Category: Florida Debt Collection

Russell Law is available to assist you with your Florida debt collection needs.  We can make a written demand as lawyers to the debtor if you have not been paid in full for what you are owed.  Unlike a collection agency, as lawyers we can file a Florida collection lawsuit on your behalf if the debtor does not respond to our demands.  Conversely, if you are being harrassed by a debt collector, we are available to provide Florida debt collection defense and to stop unreasonable collection demands.  Finally, Miami Debt Collection Lawyer, Patrick Russell, Esq., will aggressively pursue all remedies and Florida judgment enforcement techniques to collect every penny you are owed on a unpaid Florida final judgment.   

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Miami Debt Collection Lawyer

Miami Debt Collection Lawyer Help

Russell Law and Patrick Russell, Esq., a Miami Debt Collection lawyer can assist you in your Florida debt collection matters.  Debt collection services are provided for both businesses and individuals. We can help you when you need assistance in both collecting monies or defending against a collection attempt.

Debt Collection Defined

Debt collection is simply the attempt to collect the debt of another.  The typical scenario is that a customer owes you money for either goods or services rendered.  When your attempts to resolve this claim with your customer fail, you should seek the counsel of a Miami Debt Collection Lawyer to help you.  The sooner you get the file into the hands of the lawyer the better your chances are for recovering the debt.  Statistically it has been shown that the successful recovery of a debt decreases for each day that passes.

Debt collection matters also involve the receipt and prosecution of Florida worthless checks.  The passing of a worthless check in Florida entitles the victim to pursue a claim for three-times the value of the check as damages in addition to the face amount of the check.  There are specific procedures that must be followed to pursue a worthless check claim and a client is well advised to obtain a lawyer for assistance with these matters.

The collection of final judgments is perhaps the toughest of all collection matters.  With Florida judgment enforcement, clients will often find that obtaining a final judgment in a case is often easier than collecting the amount owed on the judgment.  There are specific strategies that should be taken to ensure optimal recovery of amounts owed on judgments.  A strong and successful strategy will incorporate several activities including post judgement discovery, aggressive investigation of assets and income, garnishment and levy.

Finally, collection defense is also a vibrant area of collection law.  Clients will need counsel and assistance in those instances when they are being pursued for a debt that they do not owe.  In Florida collection defense cases, a collection lawyer should be retained as early as possible to challenge collection agencies and their aggressive methods.  Debt verification and the strategic planning of a sound defense early on can be invaluable in defending your case.

Miami Debt Collection Lawyer Benefits

Russell Law and Patrick Russell, Esq., a Florida Debt Collection Lawyer can assist you in the collection of monies owed to you.  Collection efforts can include the pursuit of worthless checks as well as the amounts owed for final judgments.  Russell Law can also assist you in the defense of collection cases when you are being pursued by collection agencies or when lawsuits have been filed against you for monies that you do not owe.

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Florida Worthless Checks

Florida Worthless Checks Help

Russell Law and Patrick Russell, Esq. , a Florida debt collection lawyer are available to assist you with your Florida worthless check case.  In Florida, the passing of a worthless check is a criminal offense that also can be pursued as a civil action. To deliver a check to a third party without sufficient funds to cover the value of the check or stopping payment on the check is a clear violation of the worthless check laws. Not knowing that there were not sufficient funds to cover the check is not a defense. The passing of the check itself is the requisite intent that the check be honored.

Florida Worthless Checks Benefits

Relief may be sought from the Assistant State Attorney to file criminal charges against a person that passes a bad check. In addition, an aggrieved party may file a civil action to recover the funds owed under the worthless check. This is where Russell Law can help you. In civil court, there is a strong penalty for a violation of the worthless check laws. If a party fails to make the check good, that party could be held liable for up to three times the value of the check plus the original amount owed under the check. In order to start the case, this office must send a statutory worthless check notice before a lawsuit is filed. If the party fails to pay after receipt of the worthless check notice, a lawsuit can be immediately filed. Most often these claims result in an immediate payment without the need for filing a complaint because no reasonable person should want to pay four times the value of a check. In the event that a lawsuit is necessary, Patrick Russell, Esq. a Miami debt collection attorney, can file that lawsuit and pursue a final judgment for you.

