Stop Debt Collectors in Virginia

Posts Tagged ‘FDCPA’

Attorney debt collectors are not exempt from the law just because they are lawyers. They actually have a slightly higher standard of care that they must engage in to comply with the law.  They must make sure that what they do to collect not only complies with the rules of collection, but also the rules of ethics.

The statute of limitations is a rule that sets the time for a someone to sue to collect. It is not a time limit to collect, or garnish, or take other collection activities, but to file the lawsuit.  And the time varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and circumstance to circumstance.  The time to sue on a credit card in Virginia is different from the time to sue on a defaulted car note in California.  Beyond that time, the debt is barred by the statute of limitations.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits misrepresenting the amount, character or legal status of a debt in an effort to collect on that debt.

But on a regular basis, they do sue on debts that are time barred.  For example, in this article, National Credit Adjusters threatened to sue on time barred debt. Here is another article on time barred debt.

When they sue, they are representing to you and the court that they have the legal right to sue.  That the time has not passed.  But if it has passed, they are making a false representation.

It is not unethical to sue on a time barred debt in Virginia.  Do not make the mistake of making a complaint to the state bar.  This is because in Virginia, the statute of limitations is an affirmative defense.  That means that YOU must bring it up to be an effective bar against collection.

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc., is happy to help consumers who have been impacted by debt collection attorneys who have sued after the expiration of the time to sue.  The facts and law vary from case to case, so it is important to contact a lawyer before the gavel falls, so if you are sued in Virginia, make an appointment to see us soon.

If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.

NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.303.0204

You can fax us: 804.303.0209

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

5310 Markel Rd.

Suite 102

Richmond, VA 23230

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is designed to protect consumers from abusive or harassing conduct, false or misleading statements or unfair act by Debt Collectors.

What is “actual damages” are available under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?

As usual, we start with the statutory definition.  Thanks to LII.

15 USC §1692k[a] says that a debt collector must pay 1- actual damages, 2- statutory damages of up to $1000.00 and 3- Attorney fees and costs.

What does this mean for you?

Attorney fees and costs. The truth is that this is why lawyers take these kind of cases at all.  The bad guy pays the fare for the cost of litigating these violations.   The courts have held that as long as we are reasonable, that the way to calculate our fee is based on the “Lodestar” calculation of the amount of time it took (assuming reasonable) and multiply that by the hourly rate (which also must be reasonable.  (see generally, Hensley v. Eckerhart, US Supreme Court[courtesy of Justia.com]).  In many states, including Virginia, it is against the Rules of Professional Conduct (rules of ethics) for us to share our fees with clients. (See RPC 1.5.), however, we are permitted to take most cases on a contingency fee basis.

Statutory damages of up to $1,000.00.  If a debt collector violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, they must pay a fine to you.  The question becomes HOW MUCH fine.  The case law on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is clear in that it does not matter if they have caused damages to you—you do not have to suffer any actual damages—in order for you to be entitled to statutory damages.  Similarly, the maximum you can recover in statutory damages is $1,000.00. You may recover less, depending on the circumstances.  The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires the judge or jury to decide on a 3 factor test of 1-the frequency of non-compliance, 2-the nature of the non-compliance and 3-the extent to which the non-compliance was intentional to determine how much of the $1,000.00 you would be entitled to recover.  However, the case law on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is NOT clear on the question of HOW MUCH.  If they violate the law in more than one way, the majority of cases say that you are entitled to one recovery no matter how many violations they commit.  PUNTIVE DAMAGES ARE NOT AVAILABLE.

Actual damages are hard to describe, they are anything that is an actual “out of pocket” expense.  Examples are

Expense of a collect phone call or text message.

Money that you pay that you do not owe

Money for a lawsuit that is beyond the statute of limitations

Fee for collection that you should not have to pay or is prohibited by law

Other kinds of damages that vary from case to case, and jurisdiction to jurisdiction

Emotional distress damages.  In some jurisdictions, you must show extreme damages, in others, only that there was some impact.  Emotional damages are very hard to value.

