Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: MarineUS on October 14, 2012, 08:20:04 PM
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A debt collector, angered that a disabled US Army veteran was living off of disability payments, told him he “should have died” in war instead of "taking advantage of" other Americans.
Minnesota-based debt collection agency Gurstel Chargo is now facing a lawsuit for verbally abusing the Army vet over a $6,000 defaulted student loan, Courthouse News reports.
“If you would have served our country better you would not be a disabled veteran living off Social Security while the rest of us honest Americans work our tulips off,” one of the agency’s debt collectors allegedly told the vet. “Too bad, you should have died.”
Michael Collier was declared 100 per cent disabled after suffering permanent spine and head injuries while in the Army. As a result, both Collier and his wife receive disability payments from the federal Social Security Administration, which are exempt from seizure by debt collectors.
But in an attempt to collect on the defaulted student loan, the collector seized the money from Collier's wife’s savings account. The credit union then proceeded to freeze her account.
The Colliers filed an objection and requested a court hearing, at which the couple was told their frozen funds were exempt from such garnishment.
But the debt collection agency’s lawyer continued to harass the couple. Telling Collier “he would need to get a lawyer in order to get his money back,” an unidentified paralegal cursed at and threatened him over the phone.
“F--k you!” the paralegal allegedly said, “Pay us your money! You can’t afford an attorney. You owe us. I hope your wife divorces you.”
The couple is now seeking compensation for actual damages, statutory damages, and punitive damages for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), privacy invasion, malicious infliction of emotional distress and conversion.
The FDCPA considers it abusive for a debt collector to make empty threats, misrepresent the legal status of a debt, or use obscene of profane language.
According to the Daily Beast, debt collectors sometimes use abusive techniques to pry money from the indebted because of the commission rates they receive. On average, debt collectors make 20 cents for every dollar recouped. At this rate, the Colliers’ debt would be worth $1,200 to Chargo.
Verbal harassment is a commonly-used technique to instigate debtors into making payments. In 2010, the Federal Trade Commission received 50,000 complaints about severe harassment from debt collectors, 18,000 of which included the use of obscene language.
And some say that number is low.
“That’s just the tip of the iceberg, as far as I’m concerned,” attorney Sergei Lemberg told the Daily Beast.
While Chargo's berating took it too far for the Colliers, there are of thousands of cases of abuse that never make it to court.
http://rt.com/usa/news/us-debt-collector-disabled-veteran-372/
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Stupid is as stupid does, and the rest of us have to live with it.
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Debt collector is living proof Indians fornicated with buffaloes :mad:
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That debt collector doesn't have the balls to do anything but sit behind a desk and tell a man who fought for our country he should've died and his wife should divorce him? Over a 6K loan? I don't care how much he's getting paid to do it - Lets see him take 1 step near Iraq ...
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Debt collector's are fun to mess with.
shamus
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I always tell them the person they are trying to reach is deceased. :aok
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tried to research this story but all the sites that mention this story arent that reliable. I kind of doubt that the story is true. I remember a similar story being told back during the first persian gulf war.
the reason i doubt the story is the story itself. if you notice that the caller is first a debt collector then it's an attorney then it switches to a paralegal. first of all attorneys dont call to collect debt. they have staff do it. and they sure as hell wont have paralegals do it either. but another thing that bothers me is that you cannot garnish anybody's wages or seize accounts without a judge's order. and before a judge issues an order then there's a hearing. had there been a hearing then the vet and his wife should have showed up as they would have been summoned. then the vet would have explained that he only had ss as his only income. that would have been the end of it as the agency cant seize accounts without a court order.
the other thing that makes me doubt the story is that the vet is suing for " compensation for actual damages, statutory damages, and punitive damages for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), privacy invasion, malicious infliction of emotional distress and conversion"
talk to any attorney and see what they tell you about that. seriously "privacy invasion"? what is wrong with that.
whoever wrote that message needs to go back to school.
semp
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Debt collector is living proof Indians fornicated with buffaloes :mad:
seriously the indians?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNMq8XS4LhE
semp
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The company lending the money should not be lending money to people who dont pay it back :old:
If they are that stupid its their own fault, money lenders is the old name for them :old:
Baliffs are no better :old:
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The company lending the money should not be lending money to people who dont pay it back :old:
If they are that stupid its their own fault, money lenders is the old name for them :old:
Baliffs are no better :old:
they lend money because the feds guarantee it. student loands, child suppport, taxes, alimony and a few others must be paid back. even from ss or hand outs.
but this story I truly believe is false. on the other hand I do believe some disabled vets are being hounded by debts like this and that is sad.
semp
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tried to research this story but all the sites that mention this story arent that reliable. I kind of doubt that the story is true. I remember a similar story being told back during the first persian gulf war.
semp
Public Record, court filings.....suit is real, not sure about the whole story
Collier et al v. Gurstel Chargo PA
Plaintiffs: Michael Andrew Collier and Kim Collier-Dingman
Defendant: Gurstel Chargo PA
Case Number: 2:2012cv02161
Filed: October 10, 2012
Court: Arizona District Court
Office: Phoenix Division Office
County: Maricopa
Presiding Judge: Bridget S Bade
Nature of Suit: Other Statutes - Other Statutory Actions
Cause: 15:1692
Jurisdiction: Federal Question
Jury Demanded By: Plaintiff
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they lend money because the feds guarantee it. student loands, child suppport, taxes, alimony and a few others must be paid back. even from ss or hand outs.
but this story I truly believe is false. on the other hand I do believe some disabled vets are being hounded by debts like this and that is sad.
semp
Credit cards, borrowing money is too easy, I knew people who were jail birds and banned from driving getting loans of car companies :old:
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I always tell them the person they are trying to reach is deceased. :aok
I tell the collector that they won the lottery and moved out of state, I figure that there is a lot of activity on that file for a while. :lol
shamus
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Debt collector's are fun to mess with.
shamus
How true, how true...
