Gainesville Debt Collection Attorney

Back in 1981, this was my home.  I left with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) in Accounting from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. and my  Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Florida Law School, also in Gainesville, Florida.  Gainesville was an amazing town to call home, especially as a student.  Today, we are debt collection attorneys in Gainesville, and many old friends have called us to help in collecting debts with businesses they started, all having roots back to our school.

Come visit our pages dedicated to Gainesville to learn more about this fantastic city, filled with opportunity, and to take a tour around our old stomp'n grounds!


http://www.marcadislaw.com/index.php/primary-cities/gainesville-debt-collection-attorney

or in Spanish

http://www.marcadislaw.com/index.php/es/ciudades-principales/abogados-de-coleccion-de-en-gainesville

Marcadis Singer, PA

Florida Collection Attorney

5104 South Westshore Blvd.

Tampa, Florida 33611

info @ marcadislaw.com

(888) 547-1881

(813) 288-1881

New Clients 

Ext. 247 Gil Singer

Ext. 240 Ralph Marcadis

Existing Client Client Liaison

Ext. 242

To Pay a Claim

Ext.  245

Domestication of foreign judgment or exemplified judgment

Domestication of foreign judgment or exemplified judgment

If you have a judgment that was awarded in another state  (foreign judgment), it may be possible to file this judgment in Florida courts.  Even though the judgment is entered by another state, Florida still refers to them as a foreign judgment. Once the judgment is deemed filed in Florida, it is a valid Florida judgment, which entitles the creditor to all post-judgment collection options. 

Florida Statute 55 provides for  the "Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act".  If you have a valid judgment from another state or another country, you first need to obtain from the clerk of court where the judgment was first entered an “Exemplified Judgment”.   Once obtained, the creditor must file with the Florida Clerk of Court the exemplified  judgment together with an affidavit which attests to the fact that there is a valid non-Florida judgment, and the last known local address of the debtor to prove residency and establish personal jurisdiction.  This affidavit, along with an exemplified copy of the foreign judgment is accompanied by a check for the proper recording and filing fees, and is then filed with clerk.  The clerk sends notice of this recording to the debtor, to which they have 30 days to file an action objecting to the filing.   Technically the only basis for the defendant to  object shall be either lack of jurisdiction by the original court or service of process.  However, for practical purpose, we have seen Florida courts reject foreign judgments for many variety of reasons.

If the clerk's notice goes unchallenged the creditor can begin to  collect.  The average turn around time for a foreign judgment is approximately 60 days, however it can be longer in some counties. For example,  Broward County and Palm Beach County require the judgment to first be recorded. The judgment and a notice of recordation is mailed back to the creditor, who must wait 30 days to monitor for objection.  After the 30 days has lapsed, the creditor can then send it back in for filing and a Florida case number.  Due the clerks' heavy work load, the turn around time in these two counties is regularly longer.

Once the judgment is finalized it will remain a valid Florida judgment.  This judgment once domesticated, will remain in effect for a period of twenty years, or for as long as the judgment is valid in the original forum. 

As an alternative to the above described domesticating of judgments, a creditor can also file an independent action on an out of state judgment.  The difficulty with this method is actual service by sheriff or process server is required for the Florida action. This independent action must be commenced within 5 years of the judgment being entered.  The regular rules of Civil Procedure apply to this type of action and, unlike the above procedure all issues can be litigated.   Once the judgment on the independent action is entered, this judgment will be valid for 20 years, regardless of the forum state's judgment limitation period. 

Plan Ahead! Minimize Tuition Debt

With higher tuition prices and more student debt on the line, Point Loma Nazarene's Reed says that it's even more important for families to financially plan ahead. That means not only creating a college savings strategy early and taking advantage of compound interest, but also having a serious chat about how much debt the family can handle. "A lot of people tend to think 'someday I'll pay this back,' but really should be thinking about 'should I take out this much money,' and seeing in my chosen career path what my starting salary is," Reed says. "I know that's a hard conversation to have with an 18-year-old traditionally coming into a college experience, but the more we can encourage students and families to think ahead, the better off they'll be on the repayment side." According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the average 2013 college graduate had a starting salary of $45,327, with humanities and social science majors ranking lowest with average salaries of $37,791 per year, while engineers bring home more than $62,000 annually. Students can find starting salary information for their majors at NACEweb.org.

