Some harassing-creditors refuse to honor debtors' counsel's pre-petition (before filing of the bankruptcy) cease and desist demands, which quote federal and state fair debt collection laws. The pretext is devotion to protecting customers' privacy.
They advise that no information on the customer shall be divulged absent a notarized Power of Attorney (POA) given by the debtor-customer to her counsel. And by the way, we're gonna keep on contacting the customer, so nyeah-nyeah-nyeah-nyeah-nyeah.
To paraphrase Alfonso Bedoya's opinion on badges delivered to Bogie in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, I say, "POA? We ain't got no POA. We don't need no POA! I don't have to show you any stinkin' POA! "
And so we respond, if not in so many words. The legal squabbling that ensues is a subject for another day. Today, I simply illustrate the anemic quality of the fair debt collection acts. Consumers' demands of creditors to stop! are routinely defied; the collection acts are like that Nerf-gun my boy has. With a satisfying pop! it launches foam bullets with velcro heads. They stick to your shirt. It's a blast. Really. But the Nerf rounds don't do much damage... 'cause they're Nerf rounds.
Bankruptcy is a mortar. It has creditors walk the line. If you stop short of the big B, creditors will just peel off your velcro grievances with that __________(insert onomatopoeic word for velcro-removal; I can't think of one) sound.
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I like to turn the tables. Creditors call me about a "mutual" and want to confirm representation. Unless the case is filed, I require them to submit a written request so I can verify who is making the request. Creditors HATE that.
ReplyDeleteThey also dislike that my prepetition divulgence is limited to declaration of representation and a cease and desist demand. I don't indulge the rudeness that accompanies dissatisfaction with the scope of what I convey, so I end the calls when they're ready to end.
ReplyDelete