State Senator Gary Stanislawski, the force behind introducing The Bartmann Bill for Ethical Debt Collection, shares his thought on the legislation, it’s status and the current likelihood of passage in this video interview with The AARP:
OK Senator Stanislawski Speaks Out on the Need to Pass The Bartmann Bill
February 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Momentum Grows as AARP Throws Weight Behind Bartmann Debt Collection Bill
February 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I am incredibly heartened and touched by the vocal support my bill has received by one of the largest and most influential organizations in the U.S., the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
Here’s an excerpt of an email the AARP has just sent to their members in Oklahoma:
AARP Applauds Committee Approval of Debt Collection Bill; Urges Senate to Pass Measure that Would Require Collection Agencies to be Licensed
AARP Oklahoma today asked state senators to support a bill it says would allow the State Department of Consumer Credit to oversee the debt collection industry and levy penalties for violations.
Senate Bill 1430 by Senator Gary Stanislawski, R-Tulsa, was today approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and now advances for consideration by the full Senate. The proposal, which is known as the Bartmann Bill for Ethical Debt Collection, would require every collection agency in Oklahoma to be licensed by the state, said AARP State President Marjorie Lyons.
“The Bartmann Bill for Ethical Debt Collection provides important consumer protection for Oklahomans,” Lyons said. “We applaud the Judiciary Committee for passing this bill and now urge the full Senate to approve the measure and send it to the House.”
In addition, SB 1430 would also ban debt collectors from using obscene language or continuing to contact a debtor after the time limit for filing a lawsuit has expired. In Oklahoma, that means three years after a consumer defaults on credit card debt or five years after defaulting on a written contract. The legislation also requires connection agencies to be sure they have located the correct person before taking legal action.
“This bill goes a long way toward protecting individuals, especially the elderly, from unethical debt collectors,” said Stanislawski. “Seniors should never feel intimidated by debt collectors and I want to make sure they know that abusive practices in debt collection will stop in Oklahoma if this bill becomes law.
AARP urged its members to contact State Senators at 1-800-865-6490 and ask them to support SB 1430.
Thank you AARP!
Join us in our fight against unethical debt collection practices by signing out petition!
Bartmann Bill Clears Committee – Heads to Senate Floor
February 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Bartmann Bill for Ethical Debt Collection (Oklahoma Senate Bill 1430) took a step closer to becoming law by clearing the senate judiciary committee today.
The bill, introduced by Senator Gary Stanislawski, will make Oklahoma the leading state in the country in protecting their citizens against debt collector abuse.
More importantly it was written to serve as a legislative template for other states and Congress to replicate.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Looks like we’re moving on to step 2!
Join us by signing our petition today!
Is the $26B Foreclosure Fiasco Foreshadowing?
February 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Today, news outlets are reporting that roughly 42 states have agreed to an arrangement for banks to pay a purported $26 billion to settle alleged misdeeds such as improper foreclosures based on “robosigning” and property seizures made without proper paperwork.
In return, banks would get immunity from future state servicing and originating claims. One can only imagine the liability penalties at stake to be able to get this kind of massive settlement agreed to.
Key players like Iowa’s Attorney General Tom Miller, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and Wells Fargo’s Mike Heid should be commended for finding consensus and getting this done. Consumers were really hurt by this debacle and what they’ve crafted is not some kind of meaningless, window dressing solution. $26B will provide real help to real people
It also doesn’t take a genius to see the same dynamics at play with banks debt collection practices. Tens of thousands of “robosigning” and other violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) have already been reported. Who knows what lurks unreported, beneath the surface? And, when you consider Attorney Generals are now pursuing banks for violations incurred by the debt collectors they have sold their delinquent debt to….talk about opening the proverbial Pandora’s box.
Once this foreclosure deal is put to rest, unfortunately for banks, it might be “back to the future” all over again.
Shoddy Record Keeping & 3rd Party Collectors Expose Big Banks to Mortgage-esque Liability Mess
February 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Michelle Weiner, a supervisory attorney at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago says she’s taken on nearly 100 consumer debt cases and lost only one.