Figure 1: Average Salaries by Discipline

Broad Category	2013 Average Salary	2012 Average Salary	Percent Change
Business	$55,144	$53,900	2.3%
Communications	$44,552	$43,717	1.9%
Computer Science	$59,084	$59,221	-0.2%
Education	$40,590	$40,668	-0.2%
Engineering	$62,564	$62,655	-0.1%
Humanities & Social Sciences	$38,045	$36,988	2.9%
Math & Sciences	$42,956	$42,471	1.1%
Overall	$45,633	$44,482	2.6%

Source: January 2014 Salary Survey, National Association of Colleges and Employers

- See more at: http://naceweb.org/s01082014/salary-survey-class-of-2013.aspx?land-salres-lp-2-spot-salsv-02142014#sthash.Wc9z8wRt.dpuf

Marcadis Singer, PA

Florida Collection Attorney

5104 South Westshore Blvd.

Tampa, Florida 33611

info @ marcadislaw.com

(888) 547-1881

(813) 288-1881

New Clients 

Ext. 247 Gil Singer

Ext. 240 Ralph Marcadis

Existing Client Client Liaison

Ext. 242

To Pay a Claim

Ext.  245

Another in our stand against unreasonable Student Loans (Con't)

4.  Take the income driven assistance plan

There's a new program that has been put out there to help reduce the risk of default for college grads with lots of collect debt.

Eligible federal loan borrowers can have their monthly student loan payments capped at 10 percent or 15 percent of their discretionary income and forgiven after 20 or 25 years of consecutive payments.  There's tax consequences on what gets forgiven.   If ou work in public service, you many even have your debt forgiven in 10 years, and without the tax issues.

Check out www.studentaid.gov  to estimate your payments using the income based scale.

Marcadis Singer, PA

5104 South Westshore Blvd.

Tampa, Florida 33611

info @ marcadislaw.com

(888) 547-1881

(813) 288-1881

New Clients 

Ext. 247 Gil Singer

Ext. 240 Ralph Marcadis

Existing Client Client Liaison

Ext. 242

To Pay a Claim

Ext.  245

Never make false statements!

“I always tell the truth. Even when I lie.” 

― Al Pacino

You might be lied to, but when collecting a debt... you have to be sure to always be on the right side of the equation, and always honest.

In their bulletin "Representation Regarding Effect of Debt Payments on Credit Reports and Scores"  The CFPB lays out guidelines for creditors debt buyer and third=party collectors about what you should and should not be saying to debtors while collecting on a debt.

These guidelines are largely focussed on the impact of the debt on the debtors credit score.   Specifically these are the areas under discussion in the bulletin:

• Paying debts in collection and improvements in a consumer’s credit report• Paying debts in collection and improvements in a consumer’s credit score• Paying debts in collection and improvements in a consumer’s creditworthiness• Paying debts in collection and the increased likelihood of a consumer receiving credit or more favorable credit terms from a lender

Based on its supervision, enforcement, and other activities, the CFPB is aware these

types of representations are being made and is concerned some may be deceptive under the FDCPA, the Dodd-Frank Act, or both. 

Navigating the collections waters can be far trickier than any business person might imagine.  With more complicated scenarios, it may pay to involve a professional in the collection of a debt.  

When its time to call the debt collection attorneys in Florida, look to Marcadis Singer, PA.

Marcadis Singer, PA

5104 South Westshore Blvd.

Tampa, Florida 33611

info @ marcadislaw.com

(888) 547-1881

(813) 288-1881

New Clients 

Ext. 247 Gil Singer

Ext. 240 Ralph Marcadis

Existing Client Client Liason

Ext. 242

To Pay a Claim

Ext.  245

Look for Complaints, Welcome Them.

Huh?  How counter-intuitive is that??

Well, consumer complaints are an almost inevitable part of the debt collection industry in Florida.

The question is would you rather that those complaints come to you, or would you rather handle the debtor dispute in-house, BEFORE it gets to the CFPB, or the Better Business Bureau, or worse the state attorney general?

Your door should be open to hearing debtor complaints, and your team should be active in acting on them.

