Alabama Consumer Protection Attorneys

06/13/2021

Here is a free training if you are interested or confused about how dispute letters work when dealing with debt collectors.

Learn directly from an experienced FDCPA lawyer who sues debt collectors:
**The three types of "dispute" letters ... and their strengths and weaknesses
**How you can combine some of these letters ... but you must never combine two of these
**How the different types of FDCPA dispute letters differ from an FCRA dispute letter ... and why this matters to you
**What money damages can you recover ... and why this myth of a $1,000 maximum is simply wrong
**Templates of all three letters and the way to combine will be free for you ... and tools to keep track of and see when a debt collector decides to break the law
**And much more ... including answering your questions live

I look forward to seeing you on Thursday at 11 am -- make sure you check the box for permission to keep in touch so you can get the automated emails on this webinar as well as future webinars we are doing!

https://my.demio.com/ref/ipHzLIFmjBwNV0ir

John Watts

Using the right letter can be the difference in a debt collector harassing you or you being able to sue an abusive debt collector

06/03/2021

In this tax decision we learn why it's important to understand CSED (Statute of Limitations for tax cases).

Thanks for watching!

- John

John G. Watts
Watts & Herring, LLC
Representing consumers across Alabama
205-879-2447
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/contact-us/ (to send us a message)

"No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers."

05/27/2021

Deleting a debt is great, however we have to remember that it's still a live debt.

You can be sued on it, it can be sold to another company, etc.

When a debt is deleted, it's only removed from your credit report.

When you kill a debt, it gets removed from your credit report because it no longer exists.

You can kill a debt by winning your lawsuit and getting the case dismissed with prejudice.

Deletion can be an easy process, but killing the debt insures that it won't come back to haunt you.

If the collector holds on to reporting a debt on your credit report after the debt is dead, then they have quite the lawsuit coming to them.

Thanks for watching!

- John

John G. Watts
Watts & Herring, LLC
Representing consumers across Alabama
205-879-2447
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/contact-us/ (to send us a message)

"No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers."

05/26/2021

What are the steps to take when LVNV or Midland or Portfolio Recovery Associates sues you?

In this video we go over these 5 steps:

1. Figure out your current location
2. Difference in you owing the original creditor and the debt buyer OWNING the debt
3. Get your credit reports for free from https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action
4. Evaluate your five options (bankruptcy, fight the lawsuit on your own, settle the lawsuit on your own, hire a lawyer to fight the lawsuit or hire a lawyer to settle the lawsuit)
5. TAKE ACTION!

Hope the video is helpful to you!

- John

John G. Watts
Watts & Herring, LLC
Representing consumers across Alabama
205-879-2447
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/contact-us/ (to send us a message)

"No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers."

05/19/2021

Today we wanted to give you an overview of what to expect when you're dealing with a FDCPA lawsuit against an abusive debt collector.

We cover all that happens from the beginning of the lawsuit to the trial, and everything in between.

We'd be happy to delve in further and elaborate more on this process if you're interested.

Just let us know in the comments.

Thanks for watching!

- John

John G. Watts
Watts & Herring, LLC
Representing consumers across Alabama
205-879-2447
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/contact-us/ (to send us a message)

"No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers."

05/18/2021

After winning your collection lawsuit, there are some things that you should do.

The first thing you should do is pull your credit reports and make sure that the collector marked the debt as disputed.

If it hasn't been marked as disputed, that's a violation of Section 1692e(8) of the FDCPA.

Next, you should check your credit reports to see if they have left the debt account on your credit report.

If they haven't, they may have violated the FCRA, in addition to the FDCPA.

While this isn't the ideal situation to be in, it could be a great case against the debt collector in court, especially if you dispute false credit reporting.

Thanks for watching!

- John

John G. Watts
Watts & Herring, LLC
Representing consumers across Alabama
205-879-2447
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/contact-us/ (to send us a message)

"No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers."

05/18/2021

If you're handling a debt collection lawsuit on your own, there are a few things you should do.

First, you need to respond to the complaint and tear it apart.

You need to look at the rules of evidence and make sure you understand how they work.

