Pennsylvania consumer law attorney Jeffrey L. Suher helps his clients ensure that debt collector abuse doesn’t go unanswered. Through the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Jeff has helped thousands of consumers deliver much needed sanity checks to abusive debt collectors, restoring peace of mind to his clients and forcing debt collectors to change their tactics or pay the price. For help asserting your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, contact Pennsylvania attorney

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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!!

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for Pennsylvania Consumers

Based in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, The Law Offices of Jeffrey L. Suher offer aggressive legal services to consumers in Pennsylvania who are fed up with the conduct of overaggressive debt collectors. Some of the most common types of behavior used by many debt collectors – late night phone calls, calls at work, threatening letters – are direct violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This illegal conduct has been shown to have far reaching social harm – resulting in higher rates of bankruptcies, marital and family problems, and unhealthy psychological issues for consumers.

As an attorney who firmly believes in the preeminent rights consumers have over the interests of business, Jeff is here to help his clients ensure that debt collector abuse doesn’t go unanswered. Through the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Jeff has helped thousands of consumers deliver much needed sanity checks to abusive debt collectors, restoring peace of mind to his clients and forcing debt collectors to change their tactics or pay the price. In many cases where debt collectors have made clear and repeated violations of the FDCPA, Jeff has helped his clients walk away with up to $1000 in restitution.

If you live in Pennsylvania and are struggling with debt collector abuse, contact Jeff for professional help asserting your legal rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Call Jeff today at 1-877-YES-JEFF.

More about the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is federal legislation enacted by Congress in 1977 which establishes rules to govern the conduct of debt collectors. As we all know, debt collectors have an infamous history of taking their efforts too far. Particularly in recent years, as the American economy has moved towards a heavy reliance on credit and loans, debt collectors have taken a more prominent role in the American economy. As the presence and power of debt collectors inevitably expands, the FDCPA stands as a vital bulwark against excesses that impose upon the inviolable civil liberties of consumers.

Usually hired to act on behalf of third-parties, such as banks, lending institutions and retail stores, debt collectors frequently act under the presumption that money is in fact all that matters in life. Once someone falls behind on a mortgage, credit card, car loan, medical bill, student loan or other type of debt, debt collectors are trained to consider them fair game. The hunt is on, and for many debt collectors, that means that the ends justify any means necessary to ensure that the debt is collected.

The FDCPA exists to assure debt collectors that we do in fact live in America, not China, and predatory conduct in debt collections does not concur with the principles of a free nation. As much as debt collectors wish it were so, being in debt is not a crime. Debt collectors must always remember their place when pursuing payments, and that no amount of debt justifies behavior that threatens, intimidates, berates or inflicts gratuitous psychological harm on consumers or their families; causes undue financial hardship; or affects a consumer’s standing with an employer.

The FDCPA defines debt collector abuse as:

• The use or threat of use of violence or other criminal means to harm you or your property.

• The use of obscene or profane language or language meant to abuse or offend you;

• Sharing any financial information about you if you allegedly refuse to pay debts, except to a consumer reporting agency.

• Advertising the sale of your debt to coerce payment of the debt.

• Calling you by phone repeatedly or continuously with the intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number.

• Calling you and failing to disclose their identity as debt collectors.

• Any other false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in an attempt to collect the debt.

If you live in Pennsylvania and are struggling with any of the above debt collection abuses, contact Jeff for professional help asserting your legal rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Call Jeff today at 1-877-YES-JEFF.

Will New Faces in Congress Bring an End to the Age of Big Business Behaving Badly?

The past six years have been like one long Spring Break for corporations operating in America. With a federal government ready to treat them like a doting and indulgent grandparent at every turn, often in direct conflict with the interests of American taxpayers, American corporations across every economic sector have used this time to shore up their legal departments and go after what they view as fundamental “obstacles” to profit.

Sadly, what businesses see as these fundamental obstacles are mostly protections put in place to preserve some balance between Corporate America’s drive for profits and the economic rights of consumers. These consumer protections have been the efforts of generations of progressive activists and organizations who have pushed tirelessly for laws ensuring that the economic welfare of everyday Americans always trumps the whims and inclinations of big business.

Time and again in American history, big business has shown that when it lacks sufficient federal oversight, it will inevitably act in ways that adversely affect consumers, and the health of the nation as a whole. Consumer protections have emerged from lessons learned during times when things were tough in America – during the age of the Robber Barons at the turn of the 20th century, the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Savings & Loan scandals of the 1980s, and most recently, the fall of Enron, World Com and other erstwhile corporate darlings who championed “privatization” and other movements that sought to limit (if not eliminate) the vital role of government in their business.