Take care of consumer complaints before they damage your reputation, before you open yourself to law suits.  Since consumer complaints are an inevitable part of our industry, be sure you are well equipped to not just deal with them, but to draw them into your organization before they escalate.

As always, if the process of debt collection in Florida becomes too large, and its time to call in an attorney, look to the debt collection lawyers in Florida, Marcadis Singer, PA.

Marcadis Singer, PA

5104 South Westshore Blvd.

Tampa, Florida 33611

info @ marcadislaw.com

(888) 547-1881

(813) 288-1881

New Clients 

Ext. 247 Gil Singer

Ext. 240 Ralph Marcadis

Existing Client Client Liason

Ext. 242

To Pay a Claim

Ext.  245

2014 The Year Ahead in Debt Collection Part 2

Overdraft Fees

Are overdraft fees a thing of the past?

Overdraft fees are bank charges to the consumer, if the bank choses to honor a check written by the consumer for which there is insufficient funds.

   This single fee generates an incredible $31 BILLION in revenue for banks.   In 2010, the Federal Reserve stopped banks from charging overdraft fees, unless consumers agreed for the program ahead of time with the debit and credit cards.

Even though there are these new rules on the books to "opt out" of the fees, banks have not been overly speedy in changing their ways.

“Consumer advocates would like to see overdraft fees regulated to limit the number of times fees can be applied, how the fees are calculated and to have fees related to the amount of the overdraft,” Professor Levitin said.

61%  of bank fees were from overdraft last year.   This is not an issue that banks are quick to give up!

Overdraft Fees can make the difference for some banks between being profitable, and not.

We are hearing clear indications that these will be under review again buy the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

As debt collection attorney's in Florida, it is our commitment to keep our clients in the know on current legislation that effects their ability to collect a debt, and the general direction of the industry going forward.

The story of US debt from 1790 to 2011 Part 5

Credit where Credit is Due.  We came across an outstanding article by Matt Phillips from 2012 that does a magnificent job of showing the history of US Debt from 1790 to today.

The complete article can be found here

http://qz.com/26062/one-chart-that-tells-the-story-of-us-debt-from-1790-to-2011/

The Great Recession

The great recession was the perfect storm to blow debt-to-GDP ratios skyward. GDP tumbled. That means that even without a spending increase, debt-to-GDP would have jumped sharply. Moreover, government revenues shrank to their lowest level since 1950 — as a percentage of GDP — because business activity declined; that meant that debt levels would have to rise, even without spending increases. And there were indeed spending increases. For instance, in 2009, outlays increased to more than 25% of GDP, the highest level since World War II.  That number declined somewhat, to 24.1%, where it rested in both 2010 and 2011. The U.S. started 2012 with $10.48 trillion in publicly traded debt. And by the end of last week, it was$11.42 trillion.

So how do we get to $16.2 trillion?

Because on top of the roughly $11.4 trillion in US government debt, which can be bought and sold and is floating around in financial markets, there’s also nearly $5 trillion in debt that the US government owes to itself. Those are largely obligations to the trust funds that are used to pay for programs such as Social Security. These aren’t counted in debt-to-GDP charts published here, and are often excluded from such calculations. But if you did include this debt—and there’s an argument to be made that we should, since the government is on the hook to pay these claims—the US debt-to-GDP ratio was just under 100% at the end of 2011.

So what does that mean? Here’s where we get into some arguments. Some economists say that the empirical record suggests that a debt-to-GDP ratio this high is bad for long-term economic growth because the borrowing costs become a drag on other government spending. Others argue that such observations aren’t that helpful because it isn’t as if large build-ups of debt always come before economic slowdowns. Sometimes large buildups of debt sometimes result from shocks to economic growth—such as massive collapses in the financial system.

Still, many people are looking at Japan as a potential cautionary tale of for the US. Japan suffered its own real-estate bubble, bust, and banking failure in the early 1990s. Its debt-to-GDP has surged to more than 200% in recent years. Back in the mid-1980s, it was around 50%. And for what it’s worth, it’s not as if the Japanese economy shows signs of gathering long-term strength any time soon.

