Financial Fitness 2019

Are you looking to wipe the slate clean or to get your financial standing in better shape for 2019?

Hundreds of Mississippians will have judgement balances and debt completely eliminated or reduced thanks to a recent settlement with Encore Capital Group, one of the nation’s largest debt buyers. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said, “They purchased these debts, and didn’t verify that the debts were owed. They robo-signed, and sent out documents, filed things in court without verifying it, the underlying paperwork. They didn’t make the loans, but they bought them at a discount price, and then they were out trying to collect them without verifying that the debt was owed.”

For the 238 Mississippians affected, $1,850 will be credited to their accounts and if they owe less than this amount they will eventually get a credit because of the settlement. “It’s the Consumer Protection Act. This is unfair and deceptive trade practices. This is a great example of how companies try to do so much volume and they don’t take the time to do it properly. If you’re suing somebody, you ought to get it right,” said Hood.

The Consumer Protection Act applies to any business trying to collect a debt. If you find yourself in this situation a good rule of thumb is to verify it is a debt you owe ad show up for court, even if you can’t afford an attorney. “They shouldn’t ignore it because what they’ll do is they’ll get a default judgment against you. You’ll lose your rights to contest it. We encourage people if they are called by a debt collector to a least respond to it. Try to determine if it’s a legitimate debt,” said Hood.

Make sure your credit report is accurate. If you see a mistake: “They’re going to have to go back and go through and deal with the credit reporting agencies to try to get that corrected. Once they have paperwork in hand that they can send to the credit reporting agencies that the debt was extinguished or  reduced. That’s a difficult process. They can call our office if they need our help dealing with the credit rating agencies.”