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School Loans and Bankruptcy Discharge

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 05/30/2013 - 02:43

Proponents of relief for student loan borrowers in bankruptcy had reason to cheer this month in both Washington and Oregon. Student loan obligations are presumptively non-dischargeable in bankruptcy absent a showing of “undue hardship.” 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(8). To determine if a debtor has shown undue hardship, courts follow the three-part test from Brunner. See In re Pena, 155 F.3d at 1111–12. Under Brunner, the debtor must prove that: (1) he cannot maintain, based on current income and

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Creditor Employees

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 05/29/2013 - 21:59

You would think that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act would apply to the employees of your Creditors. Why is that? The main reason seems to have been legislative deference to the political power of the credit industry. This means that a creditor’s in house collectors attempting to collect debts in the company name are exempt. Creditors employees do lose this protection if they use a false name indicating that a separate debt collector is involved.

Because the FDCPA

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 05/29/2013 - 20:21

Because the FDCPA applies only to debt collectors, it is useful to look at the narrow exceptions to FDCPA coverage. For purposes of applying the FDCPA, process servers are specifically and narrowly excluded. A process server is not a debt collector while serving or attempting to serve legal process in connection with the judicial enforcement of a debt.

Debt Buyers and Oregon and Washington Consumers

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 05/28/2013 - 16:57

As many consumers in Oregon and Washington are now painfully aware, debt buyers often purchase severely flawed claims. The FTC has determined that the information that debt buyers receive when they purchase debts, which is the only information they have to rely on in collecting, is often woefully inadequate. This often results in debt buyers suing the wrong Oregon or Washington consumer, or for the wrong amount, or on a debt that has long since been barred by the applicable statute of limitations.

Yo-Yo Car Financing Can be the Bankruptcy Last Straw for Washington and Oregon Debtors

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 05/27/2013 - 18:36

More and more I am seeing both Washington and Oregon consumers forced into bankruptcy as a result of Yo-Yo financing schemes utilized by local car dealerships. Often the consumer has no idea that the practice was intentional.

Crushing Burden of Student Loans in Oregon and Washington

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 05/23/2013 - 16:47

The class of 2013 has just replaced the class of 2012 for the title of the most indebted class in American history. With the way student loan burdens are increasing, the class of 2013 will inevitably lose their title to next year’s senior class.
In 2013, graduating seniors left college with an average debt load of $30,000. That’s nearly double the amount that students graduated with 20 years ago. A recent study reveals that if you factor in credit card debt and money borrowed from family during school, students are really graduating with an average of over $35,000.

Student Loans and Bankruptcy

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 05/20/2013 - 23:31

Debtors across both Oregon and Washington who are being harassed by student loan lenders and hope to eliminate these debts through Chapter 7 Bankruptcy must navigate their way through a pretty nasty test. Bankruptcy courts in both Oregon and Washington rely on the three-part Brunner test to asses whether a student loan is dischargeable in bankruptcy based on a claim of undue hardship. This test is based on a thirty-year old U.S. Court of Appeals decision (Brunner v. New York State Higher Education Services Corp., 831 F.2d 395 [2d Cir. 1987])

Multnomah County Suing Mortgage Monster

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 05/18/2013 - 21:38

Multnomah County is suing a rogue’s gallery of the largest mortgage players including B of A, Wells Fargo, Oregon’s Bank of the Cascades, Chase, Citi, and West Coast Bank for nearly forty million dollars.

Mediation and Oregon Judicial Foreclosure?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 05/16/2013 - 21:04

In Oregon, homeowners who want to challenge a non-judicial foreclosure can now opt for mediation. They pay two hundred dollars in order to meet with a housing counselor, then sit down with both a state-sanctioned mediator and a representative of the bank. While Consumer advocates anticipate many homes will still be foreclosed, the hope is that those who are still capable of making mortgage payments will be able to renegotiate their loans. This modification to the foreclosure process is currently available only in non-judicial foreclosure.

Boeing Layoffs Harm Seattle and Tacoma Washington Area Consumers

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 05/15/2013 - 20:29

The last thing consumers in the Seattle and Tacoma, Washington metro areas need are layoffs of any kind. Even if they don’t directly effect you, a friend or a family member, the loss of jobs means less money for Seattle and Tacoma area businesses. This is why the news that Boeing will be terminating 1,500 information-technology positions in the Puget Sound region over the next three years is a bitter pill for Seattle and Tacoma area consumers to swallow.

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