Marcadis Singer, PA

5104 South Westshore Blvd.

Tampa, Florida 33611

info @ marcadislaw.com

(888) 547-1881

(813) 288-1881

The story of US debt from 1790 to 2011 Part 4

Credit where Credit is Due.  We came across an outstanding article by Matt Phillips from 2012 that does a magnificent job of showing the history of US Debt from 1790 to today.

The complete article can be found here

http://qz.com/26062/one-chart-that-tells-the-story-of-us-debt-from-1790-to-2011/

Reaganomics

Debt-to-GDP began another upswing in the early 1980s, when the US fell into a particularly nasty recession, set off by the Federal Reserve under Paul Volcker, who raised interest rates to record heights in order to defeat inflation. Government receipts flattened thanks in part to the large, permanent tax cuts that served as one of the top accomplishments of President Ronald Reagan’s first term. Spending jumped on both defense and social programs. Deficits exploded, breaking with the US tradition of only running large deficits during wartime. Debt-to-GDP began to climb and it hit a postwar peak of more than 49% in the early 1990s. In 1995, the publicly held debt outstanding was about $3.6 trillion (or $5.47 trillion, in today’s money).  After that, a surge of economic growth, and increased revenues—thanks in part to the 1990 tax increases that cost the first President George Bush re-election and tax increases pushed through by the Clinton administration —helped bend the trajectory of the debt load back into line.

W.

The debt-load continued to look increasingly manageable throughout the late 1990s, and it hit its recent low of less than 33% of GDP in 2001. At that point, things looked so good on the debt front, that some were projecting the US would be within striking distance of eliminating the entire debt within a decade. It didn’t work out that way.

A recession, combined with tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 championed by President George W. Bush, severely crimped revenue. At the same time, spending surged both on military outlays after Sept. 11 and on domestic programs such as an expensive prescription-drug benefit for senior citizens. As a result. US borrowing shot higher to finance the Bush Administration’s efforts to stabilize the banking system as the economy teetered on the brink in 2008. Total government debt available to be traded publicly rose from $3.41 trillion in December 2000 to $5.80 trillion in December 2008, an increase of 70%; the debt-to-GDP ratio went up from 34.7% in 2000 to 40.5% in 2008. 

Marcadis Singer, PA

5104 South Westshore Blvd.

Tampa, Florida 33611

info @ marcadislaw.com

(888) 547-1881

(813) 288-1881

The story of US debt from 1790 to 2011 Part 3

Credit where Credit is Due.  We came across an outstanding article by Matt Phillips from 2012 that does a magnificent job of showing the history of US Debt from 1790 to today.

The complete article can be found here

http://qz.com/26062/one-chart-that-tells-the-story-of-us-debt-from-1790-to-2011/

The Depression

This is really the start of the very familiar political arguments about the role of government spending and economic growth. The chart above shows the relationship between debt and growth. As the size, scope and role of government changed drastically under Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal, the US posted its biggest-ever peacetime debt increase. The debt jumped by 150% from 1930 to 1939, when it was at around $40.44 billion (about $673 billion in today’s money.) At the same time, the economy—the bottom of the formula—collapsed, as did government revenues, which suffered from lower economic activity. The result? A new debt-to-GDP record of 44% in 1934. And this was all before Pearl Harbor.

World War II

The debt-to-GDP ratio hit its all-time record of 113% by war’s end. Debt was at$241.86 billion in 1946, about $2.87 trillion in current dollars. Unlike after World War I, the US never really tried to pay down much of the debt it incurred during World War II. Still the debt shrank in significance as the US economy grew. It would take the debt-to-GDP ratio until 1962 just to get back to where the US was before the war. And with some fits and starts the debt load declined until hitting its recent low in 1974 at 24%, when the debt outstanding held by the public was$343.7 billion ($1.61 trillion, in current dollars.) 

Marcadis Singer, PA

5104 South Westshore Blvd.

Tampa, Florida 33611

info @ marcadislaw.com

(888) 547-1881

(813) 288-1881

The story of US debt from 1790 to 2011 Part 2

Once Again, we are NOT the authors of this excellent article.  We came accross this article by Matt Phillips, and were so impressed, that we offer it here to our clients.

