Consumer Law

Interest Rates Expected To Rise

Posted on April 19, 2010
The New York Times has posted an article about the end of a 30 year decline in the cost of borrowing. This is due to a combination of inflation due to the recession and the nation's "ballooning debt." Interest rates are currently as low as they'll be for quite a while...

JPMorgan Chase Argues Against Mortgage Modifications

Posted on April 19, 2010
The Huffington Post has posted an article about JPMorgan Chase's pitiful argument against mortgage modifications. They're saying that the "sanctity of contracts" should require borrowers to repay their full loans without modification. The company is against the Obama administration's attempts to get investors and lenders to decrease a home mortgage's outstanding debt and basically says that borrowers don't deserve the help and should just deal with the consequences of the plummeting housing market...

Percentage Of Credit Card Charge-offs Expected To Rise

Posted on April 17, 2010
PaymentsSource.com has posted an article about how credit card charge-offs should reverse declining and increase to peak at 12%-13% about mid-year in 2010 if delinquencies continue to rise. Earlier this week, Moody's reported that U.S. credit card charge-off levels eased in October for a second straight month from a record in August, while delinquencies rose for a third consecutive month...

Foreclosure Rates Have Biggest Surge In Five Years

Posted on April 17, 2010
The Associated Press has posted an article about the drastic increase of foreclosures so far this year. In just the first three months of 2010, a "record number" of homes were foreclosed. More homes were seized by banks and put into the category of foreclosure sale than in any other quarter since January 2005...

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Fannie Mae?s Miscellaneous Servicing Guidelines Changes

Posted on April 16, 2010
ForeclosureIndustry.com has posted an article that discusses the changes to Fannie Mae that were decided upon on March 30th of this year. Beginning May 1, 2010, MERS cannot be named as a plaintiff in any foreclosure case whether it's judicial, non-judicial or if the mortgage was securitized or if the loan was/is owned by Fannie Mae...

Video Testimonial Regarding Debt Settlement In Alabama

Posted on April 14, 2010
Keep in mind that every case is different but we hope you enjoy this video of this nice young lady who took the time to talk about what her experience was with us. Please remember every case is different and no one can tell you the result you will receive or what your options are until we sit down with you to discuss your case in detail...

Lenders' Negligence Adds To Problem Of Identity Theft

Posted on April 14, 2010
The New York Times has posted an article that discusses how lenders are adding to the problem of identity theft by still giving someone credit even if there are indicators of fraud. About 10 million Americans are victims of identity theft annually, partly because personal information (like Social Security numbers) is so easily accessible...

Do You Want Bogus Defenses Or Do You Want Real Defenses To Foreclosures In Alabama?

Posted on April 12, 2010
You have come to this blog post because you are searching for ways to defend against a foreclosure in Alabama. First let me say if you are not willing to take action . . . to do something . . . then there is no defense that I know of that will help you save your home...

FTC Survey On Debt-Buying Firms

Posted on April 12, 2010
American Banker has posted an article that discusses an underway FTC study about the accuracy of debt-buying firms. Collection agencies buy debts from organizations like banks for a fraction of the debt's value and then pursue full payment from the debtor...

CA Attorney General Shuts Down 2 Fraudulent Mortgage Companies

Posted on April 12, 2010
Attorney General Jerry Brown, a candidate for California governor in 2010, has posted an article on his website about how he shut down two fraudulent foreclosure-assistance companies and provided $1 million in restitution for the victims used by the companies...

Wonderful Ruling Out Of Florida On Foreclosures - You Won't Believe This....

Posted on April 12, 2010
As you may know, foreclosure litigation is much more frequent in Florida than here because Florida is a "judicial" state (all foreclosures have to go through court) and here in Alabama we are a "non judicial" state (foreclosures are private and don't involve the court)...

Can A Mortgage Company Still Foreclose On Me If I Am In A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

Posted on April 11, 2010
The lure of a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can be very tempting for homeowners facing foreclosure. Bankruptcy lawyers bombard homeowners with advertisements to use bankruptcy to save your home. We will discuss whether chapter 13 is a good option for most homeowners in a future post but those who take the plunge into bankruptcy often do so thinking they will not be facing foreclosure...

Video On Five Step Process To Correct Credit Report Errors

Posted on April 10, 2010
Credit report errors can cause us serious problems with credit, employment, insurance, and housing. The five steps to correcting credit report errors are: 1. Pull your credit reports; 2. Review your credit reports; 3. Dispute false entries; 4. Meet with a consumer lawyer to review the results; and 5...

Why Would A Debt Collector Or Debt Buyer Lie About A Payment We Never Made?

Posted on April 09, 2010
Debt collectors in general, and debt buyers specifically, will often lie about receiving a payment from us that we never made. Why would they do this? The answer is the statute of limitations as they believe that if you make a payment it restarts the statute of limitation so they can sue you on it...

New Anti-Foreclosure Plan

Posted on April 09, 2010
The New York Times has posted an article about the Obama administration's new anti-foreclosure plan that will (hopefully) prevent many more foreclosures and do more to prevent housing prices from continuing to decline. The improved plan addresses many issues the first plan didn't take into consideration...