The full extent of the damage done to consumer protections during the last six years has yet to be determined, but thanks to the 2006 Congressional elections that gave Democrats control of Congress and the Senate, the tide of “business first” is beginning to be turned back. The U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations recently called for banks to explain their credit card policies, and will examine claims that many credit lenders engage in practices that are "unfair or abusive"--such as charging interest on balances that have already been paid, and other areas that are too complex for the average consumer to comprehend. Other hearings are being prepared for the mortgage lending community to explain the collapse of the sub-prime lending market, which is expected to result in more than two million home foreclosures in America this year, a new record.

But as Mark Twain once said, “Thunder is good, thunder is impressive, but it is the lightning that does the work.” No matter how many new laws and restrictions Congress creates, consumers will continue to rely on the skilled consumer law attorneys to help them take full advantage of those laws. In Pennsylvania, consumers can rely on Jeffrey L. Suher for fast and effective resolution of problems they are having with debt collectors. If you need help, contact Jeff at 1-877-YES-JEFF today.

 

Are you receiving threats and abuse from Debt Collectors?

 

Put a Halt to those Calls and Letters Today.  Call Attorney Jeffrey L. Suher, P.C.

 Life is not an episode of “The Sopranos,” and when debt collectors cross the clear line that divides civility and hostility, either through letters, e-mails, phone calls, faxes, or in person, then under federal law they are subject to fines and other punitive actions put in place expressly to force debt collectors to re-evaluate how they conduct their operations. 

 At the Law Offices of Jeffrey L. Suher, P.C. in Monroe, Pennsylvania, we work with clients everyday who are facing financial setbacks and debt collectors who have taken their pursuits too far.  With Jeff’s help, consumers in Pennsylvania and nationwide have stopped abusive debt collectors in their tracks, and in the process taken the first step towards putting their finances back in order. 

If a debt collector’s actions violate the Fair Debt Collections Practice Act, Jeff can help you collect:

 

·         Actual damages

·         Statutory damages (up to $1000)

·         Attorney's fees

 

If you believe you are a victim of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices, and are ready to exercise your consumer rights, call Jeff today at 1-877-YES-JEFF.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

The primary weapon Jeff and his team use to defend clients harassed by debt collectors is The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  The FDCPA gives consumers certain rights and prohibits certain methods of attempting to collect debts.  Congress enacted the FDCPA in 1977 (and revised it in 1996) in recognition of the psychological and financial harm debt collectors inflicted on millions of Americans every year.  Specifically, the FDCPA is meant to curb debt collectors’ impact on:

Bankruptcy Filings:  In an attempt to get out from under debt, more than 1.5 million Americans filed bankruptcies in 2005, an all-time record.  While bankruptcy can serve as a quick fix and is sometimes the only way out of untenable debt situations, filing a Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy also damages an individual’s credit record for years, and sometimes for life.  

Many Americans who file bankruptcy don’t have to, and they often resort to this desperate route prodded by over-aggressive debt collection activities.  There are many alternatives to bankruptcy, and no one should ever be strong-armed into its long-term consequences.  Before you consider filing bankruptcy in response to a debt collector’s abusive practices, contact Jeff at 1-877-YES-JEFF. 

Marital and Family Life:  Left unchecked, debt collectors will go to great lengths to invade the privacy of consumers.  When in pursuit of a debt, their goal is to keep you thinking about the debt you owe all the time, so that paying it and being rid of them becomes the primary task in your life.  Debt collectors don’t care that their harassing phone calls, letters and e-mails are taking a toll on your family life.  In fact, if wrecking your family life helps in collecting a debt, all the better.

Fortunately, the FDCPA protects consumers from this kind of destructive and unhealthy mentality.  If a debt collector’s abusive practices are having an adverse effect on you and your loved ones, contact Jeff at 1-877-YES-JEFF. 

Livelihood:  If a debt collector is contacting you at your job, cutting into your work time through intrusive phone calls and letters, or taking any actions that place your livelihood in jeopardy with your employer, they are in violation of the act.  If you’re being bothered at work over a debt, contact Jeff at 1-877-YES-JEFF. 

 

Library for Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for Pennsylvania Consumers:

Frequent Questions for Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for Pennsylvania Consumers:

Case Results for Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for Pennsylvania Consumers:

Web Resources for Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for Pennsylvania Consumers:

  • Federal Trade Commission - The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

    Description: Federal Trade Commission - The Official Fair Debt Collection Practices Act web page that defines this law.

  • National Association of Consumer Advocates

    Description: The National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) is a nationwide organization of more than 1000 attorneys who represent and have represented hundreds of thousands of consumers victimized by fraudulent, abusive and predatory business practices. As an organization fully committed to promoting justice for consumers, NACA's members and their clients are actively engaged in promoting a fair and open marketplace that forcefully protects the rights of consumers, particularly those of modest means.

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