Collection Defense LAB

CDLAB Update:

Thanks to everyone for your interest in the organization. We’ve had quite a year finding clients and working cases in Texas. After a short hiatus, we plan to resume operations there in early 2017.

In the meantime, we’re working out details and discussing the expansion of our model to other states. See you again in a few months, when we’ll be unveiling our new website and our plans for next year.

And, if I may make a slight adjustment to our motto, please remember: Everyone Deserves to be Treated with Dignity and Respect.

Love and Peace,

-JA

Overdue, but welcome:

CFPB Unveils Overhaul of Debt Collection The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday unveiled an outline of new rules to rein in aggressive debt-collection practices.

Supreme Court lets debt collection class-action suit proceed The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed a class-action lawsuit against debt collector Encore Capital Group Inc to move forward, declining to hear its claim that such companies should be protected from state "usury" laws barring money-lending at unreasonably high interest rates.

John Oliver joins the fight!

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Debt Buyers (HBO) Companies that purchase debt cheaply then collect it aggressively are shockingly easy to start. We can prove it! Connect with Last Week Tonight online... Sub...

First client intake in the new WeWork office space in Austin today. Good looking place, people, and lots of perks. https://www.wework.com/locations/austin/university-park

Happy Anniversary (to us)! Collection Defense LAB was incorporated one year ago today.

On this Friday-Before-Tax Day (and Collection Defense LAB's first anniversary--more to follow), all consumers should be mindful of potential scams such as these—and be on the lookout for unscrupulous collectors trying to get their hands on your hard-earned refunds in coming weeks:

https://www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Scams-Consumer-Alerts

Tax Scams/Consumer Alerts A new email scam targeting taxpayers has emerged. According to the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP), taxpayers are receiving emails that appear to be from TAP about a tax refund. These emails are a phishing scam, where unsolicited emails which seem to come from legitimate organizations — but are really…

First edition of Jake Halpern's Bad Paper. As he was signing I told him, "It's your fault we're doing this."

Updates to CD LAB's progress in 2016 coming soon! For now, enjoy this bit of silliness from our attendance at the NACA conference in San Antonio a couple months ago...a reminder that enunciation matters:

Helping people costs money. Please consider donating to help us reach and serve our clients. Read more at cdlab.org/caseforsupport. Thanks!

Collection Defense LAB: Our Case for Support - Collection Defense LAB Collection Defense LAB: Our Case for Support The Beginning In April of this year, my good friend Chicago attorney Mike Wood and I incorporated Collection Defense Legal Aid Bureau (we call it “LAB” for short), a not-for-profit organization providing free and low-cost debt defense to Americans who nee…

Collection Defense LAB (Legal Aid Bureau) is an effort by several volunteer attorneys, law students, and concerned citizens to improve access to justice for low income consumers experiencing problems with debt collection. LAB grew out of a non-profit organization established in 2013 in Chicago, Illinois that connects low income consumers with attorneys willing to defend, on a pro bono basis, debt collection lawsuits by third-party debt collectors known as “debt buyers.”

If you are interested in more information about debt buyers, we highly recommend the book Bad Paper: Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld by Jake Halpern. It’s an entertaining read, and gives a good overview of the debt buying industry.