In addition, you need to make sure you understand the rules of the court, how you should act in court.

And remember that when you're dealing with a lawsuit, you will either spend time or money on it.

If you hire a lawyer to handle your case, then you'll be spending money.

If you defend your case on your own, it will take time and effort to do it properly.

It's not impossible to defend it on your own as long as you have the proper tools.

Thanks for watching!

- John

John G. Watts
Watts & Herring, LLC
Representing consumers across Alabama
205-879-2447
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/contact-us/ (to send us a message)

"No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers."

05/17/2021

Today we wanted to go over the different categories that FICO looks at to determine your credit score.

These categories are:

1.) Payment history.

2.) Utilization (the amount of debt that you owe compared to credit limits).

3.) Age of the debts

4.) Number of inquiries

5.) Mix of debt (credit vs. installment).

Thanks for watching!

- John

John G. Watts
Watts & Herring, LLC
Representing consumers across Alabama
205-879-2447
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/contact-us/ (to send us a message)

"No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers."

05/17/2021

When you're dealing with a lawsuit, it's important to be clear with your lawyer about your preferred way of communication throughout the lawsuit.

We recommend that you have a conversation with your lawyer from the beginning and talk with them about how they usually communicate with their clients, since each firm has a different way of handling things.

For our firm, I only do calls by appointment. This way I'm not interrupted when I'm working on a client's case -- I'm solely focused on the case I'm working on.

Our clients are welcome to text or email, though.

In having this policy of not taking calls AND communicating how our clients want (letter, calls, texts, email, etc), our clients know they can get in touch with my firm how they want and they will get answers.

So tell your lawyer your preference, have your lawyer tell you what they can do, and only if it is a good fit should you hire the lawyer.

Hope this is helpful to you.

Thanks for watching!

- John

John G. Watts
Watts & Herring, LLC
Representing consumers across Alabama
205-879-2447
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/contact-us/ (to send us a message)

"No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers."

05/16/2021

A time barred debt is a debt that is beyond the statute of limitations, and can't be sued for.

The statute of limitations vary by the type of account and what state you're in.

Sometimes collectors will try to get you to pay them outside of the statute of limitations in order to possibly restart the clock.

In their mind, your payment restarts the clock, and they may sue you for the debt that you paid on.

This is the danger in paying them after the debt has passed statute of limitations. Note some states (such as AL) normally require more than just a payment to restart an expired statute of limitations but many collectors ignore this.

We recommend that you exercise extreme caution if you choose to pay them.

Thanks for watching!

- John

John G. Watts
Watts & Herring, LLC
Representing consumers across Alabama
205-879-2447
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/contact-us/ (to send us a message)

"No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers."

05/16/2021

When you're dealing with a debt collection lawsuit, there are several different kinds of judgments that you could possibly face in your case.

A default judgment is filed when you do nothing in your case.

A consent judgment is where you consent to a judgment.

A summary judgment is where one party (typically the collector's side) will go to the judge and say that a trail isn't necessary, and to grant the judgment in their favor.

A judgment is where you go to court, and once the case is done one side has won.

It's also known as a "defense verdict."

All of these judgments are real, and should be taken seriously.

Thanks for watching!

- John

John G. Watts
Watts & Herring, LLC
Representing consumers across Alabama
205-879-2447
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/contact-us/ (to send us a message)

"No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers."

05/15/2021

When we're dealing with debt collectors, they love to make the excuse that the credit reporting is "technically accurate." When they say this, they mean it maybe deceptive but it is technically true.

Let's turn that argument against them.

Let's say you're 28 days late paying on your debt, and the collection agency says that you're 30 days late.

That's incorrect.

If they're reporting inaccurately, we recommend disputing the inaccurate information with them.

If they refuse to fix it, then consider suing them for false credit reporting.

Whatever situation you're in, there will be hard work to do to get your credit reports fixed but it's worth the fight.

Thanks for watching!

- John

John G. Watts
Watts & Herring, LLC
Representing consumers across Alabama
205-879-2447
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/
https://www.alabamaconsumer.com/contact-us/ (to send us a message)

"No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers."