We can help you in one of four ways under our Debt Collection Practice Group Division.
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Debt Disputes of Inaccurate Info on Credit Report.
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Debt Settlement before or after you are sued.
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Debt Defense if you are sued or garnished.
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FDCPA violations at any time.
1. Debt Disputes on the Credit Report
You have a right to get one free credit report every year from each of the credit bureaus. Go to Annual Credit Report.
How to Dispute Credit Report Errors in Writing
If your credit report has errors, it is important that you dispute them right away. Credit report errors can be very costly, in the form of higher interest rates, higher insurance premiums, loan denial, promotion or job loss, or housing denial. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, credit reporting agencies must make sure that all information that they report is accurate. Unfortunately, credit report errors are very common.
You have the right to dispute credit report errors and sue credit reporting agencies for damages.
Most credit reporting agencies (CRAs) have a disputes area on their websites, or they will send you a form with your credit report. If you do not have a correction form, or cannot locate a dispute submission area online, you can dispute credit report errors in writing.
Dispute Credit Report Errors In Writing
- Use letter below as a template and then handwrite or type the letter.
- Contact Us
Remember to always keep a copy of each letter or online submission you send. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the CRAs have 30 days to look into your complaint and act on it, and documentation of the dispute or investigation must show in your report.
Sample Credit Report Dispute Letter
Date
Your name
Your address
Your city, state, zip code
Name of CRA [Equifax, Experian, Trans Union]
Address
City, state, zip code
Dear Sir or Madam:
After reviewing my credit report, I am writing to dispute the following inaccurate information. I am listing each item along with the way it should be corrected:
[Account name] [Account number] [How it should report / Why it’s inaccurate*]
[Account name] [Account number] [How it should report / Why it’s inaccurate*]
[Account name] [Account number] [How it should report / Why it’s inaccurate*]
Supporting documents have been enclosed. Pursuant to the FCRA, please forward them to the credit furnishers. If you are not going to forward them, please inform me so I may do so myself.
Sincerely,
(sign here)
Your name
Your Social Security Number
Your Date of Birth
Enclosures: (list what you are enclosing – examples: police report, fraud affidavit, proof of payment, etc)
*Note: The more detailed and specific information you can give to describe the reason it’s inaccurate, the better. You should also list any/all inaccurate personal information and inquiries.
You may send a dispute letter to each Credit Reporting Agency from whom you have ordered, received, and reviewed, a copy of your report if you think there are errors or wrong information. The addresses for dispute letters to the big 3 CRA’s are:
TransUnion LLC
TransUnion Consumer Solutions
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016-2000
(800) 916-8800
Equifax Information Services, LLC
Equifax Information Services, LLC
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374-0256
(866) 349-5191
Experian
Experian Nat’l Consumer Assistance Center
P.O. Box 4500
Allen, TX 75013
(888) 397-3742
2. Debt Settlement
Our Debt Negotiation Services
At Pagliara Law Group, we have extensive experience working with creditors to collect debts, so we have a comprehensive understanding of the law and the tactics creditors use. We know how to work with creditors and their legal counsel to work out affordable ways to pay any legitimate obligations. We may be able to resolve your debt for 70 percent principal reduction and eliminate the interest and get your debt free in a 2 to 4 year term.
When you have unresolved debts, it’s critical that you move quickly to retain legal counsel, so that you don’t have a judgment entered against you. If you are currently receiving calls or letters, or have been served with legal documents, you need to contact us immediately.
3. Debt Defense if you are sued
Fighting Lawsuits, Judgments, Bank Levies, and Garnishments
Have you been sued by a creditor, lender, or collection agency because of unpaid debts? Or has a creditor frozen your bank account or garnished you wages? If so, you need a skilled New Jersey debt relief attorney on your side to protect your consumer rights. Every consumer is protected by various rules and laws regarding debt collection and what a creditor can and cannot do when collecting debt.
Judgments
When a consumer defaults on his or her debt for too long, the creditor or collection agency may approach the court to obtain a judgment to collect the debt in a number of ways. These means of collection include wage garnishment and bank levies, as seen below. Our firm can represent you and help you fight a judgment by proving that it places you and your family in undue hardship.