So, you can see, actual damages is almost anything, which makes it hard to describe.

If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.

NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.673.4358

You can fax us: 804.673.4350

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

1650 Willow Lawn Drive

Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23230

A friend of mine worked very hard to talk about the problem of debt collectors, credit reports and debt collectors.

If you have be the victim of a debt collector who has lied to you and told you that paying an old debt would improve your credit, or that they could remove the negative information, please contact us.

NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA OR FCRA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.673.4358

You can fax us: 804.673.4350

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

1650 Willow Lawn Drive

Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23230

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is designed to protect consumers from abusive or harassing conduct, false or misleading statements or unfair act by Debt Collectors.

What validation rights do you have under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?

As usual, we start with the statutory definition.  Thanks to LII.

Read the code section- 15 U.S.C. §1692g here 15 US Code section 1692g.

When the debt collector contacts you the first time, they must send a notice, called a validation notice, or 30 day letter, which gives you 30 days after you receive the letter to dispute the debt.

If you dispute the debt, they must do certain things before they get back in contact with you, but remember, if you take longer than 30 days, they do not have to do anything.  For example, if they send the letter January 1, and you don’t tell them that you dispute until June 1, they do not have to validate the debt.

But what is “validation”?  It is nothing more than confirming with the creditor that you are the correct person to collect from, and that the amount is correct.  They check just a few things.  A debt collector must contact the creditor (read here on the difference between a creditor and a debt collector), and check your name, maybe your social security number, and the balance.  That’s all they have to do.

Usually, they will send you “validation”.

On the other hand, if they fail to provide validation, and they continue to collect, they are violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Some examples where this is a violation-

1. If they don’t ever send you a letter that explains your right to dispute. This is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This is a case that is hard to prove, and in many cases, it is done by smaller debt collectors, often overseas.  They are hard to sue, even for good violations because they are hard to notify that they are being sued, and even if you do sue them, they are overseas, so your ability to collect from them is often very limited.
2. If they send you a letter, and you dispute, and they ignore your collection letter, and keep writing, or calling, etc.  This is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
3. If they send you a letter, and you dispute, and they ignore you letter, and sue (this is only possible if they sue, for example, lawyers, and debt collectors who sue in their own name.). This would be a violation.
4. If they send you a letter, and you dispute, and they see that you are a different person from the person who owes the money (eg: different name, or different social security number), and they continue to collect.  This is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

There are some notable exceptions.  The key one being check collectors who are parading as prosecutors.  Check collectors who are pretending to be prosecutors have their own special exemptions. They are not covered by any of the above IF the accounts are being actually reviewed by a lawyer in the office of that prosecutor. 15 U.S.C. §1692p

If you are contacted by a collector, you should keep track of all of the statements that he made (you can use our form or just write it down), and send them a letter asking for more information, called validation of the debt.  There is a sample here, and a dispute noting that you have a lawyer here.   Note that not all the questions must be answered.

If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.

NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.673.4358

You can fax us: 804.673.4350

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

1650 Willow Lawn Drive

Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23230

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act has some very specific ways that are expressly not permitted and a very few that are permitted.

As we have mentioned before,  a debt collector is not permitted to, in the process of collecting a debt use language that is abusive or harassing, false or misleading, or unfair or unconscionable.

But there are other things that a debt collector can do that are illegal.

Debt collectors are not permitted to contact a person at a time that they know is inconvenient.  It is presumed that 8:00 am to 9:00 pm are acceptable hours, but if you work the night shift, that is bad for you.  If you work the night shift, tell the debt collector that it is inconvenient to take calls from 8:00 am to 5:00 PM, since that is the time that you sleep. They should call from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm, since that is when you are awake.

