Jeff's Blog 
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for Pennsylvania Consumers
- Jeff Suher represents Pittsburgh consumer whose credit card was stolen by Buffalo Debt Collector
- A Debt Collection Company that "May" Train and Encourage Employees to Violate the FDCPA - sued in Pennsylvania
- What to do if a Debt Collector Sues You.
- A Need to Know Debt Collection Tactic to Harass and Threaten you into paying an Old Debt
- National Action Financial Services, NAFS - Typical debt collection company and numerous consumer complaints!
- What can I do to stop debt collection calls about OLD DEBT
- Harassing Debt Collection Calls from India to the U.S.
- Debt Collection Complaints going UP; what to do if you get a telephone call in Pittsburgh. CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE
- 10 Ways to Curb Sleazy Debt Collectors In Pittsburgh
- Haunted and harassed by old debts?
Fair Credit Reporting Act for Consumers Rights
- The only website to obtain all 3 credit reports for free every year
- Jeff Suher to Host Workshop about the Fair Credit Reporting Act
General
- The Tale of a Dead Man Walking....
- Credit Card Companies vs. College Student - Who is responsible for the financial future of college students?
- Does your credit card debt die with you, or can it come back to to haunt those you left behind???
- VIDEO - Outrageous Debt Collection Calls, and how a debt collector becomes "Mr. Mean"
- The Bureau of Collection Recovery Inc. - Calls a Pittsburgh Consumer a deadbeat and a liar!
- Fast Cash - Payday Loans, The Facts
- Tina's Personal Credit Story!
- Credit Card Debt, Read this article for a few tips on how to handle it.
- Debt Collectors are SOOO Sleazy, Watch This Video!
- The Vicious Cycle of Debt Collection: The Universal Default Clause, is it in your Credit Card Agreement?
News
- Debt Collector Accused of Stealing Pittsburgh Customer's Debit Card and Goes on a Shopping Spree!!!!
- Pittsburgh Study: College Students Pile on Credit Card Debt
- Consumer Complaints! What Consumers are the Globe Complaint About the Most!!
- Man sets himself on FIRE after receiving so many debt collection calls
- Indian Call Center Workers Demand Money
- UPDATE: IRS REFUSES TO STOP USING PRIVATE DEBT COLLECTORS
- Debt Collectors on a Rampage, Pittsburgh Attorney Jeff Suher Can Help
- Debt Collectors Pushing to Get Their Day In Court
- Banks vs. Consumers
- IRS Faulted for Lax Identity Theft Protection Efforts
Library
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for Pennsylvania Consumers
- 10 THINGS DEBT COLLECTORS DO NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW!!
- The Six Taboos of Debt Collectors!
- Consumer Advocate Bud HIbbs' Worst Debt Collector List
- FTC Annual Report Summary of Debt Collection Violations
- RipOff Reports Article: National Enterprise Systems Intimidation at work
- RipOff Report Articles: National Action Financial Services, Inc. (NAFS)
- Debt Collector Accuses Pittsburgh Consumer of Committing a Crime and Threatens Jail Time
- Debt Collector Harasses Pittsburgh Consumer and Threatens Physical Harm
Do you Know What's on Your Credit Report? How to obtain a free report and file disputes...
- Fair Credit Report Act - Workshop to Help Pennsylvania Consumers Understand and Dispute Information on Their Credit Reports!
- Facts for Pittsburgh Consumers About Your Credit Report
Fair Credit Reporting Act for Consumers Rights
- Debt Reduction Defendant Settles FTC Charges
- 5 Ways to DESTROY your credit score
- How Does the Fair Credit Reporting Act Affect You and Your Credit Score?
BLOG
General
- Fast-Cash Predatory Lending - what you need to know
- Prohibited Debt Collection Practices
- Debt Collector Directory
- Games Credit Card Companies Play
- One Month With The Credit Card Companies
- Debt Collection Agencies: Big Money in Bad Debt
- "Rehabilitation:" What Debt Collectors Don't Want You To Know
- JEFF SUHER TO PRESENT SEMINAR ON “MAXED OUT”
- Attend a Free Viewing of the Film MAXED OUT and Win a $250 Gift Certificate
- Tips for Consumers against Credit Card Fraud
What's New
Maxed Out shows how the modern financial industry really works, explains the true definition of "preferred customer" and tells us why the poor are getting poorer and the rich getting richer. By turns hilarious and profoundly disturbing, Maxed Out paints a picture of a national nightmare which is all too real for most of us!!
One Month With The Credit Card Companies
By Adam DawsonThrough hard work, sacrifice and scrimping, I managed to pay off $5000 worth of credit card debt over the course of a year.
It’s a pretty amazing feeling. For the first time in quite a few years, a great deal of the money that I make actually belongs to me. I no longer have to ship off a high percentage of my check to Chase or Capital One.
It honestly took me awhile to get accustomed to my newfound financial liberation. I was so used to staying home on weekends, eating mac and cheese and pasta, and weighing the pros and cons of every possible purchase that I actually continued this behavior for a few weeks before I realized that I actually had money in the bank. To celebrate my new healthy bank account balance, I did two things. First, I went out to a pricey French restaurant and splurged. The next day, I went to the bank and opened a money market savings account and set up an automatic deposit from my checking account. My intension is to set up an emergency account. I calculated what three months worth of bills would cost, which means rent, car payment, health and auto insurance, phone, groceries and utilities. The point of this account is to have a financial option besides using my credit card in the event that I lose my job, or some unforeseen event puts me in a position where I need more money than I actually get from my paycheck. I’m getting pretty close to the amount that I set for myself, and once I get there I will lower the automatic deposit to around $20 a month and just let the account collect interest.