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Public Record, court filings.....suit is real, not sure about the whole story
Collier et al v. Gurstel Chargo PA
Plaintiffs: Michael Andrew Collier and Kim Collier-Dingman
Defendant: Gurstel Chargo PA
Case Number: 2:2012cv02161
Filed: October 10, 2012
Court: Arizona District Court
Office: Phoenix Division Office
County: Maricopa
Presiding Judge: Bridget S Bade
Nature of Suit: Other Statutes - Other Statutory Actions
Cause: 15:1692
Jurisdiction: Federal Question
Jury Demanded By: Plaintiff
Don't confuse him with facts, M...
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I tell the collector that they won the lottery and moved out of state, I figure that there is a lot of activity on that file for a while. :lol
shamus
I usually go for the infant angle...
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Don't confuse him with facts, M...
but look at the story itself. there are so many grammatical errors that it wasnt a copy and paste. who really sues for "privacy invasion". then look at this
"But in an attempt to collect on the defaulted student loan, the collector seized the money from Collier's wife’s savings account. The credit union then proceeded to freeze her account.
The Colliers filed an objection and requested a court hearing, at which the couple was told their frozen funds were exempt from such garnishment."
according to the fair trade act
"If you don’t pay a debt, a creditor or its debt collector generally can sue you to collect. If they win, the court will enter a judgment against you. The judgment states the amount of money you owe, and allows the creditor or collector to get a garnishment order against you, directing a third party, like your bank, to turn over funds from your account to pay the debt."
they would have known way in advance that there was a court hearing where they would have stated their objections. and student loans can be deducted from disability payments.
this is what you an actually sue for :
Do I have any recourse if I think a debt collector has violated the law?
You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If you win, the judge can require the collector to pay you for any damages you can prove you suffered because of the illegal collection practices, like lost wages and medical bills. The judge can require the debt collector to pay you up to $1,000, even if you can’t prove that you suffered actual damages. You also can be reimbursed for your attorney’s fees and court costs. A group of people also may sue a debt collector as part of a class action lawsuit and recover money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the collector’s net worth, whichever amount is lower. Even if a debt collector violates the FDCPA in trying to collect a debt, the debt does not go away if you owe i
it looks like the story was embellished as hell. as for the debt he is still required to pay it. but just curious was this a student loan he got before he joined the army? what happened to the gi bill?
semp
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You can loook right right here and find most of anything you need to know:
http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/Docket/index.asp (http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/Docket/index.asp)
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You can loook right right here and find most of anything you need to know:
http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/Docket/index.asp (http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/Docket/index.asp)
there's 2 cases that fit the descriptions of student loans. neither one of them is for 6,000. both are for almost 50,000 including interest and fees. both cases are against the collier and he lost both. both have garnishments and a default judgment was entered against him. one also mentions a kim assuming it's the wife. looks like both cases are for the same person but neither one states that he's a vet. and he lost both cases in which a garnishment was also entered.
i still doubt that the story as originally stated is entirely true. looks like there was a lot of embellishments. the funny thing is that it looks like the case is from the university of phoenix which used to be a pretty good school but now it has changed to all about getting their money upfront. one of my gf's friends went to school for 1 day and quit, she owes 30,000 in student loans. she never got a penny all the money was paid in advance for a 2 year degree to the school.
semp
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there's 2 cases that fit the descriptions of student loans. neither one of them is for 6,000. both are for almost 50,000 including interest and fees. both cases are against the collier and he lost both. both have garnishments and a default judgment was entered against him. one also mentions a kim assuming it's the wife. looks like both cases are for the same person but neither one states that he's a vet. and he lost both cases in which a garnishment was also entered.
i still doubt that the story as originally stated is entirely true. looks like there was a lot of embellishments. the funny thing is that it looks like the case is from the university of phoenix which used to be a pretty good school but now it has changed to all about getting their money upfront. one of my gf's friends went to school for 1 day and quit, she owes 30,000 in student loans. she never got a penny all the money was paid in advance for a 2 year degree to the school.
semp
Go figure :rolleyes:
I'm sure she signed the loan papers somewhere along the line. The loan was for school? Why would the money go to her? She quit after signing the loan papers? Sucks to be her...
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Well this is how it wall went down Semp, Bill collecter hires lawyer who sees debtor is court who then proceds to tells him)the debtor) he cant afford lawyer, then continues to have his staff(paralegal) call the debtor.
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Stupid is as stupid does, and the rest of us have to live with it.
Debt collectors are scum bags.
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Debt collectors are scum bags.
fat people are disgusting
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Well this is how it wall went down Semp, Bill collecter hires lawyer who sees debtor is court who then proceds to tells him)the debtor) he cant afford lawyer, then continues to have his staff(paralegal) call the debtor.
look at the link VonMessa posted do a search then you will see what happened. not questioning the debt as it is legally owed and garnishment was legally obtained. what I am questioning is if all the insults really happened or most of it was just an embellishments by someone. no way to tell if the debtor is a vet either much less handicappe
.
semp
semp
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Must be a seperate case. No way was it filed and resolved in 5 days.
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look at the link VonMessa posted do a search then you will see what happened. not questioning the debt as it is legally owed and garnishment was legally obtained. what I am questioning is if all the insults really happened or most of it was just an embellishments by someone. no way to tell if the debtor is a vet either much less handicappe
.
semp
semp
I see your point Semp. I guess the plantiff would throw the insults in to help with the courts opinion, but for sure the collectors calls were recorded and they could subpoena them maybe.
EDIT: Looking at that site more I wouldnt take anything comeing off there as serious.