A servicer of mortgage payments violated Maryland and federal law by charging borrowers a monthly $5 “convenience fee” for payments made online or by telephone rather than by check when this charge was not mentioned in their mortgage documents, a ...

Tagged with: convenience fee fair debt collection practices act Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act Maryland Consumer Protection Act mortgage payment mortgages online payment

Law firms engaged in debt collection have a duty under Maryland consumer protection laws to investigate a debtor’s claim that the money is not owed before pursuing collection efforts, Maryland’s second highest court ruled last week in enabling a widow ...

Tagged with: debt collection Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act Maryland Mortgage Fraud Protection Act

Maryland law protects debtors not only against debt collectors who resort to harassment but also those who knowingly or recklessly seek amounts or interest rates beyond that permitted by statute or court decision, the state’s top court ruled Friday in ...

Tagged with: debt collection harassment Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act

Alleged victims of unlicensed or unruly debt collectors can pursue lawsuits against them and need not rely on state regulators to vindicate their rights, Maryland’s top court unanimously ruled Monday. The Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act (MCDCA) and the Maryland ...

Tagged with: debt debt collection LVNV Maryland Collection Agency Licensing Act Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act private right of action

A Baltimore jury has awarded more than $38.6 million in compensation to debtors who had paid less than a tenth of that amount to LVNV Funding LLC, a then-unlicensed debt-collection company.

Tagged with: debt collection LVNV Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act unjust enrichment