The full article can be found at this address.

http://qz.com/26062/one-chart-that-tells-the-story-of-us-debt-from-1790-to-2011/

Civil War

The next major surge in debt coincided with the US Civil War. The federal government was nearly debt-free before the war. The public debt surged from about$65 million in 1860 to $2.76 billion in 1866. (The Lincoln administration also signed into law the first income tax in the country’s history in 1862, which was repealed 10 years later.) The debt would never get below $900 million again. But a surge of late-19th-century economic growth, with a bit of inflation, helped the US gradually reduce the the Civil War debt as a percentage of economic output.

Marcadis Singer, PA

5104 South Westshore Blvd.

Tampa, Florida 33611

info @ marcadislaw.com

(888) 547-1881

(813) 288-1881

6 Sure Fire Ways To Get Upside Down in Debt! - (Con't.)

6. Play the balance transfer game.

Taming the debt monster is mostly about a mindset to be free of debt, and discipline.

Don't Feed The Debt Monster

The balance transfer game is a shell game, that seems to make a lot of sense on the surface.   There's a zero interest, or low interest card you can apply for.   Get it, and move all the debt from your high interest card to the low interest card, planning to pay it off in the 6 months low interest window.

The problem here is that you now have 2 cards which you can stack up debt with.  The low initial interest rate card is rarely paid off in the 6 month window.  The card issuers know this, that's why they offered it to you.   With the low interest card now maxed by moving all the high interest debt to it, you begin to re-use the high interest card as it now has breathing room.  Once the no interest window is over.. BAM... you now have 2 high interest cards, with balances, that you are paying for.

If you are given the opportunity to get a no interest introductory card, chances are that it is because your credit has improved enough that a card issuer is prepared to take additional risk offering you more credit.  Perhaps, your present card holder is not prepared to lose your debt business.   Try calling your current card holder, and explaining that you have another card offer, and asking for a reduction in interest to keep you as a customer.

It doesn't always work, but chances are it will work more often than thinking you will pay off the low interest card in time to not be paying on 2 high interest cards instead of one!

Keep Holliday Spending On Track

Intelligently managing your credit over the holiday season is the best way to make sure you don't have to deal with debt collection attorneys next year!  Here's 8 new tops for keeping your holiday budget under control.

Happy Holidays from Marcadis Singer, PA, Debt Collection Attorneys, Tampa and all of Florida.

1. Set a Budget for your holiday spending
2. Save beofre you shop
3. Make a list and keep to it
4. Pay cash, or pay credit cards in full.. pay 'em off!
5. Keep track of what you spend
6. Shop Early
7. Look for sales and discount ALL year
8. Look for ways to reduce your holiday travel expenses, either booking early, or last minute.

Have a joyous Holiday Season

Marcadis Singer, PA

Debt Collection Attorney's Tampa

http://www.marcadislaw.com

Business to Business Debt Collection Trends

From Second Quarter 2013 to Third Quarter 2013, the quantity of commercial debt collection accounts increased by roughly 14.5%, for members of the Commercial Collect Agency Association of the Commercial Law League of America.   Samplings from the CCAA are likely to be a good bell weather for the collection industry in general.

The dollar value of the commercial debt placed for collection, however, even with the increase in the number of accounts, decreased by .7%.   Taking the increase in quantity, and decrease in value,  CCAA members report that a typical account revenue to the firm decreased by around 14%.

A great synopsis of the CCAA survey can be found on the Inside ARM Website.

http://www.insidearm.com/daily/commercial-b2b-receivables/commercial-debt-collection/commercial-debt-collection-placements-increase-in-q3-but-still-down-significantly-in-2013/

Marcadis Singer PA, debt collection attorneys in Florida, are proud to be a part of the Commercial Collection Agency Association.  This affiliation is a voluntary one, and reflects how our values as a Legal Firm focussed on debt collection are in synch with the values of the CCAA.

The Commercial Collection Agency Association (CCAA) is an association of commercial collection agencies that have been CERTIFIED by the Commercial Law League of America. They represent the leaders in the commercial collection or business to business collection industry, handling about sixty-five percent of the commercial accounts placed for collection. The Commercial Law League of America is the nation’s oldest creditors’ rights organization, founded in 1895.

Thanks to all the members that contributed to this survey.