"Bankruptcy Judge Strikes Back Against Zombie Debt"

Posted on April 09, 2010
The Bankruptcy Law Network has posted an article about a recent case where debt collectors tried to hold a man responsible for a debt that was discharged through bankruptcy fifteen years before. The sale of debt that was discharged in bankruptcy is a violation of the bankruptcy discharge...

Video Testimonial From Alabama Consumer Sued By Two Debt Buyers

Posted on April 08, 2010
John was sued by two different debt buyers which is a huge problem in Alabama - as these companies routinely sue with no evidence or basis to sue consumers. It was our pleasure to represent John and he was kind enough to give us this video which we appreciate so much...

"Free" Credit Scores And Reports Still Not Entirely Free

Posted on April 07, 2010
Our friend Denise Richardson of givemebackmycredit.com has posted an article about the continuing problem of free credit reports and scores still not being completely free. The FTC has posed new regulations on companies claiming to give free credit reports but really come with expensive hidden fees...

Video Testimonial Regarding Foreclosure Defense Seminar And Experience With Watts Law Group, PC

Posted on April 06, 2010
Please remember every case is different and no one can tell you the result you will receive or what your options are until we sit down with you to discuss your case in detail. If you would like to talk with us, please call us at 205-879-2447 or you can fill out a contact form on our website...

New Credit Card Regulations

Posted on April 06, 2010
PBS has posted an article that discusses new credit card regulations and their immediate affects. A new credit card act was passed last year and the rules took effect in February of this year. Some of the new regulations that protect consumers include: ? no retroactive rate hikes; ? statements must be mailed 21 days before payment due date; ? payment dates can't suddenly be shifted; ? statements must say how long it will take to pay off balances and the total interest costs if paying just the monthly minimum; ? 45 days notice required for changes in terms and conditions...

Faulty Bank Paperwork Leads To Investigation Of Lender Processing Services

Posted on April 06, 2010
The Wall Street Journal has posted an article about a recent investigation into a subsidiary company of Lender Processing Services. The company is responsible for providing banks with the documentation necessary when preceeding with foreclosures. Federal prosecutors began looking into the company, Docx, after the dismissal of several foreclosure cases...

Video Testimonial Regarding Debt Collectors Who Harass

Posted on April 06, 2010
A husband and wife discuss their experience with us after they were dealing with an abusive debt collector. Please remember every case is different and no one can tell you the result you will receive or what your options are until we sit down with you to discuss your case in detail...

Video Testimonial On An Alabama Consumer's Experience With Our Firms

Posted on April 05, 2010
To learn more about what it is like to be a client of our firms, please take a look at this one minute video testimonial. Please remember every case is different and no one can tell you the result you will receive or what your options are until we sit down with you to discuss your case in detail...

New Video Testimonial From Alabama Consumer

Posted on April 04, 2010
This is a video from a wonderful lady who came to us with a problem of being sued for a debt she did not owe. We were thrilled to be able to represent her and she was kind enough to give us this video which we appreciate it so much. Please remember every case is different and no one can tell you the result you will receive or what your options are until we sit down with you to discuss your case in detail...

"Mortgage Apple Cakes" Save Woman's Home

Posted on April 03, 2010
The New York Foreclosure Law Blog has posted an interesting story about a woman who saved her home from foreclosure in an unexpected way. Angela Logan, an aspiring actress, actually baked and sold enough "Mortgage Apple Cakes" to make her house payments...

Poll Shows Most Consumers Don't Understand FDCPA Rights

Posted on April 02, 2010
The California Debt Blog has posted an article about a recent poll that shows most consumers don't know or fully understand the rights they are entitled to under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The results of the poll showed: -Only 25% of respondents were familiar with the FDCPA; -10% of respondents think that consumers have too much protection; -Over 40% of respondents had been contacted by a debt collector in the past 5 years; -Almost 90% of respondents said that the debt collector did not inform them of their rights; -Only a quarter of respondents were treated respectfully by the debt collector; -Almost half of the people said that they were threatened in some way by the collector; -More than three quarters of people were contacted by the collector after telling the collector not to call them...

Man Pleads Guilty In Mortgage Rescue Scheme

Posted on April 01, 2010
App.com has posted an article about a recent case where a Brooklyn man has pleaded guilty for running a scheme that falsely promised to help homeowners keep their homes and amend their credit scores. Garth Celestine, the guilty schemer, was the owner of Home Savers Consulting Corporation...

Buffalo, NY Has The Largest Concentration of Debt Collectors

Posted on March 31, 2010
The Huffington Post has posted an article about how Buffalo, New York has become home to one of the largest concentrations of debt collector companies in the country. Buffalo residents have been desperate for jobs and going into business as a debt collector guarantees steady income...

"Bank of America to Reduce Mortgage Balances"

Posted on March 29, 2010
The New York Times has posted an article about the Bank of America's decision to forgive some homeowner's mortgage debt in order to prevent them from losing their homes. However, the program, available "by invitation only," signals a significant shift in efforts to deal with the millions of homeowners who are facing foreclosure...

Government's Plan To Shrink Mortgage Debt

Posted on March 27, 2010
The Associated Press has posted an article that discusses the Obama administration's newly unveiled plan to help some homeowners who are having financial difficulty by reducing the amount owed on their mortgages. The $14 billion in funding comes from the $75 billion already set aside for foreclosure prevention programs, although, some think that the government is taking on too much of a risk by taking on bad loans...

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