Law STUDENTS at the University of Maryland’s consumer protection clinic claim a nearly undefeated record defending debt collection suits.
Why are banks and debt collectors losing so much in court these days?
Two words: Record Keeping.
Because of well documented “robo” signing abuses, courts in many jurisdictions are no longer accepting 3rd party collectors own business records as evidence.
Ms. Weinberg was quoted in American Banker saying “Debt buyers know they cannot prove [their claims] if there’s someone making proper legal objections on the other side.”
This is because the attorney filing an affidavit doesn’t have personal, first hand knowledge of the records. When challenged on this point in court, the debt buyer/collector usually won’t be able to prove they have personal knowledge, resulting in a dismissed suit. What creditors continue to bank on is that defendants rarely show up in court, resulting in default judgements in their favor in most cases.
An even more troubling sign on the horizon for banks is that they could be forced to defend themselves against charges that they knowingly sold poorly documented accounts to 3rd party collection firms and, as a result, are responsible for these collection firms worst abuses.
If banks don’t get their record keeping in order, the prices debt buyers pay them to acquire their delinquent debt will plummet. And, if they are open to a bottomless pit of civil and criminal penalties from the frequently fraudulent and abusive collection activities of the firms they sold their debt to, the combination will put a number of banks under, while severely weakening many others.
As the U.S. faces the recession that won’t end, weakening the banking sector is the last thing we need.
The Bartmann Bill for Ethical Debt Collection Introduced in Oklahoma
January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Thanks to great public servants like State Senator Gary Stanislawski, (@SenStanislawski) Oklahoma is about to lead the nation in debt collection reform. Senator Stanislawski’s introduction of The Bartmann Bill for Ethical Debt Collection is designed to be a legislative “road map” for other states and Congress, so as a country we can better protect the neediest among us.
The bills highlights include “radical” ideas like:
- Banning collectors from posing as attorneys (deception now has penalties)
- Collectors will be banned from making threats & false accusations (no more intimidation and trickery)
- Consumers are now permitted to record collection calls (gathering the evidence to prove debt collection abuse now won’t be illegal.)
- Violations will be penalized at between $1,000-$5,000 PER OFFENSE (it won’t be good for for debt collectors’ bottom line to harass and deceive anymore.)
- Profanity, ethnic and racial slurs are banned (there’s no place for this conduct in civil society, even in collections.)
- Collection attempts after the statute of limitations has expired is banned (no more harassment for life)
- Company filing a lawsuit will be required to provide valid documentation that they own the debt BEFORE bringing suits against a consumer (no more default judgement with shoddy record keeping)
- Required verification of amount of debt owed (no more “take our word for it”)
- Written notification of lawsuit must be received by consumer (no more “sewer service” resulting in default judgement because consumers had no idea there was even a legal action against them.)
- Collectors are prohibited from calling more than twice in a 24 hour period (no more incessant, non-stop debt collection calls)
- Debt buyers cannot collect on debt unless they are licensed (no more fly by night charlatans)
I’m very proud to have my name associated with this legislation and to have my debt collection business bound by it. I wish my collection industry brethren would share the sentiment….but I’m not holding my breath.
Newsweek Debt Collector Expose Very Revealing
January 17, 2012 By 1 Comment
In the current issue of Newsweek, author Gary Rivlin (@grivlin) does a superb job peeling back the curtain and allowing the world to see what really happens behind the scenes in many debt collection operations.
His primary source, Alexis Moore, shares her disturbing first hand account of life as a “desperate for a paycheck”, debt collector. She remarked that “every day I was on the job, I was asked to break the law.” This is because her supervisors overtly forced her to break laws (and rules of decent human civility), if she wanted to keep her job.
Some may argue that she should have just quit. Likely those that would have Alexis tell her boss to “take this job and shove it” have never been a paycheck away from homelessness.
That’s one of the cruel ironies of debt collection abuse. Those doing the abusing are often in desperate situations themselves – financially, or with health issues like drug addiction. Because of their precarious personal situations, they are easily manipulated to do the bidding of deceitful operators.
