Retail debts that are those that are owed by consumers, and are distinguishable from commercial debts in a number of ways—not the least of which are the legal safeguards which can often prevent a debt collector from recouping them in their entirety, or even at all.
These accounts can be problematic for creditors to collect from individual debtors, as there are a number of potential pitfalls that a collector needs to be aware of under the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"), as well as the Michigan Consumer Protection Act ("MCPA"). These statutes give consumers rights that a debt collector must respect and follow carefully.
A collector who violates these statutes—even if it is not on purpose or knowingly—can not only get itself sued, but its client(s), as well. That’s why you need to use Targosz & Walker Legal Group, PLLC, especially in this difficult economic climate.
At TWLG, we have been collecting retail debts for many different kinds of creditors for many years, be they businesses or individuals. Our attorneys and support staff are thoroughly trained and versed in all of the latest debt collection statutes and case law under the FDCPA and the MCPA, and we deal with them extensively on a daily basis.
We have also written numerous legal publications and given exclusive professional lectures—including one as recently as June of 2012 for ICLE—on these collection laws, as well as the debt collection techniques briefly described below.
In our retail debt collection practices, we frequently utilize the following post-judgment debt collection techniques:
• We issue Writs of Garnishment for wages, tax refunds, bank accounts and other sources of income to the consumer/debtor.
• We obtain Writs of Seizure for property, both personal and real estate. Once we discover what property the debtor has via our extensive asset search resources, we are able to go through the appropriate legal channels of sending a court officer out to their property seize and later sell such assets. We often find that this act of dispatching a court officer to an individual’s residence is enough to convince a debtor—who otherwise might not respect the fact that a court of law has issued a judgment against him or her—that we are very serious about collecting your debt.
• We serve Subpoenas on debtors to appear for Creditor’s Examinations either in court or our office with their tax returns, income documentation, titles to assets, bank account statements, etc. If the debtor fails to appear, we can obtain an arrest warrant. Again, in many instances, debtors find this technique quite persuasive.
• We obtain Receivership Orders. A receiver is an individual who "steps into the shoes" of a consumer debtor and/or his business to run his or her affairs. The receiver investigates and collects the assets of the debtor and/or his or her business, converts them into cash, and pays the appropriate funds over to the creditor.
If you have any questions about consumer credit or collection issues, including any of the aforementioned legal collection techniques, please contact us at (248) 443-5250. For more information about our firm, please visit our website at www.targoszwalker.com.
