letter to news channel 8 here in FL

On the advice of several friends, I am drafting this letter to the local news watchdog programs. Please let me know what you think, I will be sending it this afternoon.

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Approximately 5 years ago I had serious financial troubles and was forced to stop paying on several of my debts. As many people do when they are young, I charged up quite a bit on my credit cards only to find that when a financial problem emerged that I could no longer afford to make the minimum payments. Several years went by and I am now married and a lot wiser about my credit (5 years of financial purgatory has that effect).

Approximately 1 year ago my husband and I relocated from AZ to FL and we purchased a home. This being one of very few credit-bearing transactions that has taken place since my financial problems in 1999.

Just a few days ago I got notice that a company called Asset Acceptance Corporation (which has a satellite office in Brandon, FL) is taking me to court to attempt to settle a past debt (At least they say it is my debt... they have never sent me anything in writing... just filed with the courts.)

Upon further research I found that this debt is outside of the Statute of Limitations for Arizona (where the debt and delinquency took place) Please See: §12-543 and also in Florida- please see Section 95.11. I also found that the shorter (3 year AZ) statute of limitations prevails because of Florida's acceptance of out of state statute of limitations. Please see section 95.10.

So all would seem well and good, right? Wrong. Asset Acceptance Corporation ("AAC") has become well known for it's predatory collection practices. They are what is considered a "debt buyer" and they often buy debts for as little as $1-$2 a piece and then aggressively pursue them even if they are doing so by illegal measures.

What has become AAC's m.o. is that they get ahold of a debtor's current address and (regardless of the statute of limitations)file suit against them. They often do this with 100s of debtors at a time. Then they go to court hoping that as many defendants as possible do not show up so that they can obtain a "default judgment". And because statutes of limitations only serve as a DEFENSE against a suit (and does not exclude someone from filing one) if someone does not show up because they are scared, embarrassed, or uneducated about the laws (and therefore do not know of the statutes of limitations), they will receive a judgment even though there was no reason to do so.

ALSO, in the rare cases in which someone fights back and AAC has determined it worth the effort (an asset search determines that "God-forbid" they had amassed a paid off car or managed to put more than $50 in a savings account) then they will go after those debtors who fight back with a statute of limitations defense by stating that the credit card agreement was a written contract and not an open account. This flagrantly false per the Federal Truth in Lending Act (see- § 103(1) ). And supported by the supreme court decision in Household Bank V Sharon Pfenning. And in Section 226.28 of Regulation Z it clearly states that when there is any conflict between state and federal determination that federal regulations/acts preempt those of the state. BUT the statute of limitations for written contracts in this state (and many others) is far longer than those for open ended accounts and so the debt buyers are "gambling" that they will find a judge who will be bamboozled into believing that despite all evidence, a credit card agreement is legally defined as a written contract.

But the terrible thing is that the judges in many Florida courts ARE ruling that credit card agreements are written contracts and not open ended accounts. It is happening so frequently that West Florida has become a "Hot Spot" for these law suits and therefore many Florida residents are becoming victim to this kind of predatory collection effort which the laws were specifically designed to defend them against (we all have a right to a speedy trial and statutes of limitations helps ensure this).

There are several attorneys that are working on class action suits against these "debt buyers" and their predatory practices.But until they see justice the rest of us West Florida residents are falling prey.

In the end, I am having to pay money to an attorney to defend myself in court against a charge which is far outside of the AZ and FL statutes of limitations for open-ended accounts. My husband and I who live modestly (he is a XXX and I am a XXX and student, and we have one young son) are having to shell out money we can't afford in order to protect our credit from further damage as well as possible repossession of our cars and wage garnishment (which can be done once a judgment is entered).

This is just not right and I am hoping that you will take this on as your cause as well. These debt buyers are preying on a vulnerable part of the population: those generally too poor, ignorant or ashamed to defend themselves.

Just because we are in debt, doesn't mean we shouldn't be afforded the full protection of Florida laws.

I look forward to hearing from you very soon.

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Maybe I can draw attention to this matter....maybe not.... but I just don't want this to ever happen to me or someone else ever again.

 

I'll give it until 3pm when I leave for work to send it to make sure I didn't make any serious errors.

~WOK