Pure and simple.

but corporations are people my friend - The more the real We the People try to do something, the more the corporations put the stranglehold on us.

If you read her book, A Fighting Chance, you will understand that she is one of the few politicians who understands what creeps are running our financial services and banking sectors. Creeps. That's what they are. They'd dig up corpses and sell them for dog food if they could. I'm not angry. Just disgusted with them.

They have higher IQs than the folks to whom they sell credit cards. Instead of doing something positive for the world with their God-given intelligence, they try to drag down the less clever. That's what I call a creep.

I have to add that one of the most disgusting practices of financial institutions is to obtain a guarantor, the signature of someone who has money, for the debt of primary borrower, a person who is obviously unable to pay the debt based on an analysis of his credit and employment histories.

As would be easily predicted, the primary borrower or debtor fails to pay and the creditor goes after the guarantor. Usually the guarantor is some kindly relative or friend who does not understand what he has agreed to at all. It's like taking candy from a baby. Usually with this scam, the lender knows that the guarantor is the one with assets, the one who will pay. The guarantor feels sorry for the primary debtor and wants to help. He is the good guy who gets suckered in and doesn't even get the stuff the primary debtor bought at Walmart.


Government does not care. It all looks so fair. But it isn's fair at all to the good guy who lent his good credit to someone he felt sorry for and wanted to help. The banks have to be better regulated. They should have to ascertain that the borrower has the means to pay back a debt. And they should be limited with regard to the fees and interest rates they may chart.

Americans should be encouraged to save, not to borrow. The first step toward reaching that goal is to raise the minimum wage so that people can save.

well, won would be an exaggeration but my attorney got the case thrown out. But Texas is strong for the consumer in this area (a surprise I know) - and if you fight back they've got to produce their records showing what you owe. I have a feeling that these companies buy the "debt" but may not get the back-up they need to actually try the cases.

In other states consumers may have way fewer rights though.

so they can win by default because nearly always, they can’t prove the alleged debt. Debt buyers don’t get much information or documentation for their .02 to .03 on the dollar. Even if the debt is legitimate, the amount they attempt to collect or sue for is inflated and unlawful.

Unless a debt is known and valid such as $238 a consumer might owe their dentist, no consumer should admit to a debt. Just because some company calls and claims a debt exists, doesn’t mean the debt is valid, the supposed amount is correct or that they are the party with the right to collect that debt.

I’m a business owner and I’ve researched mortgage/foreclosure/securities fraud for the past 5 years. As a business person I don’t recognize debt collection as legitimate business, it’s a racket to me. The banks don’t have their money at risk since nearly all debt is securitized and sold to investors. The banks collect fees, commissions and Credit Default Swaps plus sell off account information to debt buyers.

Here in PA, I’ve helped prepare Answers for friends who were sued and gone to court with them to watch them win. Even when counsel for the debt collector had a few supposed statements, they couldn’t produce a full accounting or a signed contract. I heard one attorney tell the court that banks don’t retain even a copy of the signed application/contract as an explanation for his empty-handedness.

Debt collection is not productive, nor does it create value. It simply transfers wealth from trusting, honest hard working people to unproductive, illicit, unworthy wealthy parties.

After a family member passed I received a few calls from debt collectors about alleged debts. While I am honest and hard working, I’m certainly not trusting or ill informed. I know better than to open my checkbook to scammers.

TBF, you didn’t exaggerate, you won. Rather than simply accept their claim, you stood up and required them to prove up their case. You foiled their scam.