‘These Are People’s Lives You’re Playing With:’ The Fight To Curb Debt Collector Lies | ThinkProgress
Most consumers who run afoul of a foreclosure mill don’t have the wherewithal to find a lawyer who can effectively slow the sprint toward a collections judgment. Even if they know something’s fishy about the amount they’re being told they owe, they may either be unfamiliar with their rights or unsure how to enforce those rights effectively.
But when Steven Psaros of Hawthorne, New Jersey, sought out Denbeaux & Denbeaux to help save his house from foreclosure, it quickly became obvious to his lawyers that the court filings against Psaros included an illegally inflated dollar value.
The mortgage servicer seeking the foreclosure had taken out an insurance policy on the home even after Psaros provided proof that he had his own insurance policy for the home and was current on his premiums. The cost of that redundant insurance policy got tacked onto what lawyers were telling a judge Psaros owed. Denbeaux’s team pounced, ultimately convincing a federal judge that Psaros was being billed incorrectly.