Garnishments
Wage garnishments occur when a creditor obtains a judgment that requires your employer to withhold a percentage of your pay and give it to your creditor as repayment. Wage garnishment has its restrictions and can also place you in undue hardship, which can help you stop wage garnishments.
Bank Levies
Another judgment that a creditor can take out against you is a bank levy. At this time, they can “freeze” your bank accounts, preventing you from accessing them until you have repaid your debt. Our team can skillfully defend you from such actions and fight to prevent you and your family from suffering unnecessary financial hardship when you are already struggling to make ends meet.
Have you been served with a lawsuit?
Our lawyers have vast experience in defending and settling debt collection lawsuits in New Jersey. Depending on how you were served with the Summons and Complaint, a Defendant has a short time frame to answer, but are not limited to: Statute of Limitations, Lack of Jurisdiction, Accord and Satisfaction, and Lack of Standing. Even if you received a lawsuit for business debt, we can help you understand your options for defense.
Contact our office to learn what options may be available to help resolve your lawsuit, which may possibly include debt lawsuit defense, debt settlement, or bankruptcy.
4.Debt Collection Abuse under the FDCPA
Keep in mind the FDCPA only protects you against third party collectors if the debt is sold. NJ has its own version that applies to in house original creditors. Chase and Discover like to keep the debt and not sale it and pursue you on their own.
In these difficult economic times, any of us can fall behind in paying our credit card bills, doctor bills, phone bills or other bills. When you owe someone money, you are a debtor and the person you owe it to is a creditor. Once your account goes into default, creditors often hire a collection agency or a collection attorney to get you to pay, rather than trying to collect from you directly. Although debt collectors may use legitimate methods to get you to pay your debt, they are not allowed to badger, harass or deceive you in the process.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
Debt collectors commit many different types of abusive collection practices and technical violations of the law. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is the primary law that regulates what debt collectors can and cannot do. The FDCPA prohibits not only obvious abusive practices, such as threats of violence, but also lying or deception, such as telling you that it is a crime not to pay the debt. Furthermore, when debt collectors contact you by phone, mail or any other way, the law requires that they identify themselves as debt collectors and state that they are contacting you trying to collect on a debt.
If a debt collector violates the FDCPA, you may be entitled to up to $1,000 in damages under the law, plus any actual damages you may have suffered, plus your attorney’s fees. Please remember to save any letters or voicemail messages you receive from debt collectors. This helps to evaluate your claim and document any violations. Contact The Pagliara Law Group now.
Do I Have a Claim Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?
The FDCPA has many protections for consumers built into it. Debt collectors often violate provisions of the law. For example, one requirement is that in its first collection notice to you, the debt collector must state that you have a right to dispute any or all of the debt in writing. If the debt collector doesn’t state all of your rights and use the proper wording, they may have violated the FDCPA. In addition, if any of the following has happened to you, the debt collector may have violated the FDCPA:
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Phony Collection Fees or Interest Charges
Your contract or agreement will spell out what collection fees and interest the creditor may charge. Debt collectors cannot simply come up with a collection fee if you did not agree to it in your contract with the creditor or if the fee is not specified by law.
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Unlawful Contact
Generally, debt collectors cannot call you after 9pm or before 8am, or call you at work if they know that your employer does not allow such calls. They cannot contact you if they know that you are represented by an attorney. After you have notified them in writing to stop contacting you or that you refuse to pay the debt, they cannot contact you trying to collect.
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Harassment, Threats and Abuse
Debt collectors cannot threaten to hurt you, curse at you or use abusive language with you. Debt collectors cannot try to embarrass you into paying by threatening to tell your friends, co-workers or neighbors about your debt. A creditor cannot threaten a lawsuit either unless it is imminent.
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Deception, Lies and Misrepresentation
When contacting you whether by phone or in writing, debt collectors cannot lie, mislead or deceive you. In their first contact with you, they must identify themselves as debt collectors. Furthermore, they must state that they are trying to collect on a debt, any information they receive will be used to collect on a debt and that you have a right to dispute any or all of the debt. Debt collectors cannot lie about the amount of the debt or tell you there is a legal judgment against you for the debt if this is not true.
201-470-4181
