Entries by Ken Gibert

What to do if you have debt troubles part 1

If your bills are adding up and the bill collectors are beginning to bug you, you need to start taking action to protect yourself. This video goes through the reasons you should win if you get sued for debt and begins the discussion on how to send the right signals to the debt collectors to […]

Identity Theft Affidavits – Debt Collector Dirty Trick, Part 1

Sometimes debt collectors will attach an “identity theft affidavit” to the discovery they give you and “request” or suggest that you fill it out and file it with authorities. Or they invite you to send it to the debt collector so that it can file it with the authorities. Sometimes they try to get you […]

How and why to file counterclaim if you can

There’s a great deal to say about counterclaims in debt law cases, and I suggest you look closely at the text of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) itself as you consider what, if any, counterclaims you will bring. In this article, though, I simply want to tell you why counterclaims are so important. […]

Making excuses loses cases

No Free Lunches, Ever For a free copy of this article in pdf form, click here: Making Excuses There is, in the world, what some people call the “iron law of cause and effect.” What this means is that, for every action, something always happens as a result. No matter why it happened, if it […]

Requiring Validation – A Consumer’s “Secret Weapon”

In my opinion, requiring that a debt collector validate or verify your debt when they first contact you is underused as a weapon. It’s easy and free for you to do (and isn’t hard for them to answer, either), but surprisingly often it can lead to the debt collector walking away and leaving you alone. […]

Modern Debtor Prison – States Do Dirty Work for Debt Collectors

Sometimes there are traps for regular people set by predatory debt collectors. This is one of them. Scam Alert There is a disturbing trend in debt collection these days: getting the state to do the dirty work of intimidation and collection. In some jurisdictions, notably Illinois, debt collectors are actually managing to get people who […]