Tennessee Deficiency on Foreclosure–Call Barnette Law Offices!

If you have been contacted by a mortgage lender, collection agency, debt buyer, or a law firm in Tennessee regarding a “deficiency” after your home was foreclosed upon, please read the following inasmuch as you have defenses and potential causes of action . . . 

In Tennessee, a creditor can sue for breach of contract (i.e. to recover unpaid debt) for up to 6 years from the date of the default in payment.

However, Tenn. Code Ann.  § 35-5-118(d) provides that a post-foreclosure action to obtain a deficiency judgment “shall be brought not later than the earlier of:

(A) Two (2) years after the date of the trustee’s or foreclosure sale, exclusive of any period of time in which a petition for bankruptcy is pending; or

(B) The time for enforcing the indebtedness as provided for under §§ 28-1-102 and 28-2-111.

So, the creditor has to sue on the earlier of two years or within the original 6 year statute of limitations. Two years is generally going to be the earlier of those two.

For many creditors, waiting a few years after a foreclosure is a reasonable move, to see if the debtor’s fortunes turn around. But, under this statute, a creditor can’t wait too long, and no later than 2 years.

If you’ve received letters or have been sued under the aforementioned scenario above, contact us at Barnette Law Offices!

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Debt Collection Calls and Lawsuits in Tennessee –Call Barnette Law Offices

Have you been getting too many automated debt collection calls? If so, you may be entitled to compensation under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Illegal Debt Collection Practices

If you owe someone money, they have a right to try and collect it by calling you. However, it matters how many times they call you a day, week or month using automated debt collection calls, also known as robocalls, which are automated phone calls that use both a computerized autodialer and a computer-delivered pre-recorded message.  In fact, calling without your express prior consent is illegal under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

A U.S. District Court judge in Tennessee recently ruled that 17 calls a month was too much and that consumers who received these calls are entitled to file suit against the debt collector. In his opinion, he reasoned:

"The frequency of [the defendant's] calls to [the plaintiff's] telephone and the manner in which [the defendant] called [the plaintiff's] cellular telephone using an automatic telephone dialing system could plausibly cause an unsophisticated consumer to feel harassed, oppressed or abused." It's that language which can be seen in several debt collection consumer laws.

Consumer Debt Protection Laws

Consumers are protected by several laws to make sure that debt collection practices are fair and reasonable. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act are two of those laws which, if violated, can result in up to $1,500 in fines per violation. Here's how they work:

• FDCPA. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits debt collectors from using telephone calls “repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse or harass.”
• TCPA. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act prohibits calls using any automatic telephone dialing system or artificial or prerecorded voices to several cell phones and other places.

Debt Collector Violations Getting Worse

The number of debt collectors who violate these consumer protection laws has doubled over the past few years according to the Federal Trade Commission. However, debt collection lawyers say that consumers do not have to put up with this behavior and encourage them to seek the advice of an attorney to make the calls and harassment stop once and for all.

If a debt collector has engaged in any of these abusive or unfair debt collection practices, contact the Tennessee FDCPA Lawyers and Tennessee TCPA Lawyers at  Barnette Law Offices for a free evaluation!

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Tennessee FDCPA Lawyers–Barnette Law Offices

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was enacted to stop abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by debt collectors and debt purchasers such as Midland Funding, Asset Acceptance, CACH, Portfolio Recovery Associates, Cavalry Portfolio Services, etc. If you believe you have been a victim of unfair practices of a debt collector or if you’ve been sued by a debt collector or debt purchaser in a Tennessee General Sessions Court  you may be entitled to money damages and payment of your attorneys’ fees.

A Debt Collector cannot:

• Call you on telephone repeatedly and at odd hours
• Call you, but not announce who he/she is
• Disclose information of your debts to third parties
• Use abusive language
• Contact you after written notification that you do not want to be contacted
• Claim to be affiliated with any governmental organization
• Misrepresent the character, amount or legal status of a debt
• Threaten to take action not validated
• Threaten or communicate false credit information
• Use deceptive methods to collect debts
• ... and more

You can:

• Reduce or completely zero your interest payment
• Avoid or reduce late payment fees
• Combine several loans into a single low monthly payment plan
• Get your credit reports corrected
• Remove invalid or time-lapsed entries in your credit reports
• ...and more

If a debt collector has engaged in any of these abusive or unfair debt collection practice, contact the Tennessee FDCPA Lawyers at  Barnette Law Offices for a free evaluation!

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