..remember, if you filled out an application for credit you probably agreed to those late charges and high interest...and even if you did not sign an agreement, the fact that you used a card in the first place means you ageed to the terms...GO TO COURT, file a motion to vacate the judgment and then make a deal...if you already signed a stipulation of settlement, its too late.