I have to say that I am pretty happy about this. On the other hand, the credit card companies aren’t. Ever since it has gotten to the point where I don’t have to send them any money at all, I have been inundated with offers, purchase checks and “credit insurance policies.”
The checks are invariably called “convenience checks,” or some variation of that. The reason they come with such frequency is because they want to give me every opportunity to use them. If my car breaks down, if I have to go to the hospital and need money for co-pay, if I lose my recently acquired fiscal discipline and decide that I simply have to have a new plasma TV, my credit card companies want to be the ones that give me the money to pay for it.
And why wouldn’t they? The interest rates on these checks are at around 14%. All it takes is one big purchase or one bad week or month, and Capital One and Chase are back on the gravy train.
Throughout the month of April, I kept track of every single offer, solicitation and check that was sent to me. Here are the results.
Monday, April 2: It’s a new month, which means a new round of checks. I am assuming that the solicitations get heavier around the first of the month because that’s when everyone has to make their car payment, rent, mortgage, etc. Today I received three “convenience checks” from one credit card company, and one of them has a pre-written amount of $1500. The pre-written amount has a low interest rate, but that’s only good for 90 days. Considering how long it took me to pay off the amount that I owed in the first place, it’s a safe bet that I wouldn’t be able to pay off this new $1500 before the high interest rate kicks in.
Tuesday, April 3: Not to be outdone, the other credit card company with which I have membership sends their checks. It’s almost the same deal; three checks, one with a pre-determined amount, but this time the amount is much higher. They are offering me $6500 on a check. Cashing this would put me in a hole that is much deeper than the $5000 one that I just climbed out of.
Wednesday, April 4: Today I received an offer for a new credit card from my old school. It comes decorated in school colors, and offers a 4.9% percentage rate, but that’s only for the first six months.
Thursday, April 5: Strangely enough, I received nothing from any credit companies today.
Friday, April 6: As if to make up for the day off, today I received two credit card offers. One from American Express and one from the auto manufacturer that made my car.
Saturday, April 7: One of my credit card companies has sent me an offer to join some sort of shopping club, in which every purchase that I make using the card will offer me “points” towards other items. The cost of this “program” is $40 a month.
Monday, April 9: Word of my not being in debt must be getting around. I receive an unsolicited offer for a credit card from a company that I have never heard of.
Tuesday, April 10: New checks from one of my credit card companies. No prewritten amount on any of the checks. That’s six checks within ten days from this company, and nine checks altogether.
Wednesday, April 11: Nothing.
Thursday, April 12: The other credit card company has sent me some checks, but this time the literature encourages me to use the checks to pay my taxes.
Friday, April 13: Today I received literature from a real estate company, specifically addressed to me. Since I’m not in the market to buy a home, I have to wonder where they got my name. I am now convinced that people know that I’m not in debt and wish to place me there as soon as possible.
Saturday, April 14: Nothing.
Monday, April 16: Nothing.
Tuesday, April 17: The credit card companies must have been gearing up for tax season and the sudden financial difficulties that they thought I would face, because today I received checks from both my credit card companies, yet another offer from both American Express and my old school, and a third offer from a company that I have never heard of.
Wednesday, April 18: Today was very light, with only a letter from one of my credit card companies telling me how much they value me as a customer. (Although they haven’t gotten much value out of me since November.)
Thursday, April 19th: Nothing.
Friday, April 20: Today I received an offer for a shopping program from my second credit card company, only this time the monthly fee is $50.
Saturday, April 21: Nothing.
Monday, April 23: Today I was offered an “insurance policy” for debt that I don’t have. One of my credit card companies asked me to sign up for debt insurance so that in the event of an illness or sudden unemployment, they would make a minimum payment for me. The price of this is a fixed amount per $100 worth of debt per month.
Tuesday, April 24: The other credit card company sent me a “Thank you for choosing us” letter.
Wednesday, April 25: Nothing.
Thursday, April 26: Nothing.
Friday, April 27: Yet another solicitation from American Express, except this time it’s for their “Blue” credit card.
Saturday, April 28: Nothing.
Monday, April 29: More checks from the first credit card company, no prewritten amounts.
Tuesday, April 30: An offer from the second credit card company, which says that if I transfer any other outstanding balance that I have with any other credit card company, then I will be given a low interest rate.
For the month of April, I received 24 “convenience checks,” 5 offers for new credit cards, two offers to join “clubs” of some sort, and one offer of insurance.
During this month, I received mail on 25 of those days. Out of those 25 days, I received offers, checks, or simple reminders that the credit card companies existed on sixteen of these days.
The message here is clear: If anything goes wrong, we’ll be here with the money, whether you want us or not. It is occurring to me that perhaps I should add a few thousand dollars to my emergency fund. Not because my bills have gone up, but because I want to make sure that I have no need to use a credit card ever again.
Jeffrey L. Suher, PC
4328 Old William Penn Highway, Suite 2J
Monroeville, PA 15146
Phone: (412) 374-9005
Fax: (412) 374-0799
Videos
General:
FAQs
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for Pennsylvania Consumers
- What debts are covered?
- Who is a debt collector?
- How may a debt collector contact me?
- Can I stop a debt collector from contacting me?
- What if I'm represented by an attorney?
Fair Credit Reporting Act for Consumers Rights
- What happens if I dispute the debt?
- Can a debt collector take me to Court?
- How long does a delinquent debt stay on your credit report?