Comments for Stern's Fair Debt Collection Blog

Comment on What’s a Foti claim? by Administrator

Administrator — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 02:57:35 +0000

Bobby,
Not certain why you posted this comment here.

Comment on What’s a Foti claim? by Bobby

Bobby — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 11:20:33 +0000

Great post! I had no idea the large cut agencies took. I own a small business and have to collect payment from a client, I tried to be civil but at this point I have to move on with my business. Is there anything else i should be looking at with these companies besides their success percentage?

Comment on What’s a Foti claim? by Administrator

Administrator — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:16:27 +0000

Was there something you wanted to add?

Comment on What’s a Foti claim? by Administrator

Administrator — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:15:47 +0000

Nancy,
I disagree with you.

The message you quote in the first paragraph is one commonly used. That message is NOT compliant with Foti because it fails to disclose the purpose of the call or that the caller is a debt collector. In addition, if the call was the first communication from the debt collector, it fails to state that any information obtained will be used for debt collection purposes.

It is not a violation to mention “debt collector”. On the contrary, the Foti cases conclude that the FDCPA requires such a disclosure. The collection industry has repeatedly argued that making the disclosures risks a prohibited third-party disclosure if someone else hears the message. Every decision — including the only Foti decision from a federal Circuit Court of Appeals — rejects that argument.

So, when a collector calls a consumer and the call is answered by voice mail, if the collector leaves a message, there must be disclosure of the collector’s identity, the purpose of the call and that the caller is a debt collector.

Comment on What’s a Foti claim? by FDCPA

FDCPA — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:06:34 +0000

Under FDCPA you have rights to sue harassing Debt Collectors…

Comment on What’s a Foti claim? by Nancy

Nancy — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 20:38:04 +0000

I am a former debt collector and have gotten calls from agencies that do not use the correct message for a Foti Message. That is: ” Hello, this message is for John Public. If you are not John Public, do not listen to this message. Mr. Public, this message is from Jane Resident from XYZ company. Please return my call at 555-555-5555, extention 1234, regarding a personal business matter. Thank you.” (END CALL)

Anything mentioning “debt collector” and “Any information that you provide to us will be used for the purpose of collecting this debt.” is a blatent violation of the FDCPA and the agency and the collector themselves can be sued for that violation!! In extreme cases, the collection agency could be not only assessed $50,000 fine for each violation, but the individual collector will lose their collectors license and can also be sued for $50,000!! In addition, the collection agency can be forced to pay for the debtor’s attorney fees, pay the amount of the debt to the company the debtor owes, and pay a punitive damage amount determined by the court to the debtor.

Comment on What’s a Foti claim? by Administrator

Administrator — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 11:27:26 +0000

Per Foti, when a debt collector leaves a message for the debtor, the FDCPA requires that it identify itself, disclose the purpose of the call and indicate that it is a debt collector. Debt collectors express concern that, when complying with Foti, they risk an FDCPA-prohibited disclosure to a third party. The only Court of Appeals decision in this area held that the debt collector’s concerns about a third party disclosure was no defense to its failure to leave the required disclosures.
You may have a Foti claim (as well other claims under the FDCPA). The courts have ruled that the debt collector need not say “I am a debt collector” as long as the content of the message reveals that the caller is a debt collector.
I would be happy to discuss this with you. Please give me a call 973-379-7500.

Comment on What’s a Foti claim? by Eve

Eve — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:19:06 +0000

I had a debt collector leave a number of VM msgs today on my cell phone, which is my family’s phone – we don’t have a home phone. In at least one of these calls, he not only did not say “I am a debt collector” (though he said he was calling about a particular credit card) AND said, “Good news! [The CC] will take $8,200 to settle the debt.” My sons do not know we are in a financial bind, and it would extremely upset them if they did! A 2nd collector called after, and I told him about the call, because I was still very upset. He told me to look into a Foti Claim. Do you think I have one? I thought it was based solely on him giving specific information about the debt.

Comment on What’s a Foti claim? by Administrator

Administrator — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:09:27 +0000

I appreciate your explaining the realities of the collection business. Your post recognizes that the greatest likelihood of collection is to engage the consumer. I will assume you are right.
You conclude that Foti both impairs the chance of engagement while risking embarrassing third party disclosures. Your argument for not making the disclosures mandated by the FDCPA is that, as a society, there is too much delinquent consumer debt and, by relieving debt collectors of the FDCPA’s disclosure obligations, the national quantum of debt will be reduced. Where to draw the line between how much debt is tolerable and what conduct is acceptable in collecting that debt is a policy decision. So far, Congress articulated our public policy and concluded that the unregulated economic realities of the debt collection business necessitated imposing standards of conduct which included the obligation to make known who you are, that you are a debt collector, why you are communicating with the consumer and that the information you obtain will be used to collect debt. Perhaps Congress might accept your “the debt is too damn high” argument and relax your disclosure obligations. But, until Congress does so, the law remains that communications from a debt collector to a consumer must include those disclosures.

Comment on What’s a Foti claim? by J

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:54:42 +0000

As a collector who has been in the business for over
a decade I would like to make the American public
privy to a couple of facts I’m quite sure they would’nt
be aware of otherwise.
On a given month my office receives about $5,000,000
in debt to collect on. On a GOOD month we may collect
about $500,000 of that debt. Of the total debt we
collect MAYBE $5000 of that will be mailed in to our
office without ever talking to the debtor. By and
large, people who don’t get collections calls dont
pay what they owe. Even debtors with the best
intentions tend to have an out of sight, out of mind
disposition. Of the thousands of messages per week
only an extreme few debtors actually return our calls.
If we ceased to leave messages we would cease to
exist.
Enter the FOTI message. What the FOTI message has
done is INSURE that 3rd part disclosure is taking
place all the time. Here’s why: Debtors are not
forthcoming with their information. When they receive
a letter from a collection company they do not
immediately call said company and provide them with
the phone numbers in which a FOTI message can be
safely left so that an unauthorized 3rd party doesn’t
hear it. No, instead we have to skip trace virtually
every debtor that comes accross our desks and
because so few people identify themselves on their
voice mail we wind up leaving thousands of messages
on god knows whose voice mail or answering machine.
The courts Vietnam analogy is not only bizzare and
disturbing but to us it’s also the same as saying we
have no inherent right to collect debt. Such thinking
will eventually cause the demise of the collection
industry.
So why should you care? How about because as we speak
there is over $1.6 trillion in consumer debt. That’s
more than a trillion and a half dollars in stuff
debtors have yet to pay for. Who’s going to pay for
it? Certainly not the banks.