The Collections Industry and Creditors Liability

More and More legislation and court rulings govern the business of debt collection.

Businesses seem to rarely have the resources to keep up with the growing burden of legalities surrounding Debt Collection.

A recent ruling in United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit appears to to make it even more difficult for creditors, making them liable in some cases under the FDCPA "false name exception."

Please read this excellent article for more information

http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/275186/trials+appeals+compensation/A+Creditor+May+Be+Held+Liable+Under+the+FDCPA+Even+if+it+Hires+a+Third+Party+to+Collect+on+the+Debt

Our law firm has a focus on debt collection in St. Petersburg, Tampa, and around the state of Florida.

When someone owes you money, and you need to collect a debt, it is becoming more and more important that whomever you engage (debt collection agency, or a law firm specializing in Debt Collection and Debt recovery) i swell versed on the most recent, and ever changing legal landscape around the collection and recovery of debt.

Jacksonville adding another $43M in debt

The Florida Times Union writes an excellent article on a proposed  $63 Million upgrade of EverBankField.

Twenty Million for the upgrade would be paid by Jaguar's owner Shad Khan, and the balance by issuing debt, paid for with Hotel Bed Tax money.

In these times, as debt collection attorney's in Jacksonville, FL, we are always alert to major spending efforts on the part of government and industry, as they are bellwethers to consumer and business behavior.

The jury is out on the additional revenues that this upgrade might or might not create, but the city council at least has rational plans for how to deal with their debt.

Jacksonville assesses a 6 percent hotel tax. One-third of that tax goes to promote tourism, one-third is paying off debt for the original stadium construction, and the remaining one-third goes to a sports complex trust fund to finance improvements at the stadium, arena and baseball park.

The hotel bed tax generates about $5 million a year for that sports complex trust fund, and the debt for the stadium upgrades would use about $3 million per year.

State law will allow this use of the bed tax, but these taxes cannot go into the general fund for necessary expenses like fire, libraries, police and so forth.

With the economy always looking for more money, is good to see that cities are at least considering how to generate revenues to pay off debt.   We will watch this development with interest.

Tallahassee State Debt drops

From the Bradenton Herald we have a report on how at least the state is better managing its debt.

Florida's state debt has dropped 3 years in a row, now down to 24.6 Billion.

As debt collection attorneys in Tallahassee, we wish we could see some of the debtors we see struggling with debt follow the example of the state.

The main ways the the state has managed to get its debt under control, according to this article is

1.  Refinance expensive debt with lower interest debt.

2.  In the face of declining revenues, spend less on projects that you have trouble getting debt for.

If a reputiable creditor won't extend you debt its probably not a good idea to hunt for someone that will.  The example the article uses is that the sate was unable to borrow money for its school construction fund due to declining revenue, therefore, it did not borrow, and the overall debt has declined.

Some things, for a state, or a company, or an individual, simply have to wait for us to continue to pull out of this recession and get back on solid footing.

Debt and Retirement in South Florida

The Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel has come up with an incredibly good article about the post recession strategies of those looking to retire.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-11-08/business/fl-affluent-saving-more-retirement-20131108_1_south-floridians-credit-karma-retirement-savings

The fast synopsis of the article is that seniors in South Florida are feeling very stung by the recession, and have concerns as well over the long term viability of Social Security.

South Florida's retiring population is "cautiously optimistic"

Credit card debt is decreasing, and more money as a percentage is being put towards saving and investment than in servicing existing debt.

There is an enormous gap between what seniors planned to retire on, and what they have to retire on.

Here's an excellent and telling excerpt.

... But many of those surveyed have some heavy lifting to do: The fall report found those surveyed have only $182,000 stashed away for retirement, but their goal on average is to acquire $758,400.
That's because for years during and after the Great Recession, many South Floridians focused first on paying down their substantial debt, said economics professor +Jorge Salazar-Carrillo, who directs the Center of Economic Research at Florida International University.
"They have already reduced debt levels tremendously," he said...

