It frequently amazes me how many people will call me and say ” I’ve got a lawyer and they recommend doing so-and-so, but I wanted to check with you first.”

Huh?? I’m not a lawyer, and I can spout case law right and left – but I have no experience defending anyone in court and certainly not in the jurisdiction of 99.99999% of the people who talk to me. Why would you pay someone $250/hour and then turn around and pay someone like me considerably less to get a second opinion. AND if you’re in debt, how can you afford a lawyer and me?? Well actually, maybe they have something here.

Yep, this guy calls me today and tells me his lawyer sent a “debt validation” letter to the collection agency. The lawyer basically told this agency that if they didn’t hear back from them in 30 days that the debt was “extinguished per the FDCPA”. Ummmm…no There is no such language in the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act). This guy is lucky that most collection agencies don’t have the first clue about the law.

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