I’ve been spending a lot of time working on issues regarding assigned debts.  When bottom feeder collection agencies sue on these accounts, they rely on affidavits from employees who are allegedly knowledgeable about the status of the accounts. Here is an affidavit that was filed in court by the law firm of Bowman Heintz Bocia […]

If you are a parent who (or even a grandparent) who has cosigned private student loans for your family member, you are in for a rude surprise if the borrower dies. The entire loan balance often becomes immediately payable.  This is a rude surprise for an older family member who thinks Junior is going to […]

I’ve been trying to understand the dynamic behind what appears to be a lot more lawsuits against consumers over bad debts, especially old credit card accounts, especially old credit card accounts that have been assigned to one or more debt buying company.  Today I dusted off a law review article from 2012 that I put […]

People are surprised when I tell them that my family doesn’t have cable television. In fact, we haven’t had cable or satellite tv for more than 15 years; and we really don’t miss it. A mixture of broadcast television, Netflix and Hulu Plus suits us just fine, and the money we save is enough for […]

This is a very good instructional video by Alabama consumer attorney John Watts giving you tips about how to handle calls by debt collectors.  It is okay to screen repetitive calls by debt collectors, but I think it is important to talk to a collector at least once.  As John points out, the collector may […]

Welcome to Steve’s (Totally Free!) Consumer Law Blog – the semi-official blog of the Consumer Law Office of Steve Hofer. I’ve blogged before. From 1999 through early 2014, I was the semi-official blogger of AFSCME Local 3357, the union for UAW Legal Services attorneys. If you are a UAW member, retiree, spouse, or surviving spouse, […]