What about when it's the other way around? The agency I work for is small and follows FDCPA to the letter of the law. And yet we are still sued constantly by attorneys representing debtors. These attorneys count on the fact that it's less costly to settle than to go to court to prove that we have not violated the law. Our retail division is in trouble because we've recently lost our two largest clients -- for this reason. They're now getting slapped with bogus lawsuits as well. People don't even have to pay their bills any more; they just send a "cease and desist" letter, hire an attorney, and wait for a settlement to roll in. All this will lead to are more stringent rules around extending credit, which is not a good thing for the economy. If we keep going down this slope, the only people who will be able to get credit will be those who don't need it.
How are other frivolous lawsuits regulated? There's nothing in place for any of them, unless (often several years down the road) a judge decides to throw them out. This is yet another consequence of the litigious society in which we currently live. I don't have the answers, but it seems that someone in government or law should be able to do something about unscrupulous attorneys who create a claim out of thin air just to make a buck.
NancyH
1
What about when it's the other way around? The agency I work for is small and follows FDCPA to the letter of the law. And yet we are still sued constantly by attorneys representing debtors. These attorneys count on the fact that it's less costly to settle than to go to court to prove that we have not violated the law. Our retail division is in trouble because we've recently lost our two largest clients -- for this reason. They're now getting slapped with bogus lawsuits as well. People don't even have to pay their bills any more; they just send a "cease and desist" letter, hire an attorney, and wait for a settlement to roll in. All this will lead to are more stringent rules around extending credit, which is not a good thing for the economy. If we keep going down this slope, the only people who will be able to get credit will be those who don't need it.
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NancyH
2
How are other frivolous lawsuits regulated? There's nothing in place for any of them, unless (often several years down the road) a judge decides to throw them out. This is yet another consequence of the litigious society in which we currently live. I don't have the answers, but it seems that someone in government or law should be able to do something about unscrupulous attorneys who create a claim out of thin air just to make a buck.
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NancyH
3
Not every debt collection agency is like that. The one I work for certainly isn't.
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