Tag: class action lawsuit

student loan debt, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Teachers Sue U.S. Over Student Loans that Were Not Forgiven

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The American Federation of Teachers has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of educators who argue that they have been wrongfully denied loan forgiveness under the federal public service loan forgiveness program.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was created more than a decade ago to encourage young graduates to seek employment in a government job or in public service industries. While the pay in these types of jobs tends to be lower, the promise of having their federal student loans forgiven at the end of a ten-year period was created to entice them to apply for these positions.

Under the program, borrowers who work in certain public service professions, including law enforcement, nursing, and teaching, and who make payments consistently for ten years, can have their federal loans forgiven. It is estimated that more than one million borrowers have filed official paperwork to participate in the program. However, many of these borrowers are finding out that they suddenly do not qualify for forgiveness for one reason or another, including not carrying the correct type of loan.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Supreme Court will not Expand Debt Collection Abuse Law in Santander Case

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The U.S. Supreme Court declined to expand a federal law protecting consumers against harassment and threats in debt collection attempts.  The court unanimously upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a proposed consumer class action lawsuit against the auto-lender Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. over allegations it violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

The case came down to the definition of “creditor” and “debt collector” and whether a company that buys debt should be treated as a creditor, not subject to the the collections law.  The law applies only to companies that collect debts on behalf of others and does not apply to businesses like Santander who purchases the distressed debt from other companies after it defaults, the Supreme Court ruled.

The ruling was the first written by the court’s newest justice, Donald Trump-appointee Neil Gorsuch, who wrote that any changes to the law should come from the U.S. Congress, not the court.  The four Maryland residents who had defaulted on their car loans filed the proposed class action lawsuit in 2012 in federal court, accusing Santander of violations of the debt collection law including misrepresenting debt loads and bypassing the debtors’ lawyers.

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If you have any questions on this topic or are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Related Resources:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/supreme-court-wont-widen-debt-collection-abuse-law-in-santander-case-2017-06-12

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-debt-idUSKBN1931NA

 

Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Wells Fargo Fires 4 Senior Employees for Their Involvement in Fake Account Scandal

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Four senior employees of Wells Fargo have been fired amid an ongoing investigation into the bank’s illegal sales practices.  Wells Fargo admitted last year that it created as many as 2 million fake accounts between 2011 and 2015.  Shortly after, reports surfaced of the toxic sales environment and employee mistreatment at the bank. Some former employees even said they were subject to retaliation after they tried to stop the sales tactics, according to CNN Money.

Since the scandal broke, Wells Fargo has been under investigation by the Department of Justice, Congressional committees, state attorneys general and prosecutors’ offices. Class action lawsuits have been filed by customers, employees and shareholders against Wells Fargo.  Wells Fargo fired 5,300 workers for creating millions of fake accounts.

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If you are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

 

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Student Loans, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Student Loan Debt Collector

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A class action lawsuit has been filed against Balboa Student Loan Trust for harassing former Everest College students for repayment of their student loans. The harassment came as a shock to former students whose debt had been previously forgiven by the U.S. Department of Education after it was determined that the institution was misleading students. Balboa Student Loan Trust, the company that purchased a portion of Everest College debts, has ignored the findings and has reportedly called students up to five times per day to collect on the student loan debts.

Everest College is owned and operated by Corinthian Colleges. The U.S. Department of Education fined Corinthian Colleges $30 million in April of last year for misrepresenting their job replacement rates. Later that month, Corinthian Colleges filed for bankruptcy and has since lost its accreditation. The colleges were also offering loans through a student loan program called Genesis, which was later found to be a scam by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau when nearly 60 percent of the students defaulted on their loans due to outrageous repayment rates. Balboa Student Loan Trust later purchased these loans and promised to forgive 40 percent of the debt and stop harassing students to repay their loans. However, the consumer class action suit claims the debt collector has violated the terms that were agreed upon with the federal government.

“These private lenders are victimizing these students a second time by continuing to try and collect on debt that was incurred through fraud and deceit,” Anne Richardson said. Richardson is an attorney with Public Counsel, one of the law firms that filed the class action suit.

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For borrowers who are struggling with student loan debt, relief options are available. Many student loan borrowers are unaware that they have rights and repayment options available to them, such as postponement of loan payments, reduction of payments or even a complete discharge of the debt. It is important you contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Timothy Kingcade Posts

JP Morgan Chase faces Class Action Lawsuit

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The trend in robosigning has spread from mortgage to credit card debt in a recent lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase Bank. The bank has been accused of filing thousands of false affidavits in court. Miami resident Ruth E. Moya filed the class action lawsuit on March 11 in the Southern District of Florida against the NY-based bank and its credit card division. She is hoping to form a class with other customers who were hit with default judgments after the bank submitted a robosigned affidavit in support of the motion for default.

The lawsuit states that Chase relied upon and/or submitted improper, incorrect and fraudulent affidavits attesting to the alleged cardholders’ debts. These affidavits were executed by Chase employees, often thousands at a time, without the employee reviewing or verifying the information attested to in the affidavits. The lawsuit also claims the affidavits were notarized en masse by notaries who did not witness the party’s signature. It is alleged that this was done by Chase to obtain rapid default judgments without ensuring the accuracy of the cardholders’ debt. In Roth’s case, the lawsuit alleges that the amount of the default judgment Chase obtained against her was greater than the past due amount listed on her balance statement.

Click here to read more on this story.

If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.