Category: Debt Relief

An estimated 41% of Americans have some form of unpaid medical debt. Further, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reported there was $88 billion in medical debt on the credit records of consumers. However, a recent study from Stanford University suggests that it might be much worse (at least $140 billion). With that in mind, millions of U.S. citizens face medical collections activities and negative information on their credit reports due to an inability to pay medical bills. At Ziegler Diamond Law, our debt relief lawyers understand the devastating financial impact a medical bill could have on your credit score,… Read More

Debt collection laws don’t usually get a whole lot of buzz, but as I’m sure you’ve seen on social media and through your local news outlets there’s a new debt collection law called Regulation F that went into effect on November 30th, 2021 that’s really caused a buzz. Now yes it’s true, Regulation F did expand some ways that debt collectors can communicate with you, but it’s important to remember two things: Collectors always have to abide by consumer protection laws. Regulation F also expanded some consumer protections. So bad news first! Let’s review the ways that Regulation F broadened… Read More

Are you being sued by TD Auto Finance? Are you afraid you will be soon? Keep reading. A Little Background TD Auto Finance is an indirect auto financing company that finances cars through car dealerships. They are actually a subsidiary of TD Bank, which is one of the 10 biggest banks in the United States.  TD Bank has branches throughout Florida, various other states and Canada. TD Auto Finance and TD Bank are members of TD Bank Group. TD Bank Group is quite a big outfit with over $900 billion in assets. They have more than 83,000 employees worldwide. The… Read More

According to a 2021 report, the average American is $90,460 in debt. A recent survey reports that 47 percent of Americans carry a monthly balance on their credit cards. 70% of those people say they cannot pay it off this year. Despite debt being so common, we live in a society that stigmatizes those who owe money. People in debt are often so ashamed they do not seek the help they need. When people feel isolated in this way, they become a prime target for exploitation. We would like to tell you about some of the primary debt collector scare… Read More

It’s enough to increase your heart rate and make you break out in a sweat. The debt collector is calling! Debt collectors have tricks up their sleeves, so you are right to be concerned when debt collectors call. If you owe a lot of money, it very well may be worth your while to hire a debt collection defense attorney who knows the ins and outs. But if you are planning to speak with a debt collector yourself, you need to be prepared. Consider the following advice. Keep calm Debt collectors like to keep you off balance, and often they… Read More

We all know that medical debt drives many people into bankruptcy. It’s the largest category of debt in the United States. Even if patients recover, the weight of medical bills can ruin their lives. Well, it’s even worse than we or the government or anybody else thought. A study from JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) just published in July tells us that collection agencies held $140 billion in unpaid medical bills in 2020. (The study covers January 2009 to June 2020.) A previous study done in 2016 indicated the amount was almost half that — $81 billion. It gets… Read More

If you are having trouble making ends meet, the last thing you want is for your creditor to garnish your wages. A wage garnishment, also known as a wage attachment, is an order the court sends to your employer telling them to withhold money from your paycheck and sent it to the creditor. As you can imagine, this will not endear you to your employer. However, they can’t fire you for it unless you have more than one garnishment. However, under Florida law, your employer can deduct the amount from your paycheck that it cost them to obey a wage… Read More

How a Creditor Gets a Default Judgment Against You If a creditor is unable to collect a debt from you, eventually they will file a complaint against you in court. The court issues a summons notifying you of the suit. The plaintiff must then properly serve you with the summons and complaint within the procedures set out by Florida law. In Florida, once you have been served, you have 20 days to file a response with the court if you want to avoid a default judgment. Should you miss that deadline, the plaintiff will then request the court to order… Read More

Have you received a debt collection letter from Midland Funding, LLC? Or maybe you received a complaint or court notice from Midland Credit Management (MCM)? You may ask yourself “Who are these people? I didn’t buy anything from any company called Midland!” When credit card debt, auto loans, bank debts and other consumer debts go unpaid, the holders of the debts often sell them to third-party debt buyers. If you didn’t pay your credit card, it’s a good bet that the credit card company sold it to a debt buyer. Midland Funding is one of the biggest debt buyers in… Read More

While you were stuck at home, debt collectors saw fish in a barrel to collect on past due balances While so many consumers and small businesses are fighting tooth and nail to stay afloat, a survey from Prodigal Technologies, Inc, indicates that more than half of Debt Collectors outperformed their pre-COVID metrics.  Prodigal’s press release on their survey attributes several factors to the uptrend, but one factor in particular for successful debt collection firms was that they were better able to track borrowers while consumers were stuck at home with Safer-at-Home orders. This data should be an important point for… Read More