Some examples of collection practice abuses shared in Mr. Rivlin’s riveting Newsweek story include:
- When someone would hang up, calling back immediately – time after time – until the person answered.
- Informing 3rd parties (this is illegal) such as parents, relatives and neighbors about the money owed and enlisting their support in collections
- Asking neighbors to pin notes on the debtors door, telling them the collector called and that they owe the money
- Threaten foreigners with deportation
- Use vulgarities, like the “F” word, to threaten and intimidate
Unfortunately, the solution is more complex than “there oughta be a law.” There are already plenty of laws, they’re just not policed anywhere near well enough. The real solution is on the supply side. Get banks stop selling their delinquent debt to collection firms who use lawsuits, and other coercive measures to collect, and this abuse of our neediest citizens will stop almost overnight.
Public Employees Being Used to Collect on Private Debt in Illinois
January 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Yesterday I was invited to testify at an Illinois public hearing on Debtors’ Prisons, which were banned by law, but have insidiously surfaced as debt collection firms use state troopers, security bonds and the penitentiary system to extract payment.
To their credit, state officials have identified the problem and are working to put an end to this egregious and un-American practice.
You can read about my testimony and what is happening to real live citizens of Illinois in this article and in this tv news report.
Prepare to be outraged.
How Bankers Can Protect Consumers Better Than Legislation Ever Could
January 5, 2012 By 3 Comments
Bankers have become popular whipping posts of the media and consumers in our post financial collapse world.
While some of the outrage is well earned, a good portion is the result of sharks they have allowed to take over their financial services pond.
Case in point – debt collection firms.
Because banks sell their severely delinquent debt to debt collection firms for pennies on the dollar, they have gotten in bed with companies who standard operating procedure is to make these bank customers live’s a living hell. Their torment includes: harassing phone calls, unethical tricks, intimidation and lawsuits.
While some attorney generals across the country are working hard crack down — notably Lori Swanson (MN), Roy Cooper (NC), Greg Abbot (TX), Lisa Madigan (IL), Martha Coakley (MA) and Darrell McGraw (WV) — banks could single-handedly put an end to the abuse without a single piece of legislation needing to be passed.
How? By agreeing to only sell their delinquent debt to firms who have agreed to abide by the honorable debt collector pledge. The key elements of the pledge include:
1. To never attempt any collection effort on any credit card debt that is beyond the statute of limitation.
2. To never file a lawsuit for collection of credit card debt.
3. To never charge interest on a credit card debt that was charged off by the original issuer.
4. To never attempt to contact the consumer regarding credit card debt by telephone more than two times in any one 24-hour period.
5. To never resell credit card accounts to anyone who has not signed this Pledge.
To date 216 debt collection firms have signed this pledged and agreed to abide by it’s principles. If banks used their clout to pressure debt collectors to do the right thing, consumers would find their lives changed practically overnight… No legislation necessary.
Presidential Courage on Display – Obama Puts People Over Politics with CFPB Director Recess Appointment
January 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I’m impressed with President Obama.
Truth be told, I had privately doubted his mettle. In what is surely going to be a political hot potato for the upcoming campaign, he has managed to completely change my mind today by announcing the recess appointment of Richard Cordray as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). My doubts have been erased.
To understand the murky ground he’s treading with this move read this breaking article from BusinessWeek.
This decision opens another political “front” he, Harry Reid and his colleagues in the Senate will need to defend. This they certainly don’t need or want, with control of the Senate very much in jeopardy. But there are times when REAL people are REALLY hurting and action needs to be taken, political consequences be damned.
This was one of those times.
Without a director, the CFPB was a toothless agency, unable to regulate (read: protect) the non-bank financial institutions that the neediest among us depend on as their financial lifeline.
And, it wouldn’t shock me, if Senator Reid wasn’t either behind this move, or was Obama’s enthusiastic compatriot.
Legal battles over the legitimacy of this appointment will no doubt ensue. But, at least while the slow wheels of justice grind on, Mr. Cordray will be hard at work, doing a job he is eminently qualified to perform.
Well done Mr. President.