Debt collectors are not permitted to contact a person they know has a lawyer.  There are a few exceptions, like if the lawyer says its OK, or if a judge authorizes it, or the lawyer is non-responsive.  But they have to know that you are represented by a lawyer, and how to contact that lawyer.  We always recommend that you “lawyer up” in writing.  Give them your lawyer’s name and address. If your lawyer is willing to talk on the phone, give them the phone number. But do it in writing.  But remember- we always suggest Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested.  That way you can prove that you sent it, and they received it.  A sample letter “lawyering up” can be found here.

Debt collectors are not permitted to contact a person at work, if they know that the person cannot take that type of call (collection calls, or more generally personal calls) at work. The key here is that they have to know, or have a reason to know (know or should know).  How do you tell them that you can’t talk at work?  You just tell them.  Tell them on the phone, when they call.  Tell them in writing.  Follow up your telephone conversation with a letter.  Send it Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested.

Then, track the phone calls with our call log.  If you can prove that they received your letter, and called anyway, we can help you.

If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.

NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.673.4358

You can fax us: 804.673.4350

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

1650 Willow Lawn Drive

Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23230

Last week a Jury in Dallas, Texas made one of the biggest sanctions ever in a case involving abusive debt collections.  The jury awarded Allen Jones’ $50,000 in mental anguish damages and $1.5 Million in punitive damages due to the conduct of debt collectors employed by Advanced Call Center Technologies. This story was first reported by WFAA-TV in Forth Worth. The trial was prosecuted by Dean Malone and Mark Frenkel.

Debt Collectors employed by ACCT admitted to making the calls which included the use of racial slurs, swearing, and mental harassment.  All of this was over “Zombie Debt” of $200.00 that Mr. Jones had previously paid but his creditors refused to give him credit.

Even if you may or may not owe a company money they are not entitled to berate your in their attempts to collect a debt.  By law debt collectors must treat you with:

1. Truth
2. Dignity
3. Honesty
4. Respect.

If you are receiving calls from a debt collector and he or she is saying things that

you could not “Repeat to your Grandmother” then your rights under state and federal law are being violated.  It is time to act!   

Debt Collector harassment is illegal and can be stopped  Click Here for Help.

NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers to enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.673.4358

You can fax us: 804.673.4350

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

1650 Willow Lawn Drive

Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23230

DEBT SETTLERS ARE BAD FOR YOU.  DEBT MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS ARE DEBT SETTLEMENT IN DISGUISE.

All references to code sections are courtesy of the Legislative Information System of Virginia, and are provided by leg1.state.va.us.

Debt Management and Debt Settlement is regulated by the Virginia Bureau of Financial Institutions.

Recently, the Oregon Attorney General cracked down on Credit Solutions of America, a debt settler based in Texas.  You can read the story here.

In that story, you will find that CSA has been scamming Oregon consumers for some time. They charge substantial upfront fees and encourage people to default on credit cards so they can afford the upfront fees.

This is also illegal in Virginia, however, the Virginia Attorney General has not yet come down on CSA.

Remember that with debt settlement, there is NO GUARANTEE that it will work.  KCLS does not settle debts, though we have been known to settle lawsuits.

Debt settlers promise that they can settled your debts.  There is no way to promise that truthfully.   No one can promise that a debt will be settled with a creditor, collector, or lawfirm.  There are only 2 ways to not pay for sure 1- Bankruptcy, and 2- win the collection lawsuit.

You can win a collections lawsuit because you do not owe the debt- ie: not yours, or billing errors.

You can win a collection lawsuit for technical reasons- ie: statute of limitations, hearsay, or other evidence problems.

You can also lose a collections lawsuit, even with a debt that is beyond the statute of limitations, with testimony that is based on hearsay, filled with billing errors, where the judge does not follow the law, or the rules of procedure or the rules of evidence.  Even good lawyers can lose in these circumstances.

