Posted on 07/13/2010 11:04:43 AM PDT by Antioch
Robert Vee, a highway construction worker from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, got boned not once but twice. If it wasn't bad enough that late last winter he was tossed into a local county clink -- the result of missing a court hearing over an unpaid credit card...
The truly below-the-belt shot came when he found out his bail was the exact amount he owed the creditor: $1,875.06. It was not coincidence. In various parts of the country, collections agencies -- fueled by a sideways economy and a growing industry that buys bad debt -- are hijacking law enforcement and the legal system to arrest and imprison people who have walked on unpaid bills, ranging from auto loans to credit cards to outstanding medical tolls.
In a multiplying number of cases, judges set the debtor's at exactly what they owe the creditors. And more often than not, if friends or family do come up with the bail money, they'll likely never see it again.
It will end up with the creditor who initiated the collection process and will ask the court for the bail amount.
Debt collectors having law enforcement officials haul people off to jail is a disagreeable if obnoxious way of doing business. But a private company using government employees as its own collections arm feels like the stuff of Lucifer.
Still, it is happening as more and more in an industry that believes any means available to collect is fair game.
Being in debt hasn't been illegal in the United States for more than 100 years when debtor's prisons were scrapped. However, in modern day America, missing a court hearing over an unpaid bill allows collections agencies to bring the hammer down.
Private firms such as Portfolio Recovery Associates and Encore Capital Group buy old debt from other companies that have thus far been stiffed: a mortgage firm, a cell phone provider, a credit card lender. They purchase them for pennies on the dollar.
If harassing phone calls don't work, these debt buyers enlist the help of the courts. Of course, fees and interest are usually tacked on as well. The profit goal for these agencies is to reap more than 200 percent of what they originally shelled out for the tardy debt.
When the debtor doesn't show up for a hearing called by the likes of Encore Capital, that's when law enforcement and the courts "unwittingly become a tool of the debt collectors," says a Spokane lawyer who has represented people against private debt collectors.
Those who fail to appear in court can be held in contempt. An arrest warrant is issued if a collector so desires and the court goes along with it.
If a debtor who's bagged on or just blatantly ignored their hearing is unfortunate enough to live in a jurisdiction that has extra law enforcement resources, they soon might find themselves in cuffs.
"The debt collectors are abusing the system and intimidating people, " adds the Spokane attorney, "and law enforcement is going along with it."
Oddly enough, arrested debtors aren't officially charged with a crime.
Robert Vee eventually was released from the Hennepin County jail in downtown Minneapolis after he made a collect call to his landlord, who posted his bail for the amount he owed on his unpaid credit card.
Despite satisfying the old tab, he is not without fret. He still has unpaid junk debt. Vee also owes $40,000 on a second mortgage.
"The question always crosses my mind: 'Are the cops going to arrest me again?' So long as I've got unpaid bills, the threat is there."
I sued several people during the 80’s over business debts. None showed up in court. I wound up with judgements that were worthless. There was certainly NO process whereby I could have had them arrested.
I do live in Texas and our laws are said to favor debtors - but I really have a hard time believing this story.
There’s a reason banksters give big money to politicians. Bank bailouts are only one of them.
if i read this correctly he was arrested for failure to appear not for the bad debt....if anyone gets a notice to appear for a bad debt first check to see if the statue of limitations has run out...this varies from state to state and the type of debt...if sol has run out make sure you appear in court and advise the judge...he must throw the suit out...if you do not appear then the creditor is normally granted a win in the case...this is the first that i have heard of the courts actually having you arrested as this country did away with debotrs prison years ago....my how the times are changing...
This should be something more openly and commonly discussed: should debtors’ prisons be reconsidered? When the fear is out of the borrower, the borrower will continue to grow fat. With laws like the Community Reinvestment Act, essentially forcing banks to allow poor credit risks to borrow without intent to repay, becoming the norm, banks have to go about getting back their monies in a legal fashion.
The process is called a Writ of Body Attachment. Sorry you had to learn about this 20 years later.
.....I really have a hard time believing this story....
Me too.
