Creditors still trying to collect debts after bankruptcy

James and Shannon Humphrey filed bankruptcy on October 4, 2010 listing Bank of America as a creditor.  After the bankruptcy was filed, Bank of America, illegally contacted the Humphreys on 38 separate occasions.  Bank of America ignored protests from the Humphreys and their lawyer, telling them they didn't care about the bankruptcy and that phone calls would continue until the Humphreys contacted the bankruptcy department so Bank of America could update its computer system. The Court only penalized Bank of America $10,000 plus attorney's fees for these violations. 
Portfolio Recovery, a debt collector, purchased $1.52 billion of bankruptcy debt in 2011 for 9 cents on the dollar.   In the first quarter of 2012 alone, Portfolio Recovery reported earnings of $79,994,000 in fees collecting on bankruptcy debt.  In 2011, Capital One had to refund $2.35 million for illegally collecting on 15,500 claims already discharged in bankruptcy.  Capital One received $3.55 billion in bailout money from the federal government in 2008. EMC Mortgage -- a company purchased by JP Morgan Chase from Bear Stearns -- has illegally billed debtors in bankruptcy so often that bankruptcy judges have assessed punitive damages against it in four different court cases. Gagliardi v. EMC Mortgage, 290 B.R. 808 (Bankr.D.Colo. 2003); Curtis v. EMC Mortgage, 322 B.R. 470 (Bankr.D.Mass.2005); Castro v. EMC Mortgage, 08-01135 (Bankr.D.N.C. 2008); Harlan v. EMC Mortgage, 402 B.R. 703 (Bankr.W.D.Va.2009).   JP Morgan Chase obtained a bailout of $25 billion.   Despite reliance on the public dole to cure their own financial problems, banks have become more voracious in collecting consumer debt.

Excerpted from article written by Richard Gaudreau of the Huffington Post.

For more information about the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or, its state law counterpart, the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, visit us at:

• Stop Collection Harassment;
or
• Consumer Rights Orlando