The most important thing to know is that if you do not try to defend, you cannot win.  You must show up.  Most debt settlers try to settle the debt from afar.  They try to settle, while the collector proceeds to obtain judgment.

There are also some creditors and debt collectors that will not negotiate, and worse yet, when they understand that you have hired a debt settler, will sue, almost immediately, for the simple reason that they believe that the first one to sue will be one of the few to collect anything.  The truth is that this is a self-fulfilling prophesy.

In summary, beware of debt settlers, it is very hard for them to comply with all of the provisions of the Virginia Credit Counseling Act (VCCA), Virginia Code Sections 6.1-363.2 through 6.1-363.26.  Violations of the VCCA can be enforced by consumers who have been duped, pursuant to the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (VCPA), as VCCA specifies at Section 6.1-363.26 that any violation of VCCA is a violation of Section 59.1-200 of the VCPA.

If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.

NO FEE IN YOUR VCCA/VCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the Virginia Credit Counseling Act and the Virginia Consumer Protection Act means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.673.4358

You can fax us: 804.673.4350

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

1650 Willow Lawn Drive

Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23230

How can you make a debt collector cease communications under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?

As usual, we start with the text of the statute.

15 USC §1692c(c) Ceasing communication

If a consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay a debt or that the consumer wishes the debt collector to cease further communication with the consumer, the debt collector shall not communicate further with the consumer with respect to such debt, except—

(1) to advise the consumer that the debt collector’s further efforts are being terminated;

(2) to notify the consumer that the debt collector or creditor may invoke specified remedies which are ordinarily invoked by such debt collector or creditor; or

(3) where applicable, to notify the consumer that the debt collector or creditor intends to invoke a specified remedy.

If such notice from the consumer is made by mail, notification shall be complete upon receipt.

This means that, under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, if you inform a debt collector that you wish for them to stop collecting from you, they are required to do so.  They are then prohibited, by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, from MOST other contact.  They can let you know that they are complying with your requests.  They can let you know that they may do certain things that are legal,  that are collection efforts- repossession, foreclosure, lawsuit.  And they can take those actions.

For most collectors, there is very little that they can do in response that complies with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, but one must be wary of collections agencies that are lawyers.  Once should be particularly aware of those firms that regularly sue in the local courts where you are located.  Those collectors, one should think carefully before deciding that you wish to tell them to cease collections efforts, as they may decide that they wish to sue to collect.

Because of this distinction, it is very important to contact a consumer protection lawyer, who is familiar with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, in your community before taking this kind of action.  If you are in Virginia, we are glad to assist you.  If you are not in Virginia, please visit the National Association of Consumer Advocates Find An Attorney webpage.

If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.

NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.673.4358

You can fax us: 804.673.4350

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

1650 Willow Lawn Drive

Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23230

DEBT SETTLERS ARE BAD FOR YOU.  DEBT MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS ARE DEBT SETTLEMENT IN DISGUISE.

All references to code sections are courtesy of the Legislative Information System of Virginia, and are provided by leg1.state.va.us.

Debt Management and Debt Settlement is regulated by the Virginia Bureau of Financial Institutions. Debt settlers often use the tactic of telling you that you can settle your debts for less than you owe.  The new tactic is to claim that the Obama Administration has passed a new law that says that you have the right to settle your debts for less than the full amount owed.

THIS IS FALSE INFORMATION.

You can settle, but you do not have a RIGHT to settle.  Some, but not all, credit card companies will settle for less than the full amount owed because the options for them are a total loss, or a partial settlement.

The Debt Settlers may also tell you that settling your debts through them can improve your credit score.

THIS IS FALSE INFORMATION.

A settled debt is reported as status 7, settled for less than full value.  This is HIGHLY damaging to your credit report.

But what they also don’t tell you is that just being IN a debt settlement plan lowers your score almost as much as filing for Bankruptcy.

The Debt Settlers may also tell you that they can get a creditor or debt collector to leave you alone- stop calling, stop writing, stop suing.

