NJ Debt Collection Bill Advances

In one of its last acts before approving the state budget late last month, the Assembly gave its approval to the New Jersey Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by a 60-18 vote. That sent the measure to the state Senate, where it initially will be considered by the Commerce Committee.

Advocates say the legislation would supplement existing federal protections and curb collectors’ ability to contact a debtor at work or at “any time and place” known to be inopportune. It also will protect consumers from harassing, intimidating or abusive collection processes and give them a way to dispute and verify debt information to ensure its certainty.

“We’re doing nothing here to relieve a consumer of a rightful debt, but this is a fairness bill that will ensure consumers are not harassed by unscrupulous debt collectors,” said Burzichelli, D-Paulsboro. He sponsored the act along with Assemblymen Matthew W. Milam, D-Cape May Court House, Wayne P. DeAngelo, D-Hamilton and Paul Moriarty, D-Turnersville.

State consumer affairs officials receive numerous complaints about debt collection tactics each year, and that number appears to be on the upswing in recent months as more people struggle with their finances.

“There are many people who have fallen behind and are in debt, and some (debt collectors) are telling them they could be drug in to court tomorrow if they don’t pay up right away or making other threats,” Burzichelli said. “We want to make sure people are aware of their rights and their responsibilities (about paying debts).

The bill would stop, with particular exceptions, a debt collector from contacting a debtor earlier than 8 a.m, and later than 9 p.m. At the debtor’s place of employment, although the collector can send a single letter or make one phone call per month to the debtor at their place of employment if the debt collector hasn’t been able to contact the debtor at home.

If the debt collector understands the debtor is represented by an attorney and can quickly confirm the attorney’s name and address. Advocates of the bill say it’s important legislation in troubling economic times.”Just because someone is in debt does not mean they forfeit their rights to be treated fairly,” Moriarty said.

Mallory is employed by a debt collection agency. She also writes articles on business, finance, and collections. .

Structured Settlement Cash Payouts

The amount of a cash payout on a structured settlement depends largely on the dollar value placed on a claimant’s pain and suffering and terms offered by buyout firms. In a structured settlement, claimants can wait months and years to receive compensation for personal injury caused by motor vehicle accidents, or included in trust funds, or annuities.

By conferring with a funding agency that provides a lump sum payment for a structured settlement, individuals and families can become conscious of financial freedom and carry out some lifelong dreams. A lump sum cash payout on structured settlement can displace an annual income for disabled persons, provide money for college, or supply funds to consolidate outstanding debt, such as home and automobile loans or charge card accounts.

In a weak financial market, cashing in today on future income could mean the difference between staying financially strong and bankruptcy. Part of a cash payout on structured settlement can be used to purchase more secure, high-yield investment instruments, such as commodities mutual funds, certificates of deposit, or nearly invincible, government-backed U.S. Treasury bills.

Many funding agencies charge as much as 50 cents on the dollar to convert settlements to cash. To determine whether losing up to 50% of future cash flow is a wise choice, claimants should consult with a banker, insurance agent, or financial planner.

Claimants should skim through on-line funding agencies to obtain various free quotes on what it will take to cash in recurrent payments before committing to any one agency. Intelligent money management will certify that claimants not only receive adequate and equitable compensation, but also that monies will provide a steady, safe income stream for a number of years.

Insurance companies are aware that men and women are living longer, more productive lives. For that reason, a cash payout on structured settlement can be a real gamble. Some suggestions for handling lump sum payments include using funds to remove debt, especially big-ticket items, such as unpaid back taxes, outstanding medical bills, or student loans. Before taking the big jump to sell structured settlements, recipients need to ask: How much money will be accumulated by waiting on periodic payments? How much indebtedness would a lump sum payment eliminate? In the final analysis the decision to negotiate a cash payout on structured settlement plans is a personal one.

Mallory is employed by a debt collection agency. Also, she writes articles on business and finance, and collections. .

County Officials Put Off Ambulance Collections Decision

Commissioners on Monday postponed a decision to hire a collection agency because of unsettled ambulance bills acquired in unincorporated districts of Flagler County. Instead, county staff will do more research and the item will be returned to commissioners for review sometime in July.

Commissioner Alan Peterson announced during the meeting that he wasn’t ready to sign at the dotted line in the piggyback contract alongside officials in Orange County because he wanted to be informed on how the collection agency does its business.

He wanted to know how commonly the agency calls residents about their delinquent accounts and what times of the day those calls were made. He also wished to know how many written notices would be sent to residents in arrears for their emergency medical care during an ambulance ride.

“My overriding concern on this whole issue is that unlike most bills people incur, this is an involuntary expense,” Peterson said. “People don’t normally choose to take an ambulance for medical care.”

Commissioner Barbara Revels said she also wanted to make certain the county wasn’t getting into business with a “heavy-handed” collection agency that could result in consumer recoil, like some that’s now being seen around the country.

