A Eugene, OR attorney recently surrendered his law license in connection with a settlement he entered into with the Oregon State Attorney General. Derric McGavic specialized in representing national debt collectors that buy defaulted consumer obligations in massive quantities on the secondary market, often for pennies on the dollar. McGavic allegedly misidentified or purposefully confused the identity of creditors in documentation to delay consumers’ response and thus increase fees and interest payable to McGavic and his clients. He also allegedly repeatedly called debtors who had requested in writing not to be called. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, consumers have a right to be left in peace if they send a letter to the debt collector instructing them to cease and desist from having further communication.
The Department of Justice’s investigation also uncovered McGavic’s pattern of falsifying fee affidavits in motions for default judgments by claiming services he did not perform. In addition, McGavic allegedly provided his office staff with a schedule to be used to arbitrarily increase the fees claimed — depending on the amount of money claimed or the venue of the action.
McGavic is further prohibited from acting as a debt collector or operating a law firm or a collection agency in the state of Oregon.
Unfortunately, cases such as these are not uncommon. Rather, they are under reported. Most consumers who have been abused by debt collectors are unaware of their rights under the Fair Debt Collection practices Act. Indeed, it costs nothing for a consumer to hire an experienced Consumer Rights lawyer to file a lawsuit against the abusive debt collector and obtain damages.
If you have been victimized by a debt collector or have items on your credit report that are incorrect, call or email Attorney Gary Nitzkin for a free consultation at (888) 293-2882. For more information about your credit rights as a consumer, visit our blog at www.micreditlawyer.com/blog. Visit our website at www.micreditlawyer.com.