Our "gut feel" is that credit card debt is largely increasing, but other forms of debt are still routinely presented to our debt collection attorneys in Miami.   We have gone a long way in our recovery to stem the flow of the most expensive debt, credit cards, but on the whole, we continue to struggle paying for secured, and at times over-leveraged debt.

Obama Care and Medical Debt

We ran across an excellent article in Forbes Magazine on the impact of the new healthcare reform, and bad debt in hospitals.

The author of the article opines that the bad debt that is held by hospitals will not likely be positively impacted as a result of these reforms.

One of the most telling excerpts from the article is

Expect hospitals to become more aggressive regarding collection of potential bad debt. As a group healthcare providers are becoming more sophisticated at identifying those who can pay but won’t versus those who can’t pay but won’t fill out the paperwork. One hospital, for example, has set up an process that generates a financial assistance application for patients automatically, requiring them to nothing. One of the benefits is that the hospital can devote more resources to collecting fees from those who are able to pay.

The article speaks to a reality that we face as we collect debts for our clients.

There are those who simple "can't" pay, and those who "won't pat"   While wider health coverage will mean more people that are able to take advantage of healthcare, with deductibles, there will be more people receiving services, that are unable, or unwilling, to pay their share of the bill.

We expect to see more medical facilities outsourcing their debt, and outsourcing their debt sooner as these delinquencies increase.

Marcadis Singer PA, are attorneys focussing their practice on debt collection in Tampa and St. Petersburg, providing debt collection legal services for the entire state of Florida.

We expect to see an increase in demand for our services especially in major medical towns.   If you need a medical debt collection attorney in Miami, please don't hesitate to call us.   We also expect to see large increases in demand in Tampa/St. Petersburg, both of which are large medical towns.

Debt Collection Realities – Top 10

So many of our clients around the state have beliefs about how best to collect debt on their own, that by the time the debtor ends up in our file, things have gone far afield.

We would like to set the record straight with some Debt Collection Realities.

1. The more delinquent a debt, the harder it is to collect
2. The telephone is still the best collection methodology
3. The longer you wait to call to collect on a debt the less serious the debtor will take you.
4. Slow payments hurt everyone.  They tie up the creditors cash flow, and extend the amount of time bad credit stays on the debtors credit record
5. Strong arm tactics lose.  A firm, professional, and polite debt collection process garners debtor’s respect, and increases payment speed.
6. Form Letters are ineffective.   Personalize your notices by merging with mail list so that every letter is personalized.  A form letter is really a milestone in the documentation requirements that lead from debt collection to court.
7. Front Line Debt Collectors almost always wait too long before escalating a delinquent client up the chain of command, or referring to legal action.
8. Most deductions to the amount paid are a direct result of errors made by the seller.  Use Debt Collection specialists as consultants to fix internal processes.
9. Great Collectors ask for and expect payment for the entire amount due.  To expect otherwise compromises you from the beginning as you negotiate the debt.
10. The only successful call, is the one that results in a payment commitment.  Always drive to reach someone that can make that commitment, or your call is a failure.

Marcadis Singer PA are Florida Debt Collection Attorneys.

Please review our services in major Florida Cities.

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Great lessons in Debt Recovery from abroad

We read with interest about a case in Hong Kong involving Debt Recovery, Bankruptcy, Judgments and the need to act quickly.

The briefest synopsis of the article is 

Two recent Hong Kong cases highlight the importance for creditors to pursue action for debt recovery swiftly, as any undue delay may impact on the period for which interest is recoverable and may prevent any enforcement action on a judgment debt.

While certainly Florida Laws are a totally different animal when it comes to debt collection in Florida, the point made in the article when it comes to enforcing your rights against a debtor is still well placed.

Its always interesting to see the perspective of countries and cultures outside of our focus to help keep our eyes on what we do best.

Here at Marcadis Singer PA, it is our goal to help you, the business owner, recover as much as possible of the bad debt from credit that you have extended in good faith.  We always treat your debtors with the utmost respect.