THIS IS FALSE INFORMATION.

Virginia law has very little protections from creditors.

Under Virginia law, a creditor can call during hours prohibited to debt collectors under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (8am to 9pm).

Under Virginia law, a creditor can contact third parties, like family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers, and tell them about your debts, even though a debt collector is prohibited under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Under Virginia law, a creditor can contact you, even though they know you are represented by counsel, even though a debt collector is prohibited by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Under Virginia law, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, almost nothing can stop a suit from being filed by either a creditor or a debt collector.

Under Virginia law, once the suit is filed, only an attorney can defend a lawsuit, and stand a chance of dealing with a creditor or debt collector in court.

Debt settlers and debt management plans do not have attorneys on staff to deal with violations of law under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, to defend consumers who are being sued, and to protect your rights.

ONLY AN ATTORNEY LICENSED IN VIRGINIA CAN STOP THESE ACTIONS IN VIRGINIA.

But when the debt settlers tell you that they can, they may be violating the Virginia Credit Counseling Act (VCCA), Virginia Code Sections 6.1-363.2 through 6.1-363.26.  Violations of the VCCA can be enforced by consumers who have been duped, pursuant to the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (VCPA), as VCCA specifies at Section 6.1-363.26 that any violation of VCCA is a violation of Section 59.1-200 of the VCPA.

If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

NO FEE IN YOUR VCCA/VCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the Virginia Credit Counseling Act and the Virginia Consumer Protection Act means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.
You can call us: 804.303.0204
You can fax us: 804.303.0209
You can contact us by US MAIL:
Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.
5310 Markel Rd.
Suite 102
Richmond, VA 23230

KCLS LIMITS THE GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH WE TAKE CASES.

YOU MUST BE A VIRGINIA RESIDENT.

If you are not a Virginia Resident, click here to find a lawyer near you.

How can a debt collector communicate with a third party under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?

As usual, we start with the text of the statute.

15 USC §1692c(b) Communication with third parties

Except as provided in section 1692b of this title, without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector, or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, or as reasonably necessary to effectuate a postjudgment judicial remedy, a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with the collection of any debt, with any person other than the consumer, his attorney, a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law, the creditor, the attorney of the creditor, or the attorney of the debt collector.

How is this important to you?

This one is actually very simple.  A Debt Collector may not communicate with any third party about your debt, except for the purposes of location information.

A Debt Collector is not permitted to contact your family or friends or neighbors to discuss your debts.  That would violate at least two provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

A Debt Collector is not permitted to contact your family, friends or neighbors, once they know where you are.  Contacts like that violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

A Debt Collector is not permitted to “verify employment” with your employer.  This also may violate more than one provision of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

As you can see, this is a remarkably simple provision that provides a fair amount of protections.

In times past, contact like this might have been the tort of invasion of privacy, but Virginia has done away with this tort for most purposes.  At least in Virginia, you have no right to privacy, only a right not to have your likeness used for commercial purposes without your consent.

If you have been impacted by anything we mentioned here, you can make an appointment to see us.

NO FEE IN YOUR FDCPA CASE UNLESS WE RECOVER!!

OUR LEGAL FEES:

The rights afforded to you, as a consumer, under the FCRA and the FDCPA means that a corporation or party who has violated your rights may ultimately be made to pay for statutory damages, actual damages, and your legal fees. Therefore, if we agree to represent you in any case, you won’t pay any attorney’s fees unless we are successful and we recover on your behalf. We are here to serve and have assisted many consumers TO enforce their legal rights. Let us try and see if we can help you too. That means you pay no fee in your case unless we recover.

Contact us by e-mail or by telephone or fax or US Mail.

You can call us: 804.673.4358

You can fax us: 804.673.4350

You can contact us by US MAIL:

Krumbein Consumer Legal Services, Inc.

1650 Willow Lawn Drive

Suite 300

Richmond, VA 23230