Fight debt collectors, advocate advises

By Joe Pinchot
Herald Staff Writer

MERCER COUNTY April 19, 2008 06:54 pm

— Mickey Paoletta is not a lawyer and does not dispense legal advice, but he has started a group that helps consumers know their rights in debt collection cases, and encourages them to fight.
The former Sharon man, no fan of banks and financial institutions, said debt collection agencies are violating debt collection laws and often have no legal leg to stand on in collecting those debts.
Paoletta founded Citizen’s Reform Center, which teaches people about money and banking and how they can use that knowledge to address debt issues. He also has testified in trials as an expert on money and banking, and helped his bother, Marco, deal with a debt collection law firm.
The No. 1 violation of federal law by debt collectors is that they do not have proper documentation to prove that a debt exists, said Paoletta, a former carpet store chain owner and rock bassist for Menagerie.
Debt collection agencies buy debts from credit card companies and banks. However, the paperwork collectors usually get from the initial lenders includes only basic information such as a name, address and the amount of the debt. They need to show documentation such as a contract between the debtor and the original bank or credit card company, or accounting ledgers, said Paoletta, of Mechanicsburg, Pa.
The debt collection agencies hire law firms to contact alleged debtors and try to scare them into paying, Paoletta said. Sometimes, the tactic works and the debtors pay up.
“The least sophisticated person will pay them anything they want,” Paoletta said.
When the alleged debtors do not pay up, the law firms sometimes seek local court judgments.
“Ninety-five percent of the time, they don’t show up (at hearings),” Paoletta said of the debt collection agencies.
Even though it’s illegal to file a lawsuit they do not expect to prosecute, debt collectors often bet that the debtors also will not show up for hearings, and judges will rule in favor of the collectors, Paoletta said. He called this practice of using local courts to act as indirect debt collectors illegal.
Paoletta encourages debtors to participate in these local suits by showing up for hearings. If they show up and the debt collectors don’t, judgment will be issued in the debtor’s favor, he said.
If the debt collectors show up, challenge them to prove that the debt exists, Paoletta said.
“Everybody can go into court and give these debt collectors a real run for their money,” Paoletta said.
Paoletta advises people to log all calls from debt collectors, and learn the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Paoletta sends out a checklist that consumers can use to learn about the law and how to deal with calls.
Other common violations of the act, according to Paoletta:
• Threatening to have the alleged debtor in court within a week if the debt is not paid. No courts work that quickly.
• Using abusive, harassing and misleading words such as deadbeat, loser, criminal and untrustworthy toward the alleged debtor.
• Threatening that failing to pay will lead to arrest, imprisonment, garnishment of wages, sale of property or legal action.
• Threatening to collect interest, attorney fees, collection costs or any other monetary amounts not in the original debt creation document.

Information: citizensreformcenter.org and mickeyonbanking.org Paoletta can be contacted at 717-903-3061.