It is however the Peoples Republic of Minnesota where homeless are allowed to pollute Burger King with their presence and Al Franken was allowed to steal an election., d
My mother was sick I had to stay home from work, so I ran up a credit card bill over 2 years.I paid the bill years ago to a bill collector. It was still passed to others. It balooned into a stupid amount. Bill collectors are the sleaziest.
Yea, well I have the same lawyer I had 20 years ago and he's going to get a call. I paid him rather handsomely, and I want to know if I got screwed!
Back in the mid-90s, I was exercising poor financial habits that led to my dealing with collection agencies on a regular basis. On two occasions I was served with summonses to appear in court, summonses I threw in the trash. The court dates came and went without my appearing. By not showing up, the creditor won the judgement by default and the next time I deposited money in my bank account, the judgement amount was immediately seized to pay off these creditors.
I was never arrested but I did learn a valuable lesson; the creditors will eventually get their money. I've since developed better financial habits and actually have good credit once again.
I'm not quite sure what exactly happened with this guy but I have to imagine that some facts have been omitted.
Unbelievable how twisted up they have you Rare. They got rid of usury laws for banks (banks paid the polls off for that), so they charged 20% and 27% interest; abusing the poor and lower middle class with those high interest rates. The banks let a bubble grow in real estate so they put financial pressure on millions of Americans who got suckered in. They got the laws changed to not let people bankrupt out of revolving credit completely. Then they got the Congress to bail them out so even after the bubble burst they got their bonuses and options. And you want to bring back debtors prisons now that a huge percentage of the country is underwater (and the bankers are doing great on our tax dollars). Change your Tagline to “My mind is a twisty pretzel today,” take an aspirin and come back later.
The level of corruption in our Minnesota courts is made clear by the existence of Senator Al Frankenstein. We’ll have to correct that one of these first days. Note tagline.
Because their friend or relative who they bailed out is a dead-beat who will not repay them...
http://definitions.uslegal.com/b/body-attachment/
A writ of body attachment is a process issued by the court directing the authorities to bring a person who has been found in civil contempt before the court. The process may also be called an order of commitment for civil contempt or a warrant for civil arrest.
A writ of body attachment may be ordered, for example, when a witness fails to appear in response to a subpoena. It is often issued after a court-ordered fine or forfeiture has not been paid. Body attachments may be issued in contempt, civil, or criminal proceedings.
Why? If you owe someone money and refuse to pay it back, how is that different from stealing?
The more leverage that credit companies have over deadbeats, the lower the interest rates will be for ALL borrowers.
Lending is a VERY easy business to get into. Interest rates are set based on how likely the creditor is to get his money back. Laws that favor debtors drive rates up. Laws that favor lenders drive rates down. It's as simple as that...
Courts unwittingly become tools of the debt collectors? The courts are supposed to put wrongs right; theft is wrong. To buy and not pay is theft.
If the buyer is scammed, it is also the court’s duty to put that theft right as well.
I don’t think the usps will suffice either. I believe you need to be served.
While you're at it, ask if my reruiter lied to me.
>>Why? If you owe someone money and refuse to pay it back, how is that different from stealing?<<
At a “Law 101” level that’s pretty much it. However, the devil’s in the details. There are cases where the person simply does not have the money, or has paid back all of it plus interest and STILL OWES more than the original borrowed amount. And on and on.
And besides, the point is that you are not supposed to be able to be sent to jail for failure to pay a debt.
But then, that is not why this guy was arrested. He was arrested for contempt for failure to appear. The specifics of the case that required his appearance are irrelevant.
on the being served let me tell you of florida ie daytona beach....if the summons servor does not find you at home he can tape the summons on your door and deem you served....i know this for a fact as my neighbor and i were witness to something...i came home and she asked if i had received my summons to appear and give a deposition...i said no, when did you get yours...she said today but found it laying on the ground in her yard....it had been taped to her door....i looked around my place and did not find one....the day of the depo, she came home and told me that they had expected me there also...not wanting to have a bench warrant issued for failure to appear i immediatly got on the phone to the d.a.’s office and was told that yes in deed they had summoned me also....
also the court system here considers you served by usps if you are to report for a court date...
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