Under the county’s current billing practices, insurance companies are billed for a patient who receives medical care and transport. If the patient is not insured or the insurance does not cover the full balance due, a third-party billing company steps in and attempts to collect the debt through written notices with the help of information verification from Tax Collector Suzanne Johnston’s office. The account is kept open and debt collection attempts continue for up to a year, at which time the debt is moved to a “bad debt” list and charged off by commissioners.

The debts are not placed on residents’ credit reports and aggressive telephone tactics are not used for collection.

Peterson also said if the board make the determination to move forward in hiring a collection agency, he’d like to see county officials add a new level of regular review to the accounts on its “bad debt” list before they’re turned over for collection.

“There should be a review of each and every account to see if it makes sense to turn it over to the collection agency,” Peterson said.

He requested county staff obtain the proposed collection agency’s procedures and has asked them to present an outline of the policy they will use for reviewing accounts before they’re turned over to the agency sometime before the end of July.

“We haven’t had a collection agency up to this point, so I don’t think it would hurt to delay the decision two weeks,” said County Administrator Craig Coffey.

Mallory is employed by a debt collection agency. She also composes articles on business, finance, and collections. .

Protect Yourself Against Debt Collection Scams

The government is stepping up as debt collection scams rise. In recent news, Buffalo New York has been home to a number of unlawful debt collection practices, and authorities have arrested at least twelve people. Although the vast majority of collection agencies are legitimate and good for the economy, there has been a rising amount of deceptive and illegal practices.

In Buffalo, collections agents have been caught calling up people that owe money and posing as law enforcement. They have threatened to send people that owe money into jail, or even take child custody away from them. But it doesn’t stop there.

A civil case recently imposed a $675,000 penalty, the most ever fined for a debt collection company, for deceptive and illegal practices. This includes lying to consumers and badgering them, disclosing their debt to third parties, and cashing in on post dated checks early. These tactics were accompanied by deceptive claims from agents saying they were lawyers or other figures of authority.

In addition to refusing to reveal the address or phone number of the “company” these agents even went as far as to call individuals who did not owe any money at all and attempted to collect from them. Despite claims that it was individual workers acting fraudulently, the Federal Trade Commission went after the business owners and won a case that imposed the biggest penalty ever for debt collection agencies.

To skirt around the issue of being a victim to fraudulent debt collection agencies, it is crucial that you know your rights. A debt collection company is never permitted to seize a debtor’s assets, bank accounts, or paychecks. They are unable get a debtor fired from their occupation, and cann’t make any kind of public disclosures concerning the debt, and they can definitely never threaten or engage in violent acts.

For more information, refer to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which outlines the rules and regulations of debt collection.

Mallory Megan is employed by a collections agency that works with a debt collection lawyer. Also, she does stories on business, finance, consumer spending and collections agencies. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

Record Companies Resort To Different Tactics To Collect Money

It seems as though record companies have developed a new game plan in order to collect royalties. As we all know, the music industry attempted to sue individual users who illegally downloaded songs. But because of this approach to recover from major fiscal loss has destroyed their public image.

Rather than lowering the cost of albums in order to compete with free music circulating through the internet, record companies have turned to collection agencies who are now suing cellphone companies over royalties from ring tones. They contested that ring tones counted as public performances and therefore cell phone companies should be obligated to pay performance fees. The courts quickly shot this down.

Despite this unsuccessful attempt to collect on royalties, Broadcast Music Inc is now suing T-Mobile over ring back tones, claiming that the mobile carrier is selling them without licensing agreements. Unlike ring tones, which play out loud when someone calls a cellphone, ring back tones play specifically to the person calling. In other words, instead of hearing a cellphone dialing, the caller will hear a song that was chosen by the cell owner.

Music lovers are quick to point out the contradictory nature of this lawsuit. If ringtones that can be heard by anyone around a cellphone that is being called, do not equate to a public performance, it seems absurd to sue the mobile carriers over a ringback tone that can be heard only by the caller. Record companies seem to be grasping at straws as they suffer from huge financial losses.

It does not seem that lowering the cost of CDs and DVDs is an idea that has occurred to the major companies. There are still a number of music fans out there that prefer to collect and own the media, however with prices constantly spiking, downloading music for free seems very tempting. CDs generally go on sale for about seventeen dollars.

Specific bands have been skirting the issue of music downloading through unique tactics. Radiohead, an alternative rock band, established a website where fans can download the music for free, or for a donation. Nine Inch Nails\’ Trent Reznor has followed suit. With record companies\’ unsuccessful lawsuits and declining public image, it seems as though thinking outside of the box and fair pricing may be more effective than bullying money out of mobile carriers and individual users.

Mallory McGuinness-Hickey is employed by debt collection company Rapid Recovery Solution and writes free lance pieces on financial news. You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.

categories: debt collection lawyers,debt collection solution,financial debt recovery,business collection,lawsuits,finance,Collection Agencies,Music Industry,Finance,Business

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