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Florida Monies Owed

Florida Monies Owed Help

Russell Law and Patrick Russell, Esq. , a Florida Debt Collection Attorney are available to assist you with your Florida collection case. Monies may be owed to you because of a loan, for the sale of goods, or for the provision of services. When monies are owed to you and payment is refused, you should seek the services of a lawyer to protect your interests. Collection efforts should be undertaken as soon as possible because if you should fail to act in a timely manner, you may be forever barred from collecting what is owed to you by law. Additionally, it is a statistical fact that persons who start collection actions sooner have a higher chance of collecting what is owed to them. To assist in your collection case, you should gather together all written documents that support your claim including any contracts, letters or emails to or from the debtor, invoices, shipping receipts, payment history and/or any accounting records. Copies of all your documents should be made and provided to your lawyer.

Florida Monies Owed Benefits

There are many advantages to using a law firm to collect your debt rather than a collection agency. First, collection agencies are limited by law in what they can do. Collection agencies cannot provide you with legal advice nor can they file a lawsuit on your behalf. Normally, all collection agencies will do is to send several demand letters, make a telephone call, and if there is no response, they will close their file. Unlike a collection agency, Russell Law can and will file a lawsuit on your behalf if proper payment is not received. In our firm, your collection matter will be handled as an individual case and not on a volume basis like those at a collection agency. As part of our normal operating procedures, you will receive detailed updates and status reports on your case.  We will provide you with assistance for the pursuit of all of your legal remedies, including recording liens, pursuing a levy on personal property or seeking garnishment of wages and bank accounts. When possible, Russell Law and a Florida debt collection lawyer will seek the recovery of all of your attorney’s fees and costs from the debtor. Finally, our office can review your contract, transaction documentation, credit procedures, and billing methods to reduce your collection problems in the future.

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Florida Judgment Enforcement

Florida Judgment Enforcement Help

Russell Law and Patrick Russell, Esq. , a Miami Debt Collection lawyer, are available to assist you with the collection of your Florida judgment.  A money judgment is a legal right to money damages. The judgment will not however on its own force the debtor to pay you. Chances are that a judgment will do nothing for you unless you take direct action to enforce payment. Many options may be available to you including foreclosure, garnishment and levy. The available options vary depending on the facts of your unique case.

Florida Judgment Enforcement Benefits

To begin this process, Russell Law and Patrick Russell, Esq., a Miami Debt Collection lawyer can take steps to make sure that your judgment is recorded and that a judgment lien has been filed on your behalf. Both steps are necessary to protect your lien rights.  Thereafter, we can assist you with investigating the assets and income of the judgment debtor. This investigation is a two step process.  First private investigators are used to locate assets and income of the debtor.  At the same time, Russell Law will through the Court submit formal questions and document requests to the debtor to determine the debtor’s property and income. If needed, a deposition can also be scheduled for the debtor to appear in our office to answer questions under oath. These legal proceedings are known as post-judgment discovery.  Provided that the debtor agrees to pay, we can draft a payment plan for the debtor to sign that outlines the terms of payment. After payment is received, this office can prepare a satisfaction of judgment for the case.

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Florida Debt Collection Statutes

Relevant Florida Statutes for Florida Debt Collection are below.  Clicking on a link below will open up a new window or tab in your browser.  This site will remain open for you to return to simply by clicking on its open window or tab.

Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

Florida Worthless Check Statute

Florida Commercial Collection Practices

Florida Consumer Collection Practices

Florida Fraudulent Transfers Statute

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Florida Debt Collection

Florida Debt Collection Defined

Proceeding with Debt Collection

Debt collection is defined as the attempt by one party to collect the debt of another party.  Debt collectors include the persons engaging in debt collection activities, their employers, and in some instances lawyers who also attempt to collect a debt.  Debt collection ordinarily includes telephone collection calls and the mailing of collection letters.  If you need assistance in collecting a debt owed to you, feel free to contact Russell Law for the help you need.  Patrick Russell, Esq. , a Florida Debt Collection Lawyer can assist you with your debt collection cases for monies owed, past due contract payments,  unpaid loans, worthless checks or the collection of a Florida Judgment awarded to you.  We will assess your case and plan a strategy to collect the monies that are owed to you.  Demand letters can be sent or your behalf or if your prefer, a lawsuit may be filed first to speed up your claim.  If possible, Russell Law can attempt to work out an agreement with the debtor to get you paid under terms and conditions that you approve.  Otherwise, we will pursue a judgment on your behalf and if awarded, attempt to collect the same from the debtor.  Final judgment collection will require an investigation of the debtor’s assets to identify ways in which you can be paid.  Options include levy upon personal assets or real property or garnishment of bank accounts or wages from an employer.

