According to an article appearing in today’s New York Times, New York judges are growing increasingly frustrated with the tactics debt collectors are employing in pursuit of their “accounts.” Evidence is mounting that debt collectors routinely file suit against consumers who don’t owe a penny. According to the article:

“Debt-buyer businesses purchase lists of names and amounts supposedly due — for pennies on the dollar — from credit-card companies and sometimes have no real evidence about who they are suing or why. They then file tens of thousands of suits, often with little to back up their claims. A Nassau County judge said this winter, for example, that one of New York City’s high-volume debt-collection law firms, which has close ties to a debt-buying company, did not provide “a scintilla of evidence” that there was a debt at all in a case against a Long Island woman. The judge, Michael A. Ciaffa of District Court in Hempstead, said that it “regrettably, involves a veritable ‘perfect storm’ of mistakes, errors, misdeeds and improper litigation practices.” The judge said the law firm, Eltman, Eltman & Cooper, ignored court orders, made a “demonstrably false” assertion and harassed the woman for payment even after the judge dismissed its suit. The case before Judge Ciaffa ended with an order directing Eltman, Eltman & Cooper to pay $14,800 in sanctions for violating ethical rules at least 18 times.”

If you feel you are being wrongly targeted by improper debt collection practices, contact a consumer protection attorney to discuss your case. There are laws in place that prohibit harrassment by creditors.

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