Until July 2009, Iowa victims of many fraudulent, unfair or deceptive practices had little recourse. Unlike almost every other state in the nation, Iowans had no right to sue to seek damages for most claims. They could sue for some fraudulent activities but faced burdensome legal requirements, like showing that the defendant had the intent to deceive and that there was clear and convincing evidence of the fraud. The plaintiff also had to pay all their own attorney’s fees, evenRead more

Federally insured student loans are subject to enhanced debt collection procedures that aren’t available to creditors and debt collectors of private student loans or to any other type of debt. For instance, the federal government can offset tax refunds student loan borrowers might be getting if they’re in default on their student loans. Before the offset can occur the Department of Education must send borrowers a written notice of the intent to take the refund. A borrower can raise defensesRead more

Despite the special protections given to student loan debt ( i.e. different discharge rules in bankruptcy, different garnishment rules, etc.), collection agencies that collect either federal or private student loans are still subject to both federal and Iowa fair debt collection laws. A debt collector that reveals private information to a third party, communicates with a borrower at inconvenient times of the day, telephones repeatedly with the intent to harass the borrower, contacts a borrower at work without permission, makesRead more

Welcome to the Iowa Consumer Rights blog for Nancy Thompson. I’m an attorney who has nearly 30 years experience advocating for consumers. We pursue fair debt collection violations by creditors and debt collectors, fair credit reporting violations by creditors and credit bureaus and consumer fraud violations by a variety of entities like debt settlement companies, creditors and others. This blog will help provide some basic information about the many difficulties facing Iowa’s consumers. If you have a consumer problem thatRead more