Debt Collection Response

If you are on the other side of a debt collection attempt, you are protected by the Fair Debt  Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”).  The FDCPA is a Federal law and the Florida equivalent, set forth proper methods and manners for a debt collector to engage in collection activities.  Generally, all debt collection attempts must include a warning and disclaimer that the action is an attempt to collect a debt.  Further, this warning and disclaimer must provide you with an opportunity to dispute the debt and obtain written verification of the debt.  The laws regulating debt collectors requires that no attempt to collect a debt shall be misleading.  As such, collectors are prohibited from demanding the wrong amount or interest and fees that they know that the creditor is not entitled to.  Likewise, debt collectors cannot threaten to take action that they cannot legally take (i.e. “have you arrested”, “throw you in debtor’s prison”).  Finally, debt collectors are prohibited from harassing you in order to collect a debt.  Harassment includes calling you early in the morning, late at night, repeatedly at all hours even after you have demanded that they stop, or calling your employer to state that you are a deadbeat.  The foregoing prohibited actions are just a small sampling of the many prohibitions in FDCPA.  A violation of the FDCPA allows a debtor to file a lawsuit against the debt collector for actual damages incurred on account of the violation and to recover all attorney’s fees and costs for bringing such a claim.  Should you feel that your rights have been violated by an improper debt collection method, please feel free to contract Russell Law for a consultation.  Similarly, if you need assistance in responding to a debt collection attempt, Patrick Russell, Esq., a Miami Debt Collection Lawyer can stop the collection calls and letters to you, and work with the debt collector directly to resolve the claim on your behalf.

Florida Debt Collection Resources

Helpful legal resources for Florida Debt Collection include Florida Debt Collection Statutes for links to relevant Florida laws dealing with debt collection in the State of Florida.

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Florida Collection Defense

Florida Collection Defense Help

Collection Letter Response

Russell Law and Patrick Russell, Esq. , a Miami Debt Collection Lawyer, are available to defend you in a Florida collection defense matter or case.  If you receive a collection or demand letter from a collection agency or a law firm, you should immediately seek the assistance and counsel of a lawyer. Russell Law will defend you against overzealous collectors and protect your rights in Court against unjust claims.  Normally, all collection or demand letters have deadlines to either resolve or dispute the claim. As a practical matter, you do not want to ever waive any of your rights.  As such, the initial collection or demand letter should be treated very seriously. Collection activities are regulated by both Federal and State law and they cannot be misleading or inappropriate.  We can assert claims on your behalf against a collector that violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or its Florida equivalent.  Further, Russell Law can assist you in protecting your rights and responding intelligently to a collection letter by disputing and/or seeking verification of the debt.

Collection Lawsuit Response

Just the same, if you receive service of a lawsuit, you should immediately seek the help of a lawyer. All lawsuits have time deadlines by which you must file a written response. Calling the Court or the person who filed the lawsuit against you is not enough. Unless you get a written extension of time, you must file your written response in a timely manner.  The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure require that your written response be in a certain form and format. The failure to observe the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure may result in a default being entered and the entry of a final judgment against you.

Florida Collection Defense Benefits

No matter if it is a collection letter or lawsuit, Russell Law and Patrick Russell, Esq., a Miami Debt Collection Lawyer can help you protect your rights and seek a final resolution for the dispute. Upon our office entering your case, all letters and telephone calls to you will cease and the only party contacting you on these issues will be us. Russell Law will review all agreements, invoices, correspondence, demand letters and lawsuit papers to defend you in your case. Should the circumstances warrant, we can negotiate a settlement and pursue a favorable payment plan for you.  Rest assured your case will be handled by us in a civil and amicable manner until it is ultimately resolved.

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