By Kenneth Long on December 19, 2011

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has taken action against another rogue collection agency that has broken numerous consumer protection laws. This time, First Integral Recovery LLC out of Houston has been charged with violations of the Texas Financial Code and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

The violations in this case suggest a flagrant disregard for basic consumer protection rights. Debt collectors at First Integral Recovery used excessive profanity, and often threatened arrest and imprisonment.

Furthermore, the agency refused to properly validate debts upon request from the debtor. All debtors have the right to request verification that the debt is actually owed by them. In many cases, First Integral Recovery refused to provide proof and instead continued to harrass debtors until they paid up.

When debtors requested information about who the debt was owed to, the agency frequently refused to even provide the name of that creditor. This is also a blatant violation of consumer protection code.

One easy tip that the firm was possibly breaking the law was its failure to post a surety bond with the State of Texas. Texas law requires that a surety bond be posted with the office of the Secretary of State.

Since action is being taken by state regulators, the firm is charged with violations of those state laws. Had the Federal Trade Commission taken action, then the firm would be charged with similar violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Has First Integral Recovery violated your consumer rights? If so, tell us about it. You should also report violations to the office of the Attorney General of your state and with the Federal Trade Commission.

Abbott's office is seeking civil penalties against the violators. Some victims may choose to sue First Integral Recovery directly for FDCPA violations.

By Kenneth Long on December 1, 2011

In a sign that Massachusetts plans to take unilateral action against big banks over the mortgage crisis, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced that she filed lawsuits against some of the biggest targets in the mortgage industry.

Lawsuits have been filed against Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi, Ally Financial and JPMorgan Chase. Coakley's office alleges that unlawful foreclosures were committed as a result of fraudulent or flawed practices committed by bank personnel.

Robo-signing may be responsible for the largest percentage of wrongful foreclosures committed by the mortgage lenders. Instead of individually verifying each case, bank personnel were reportedly instructed to summarily sign affidavits attesting to the validity of each case. These signed affidavits were presented in courts of law to prove the banks' ability to foreclose on properties that had fallen into default.

It is this practice of robo-signing that caused banks to push some homeowners into foreclosure who were not actually behind in their payments. Some foreclosures even affected military personnel who should have been protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act while on active duty.

Chase was one such offender who was chastised for wrongful foreclosures on military service members. They paid $56 million to settle allegations of SCRA violations.

While Coakley's action against the banks was not a surprise, it did come as a shock that she would file individual lawsuits rather than pursue a joint settlement with other states. Her office reported that Massachusetts would be the first state to pursue a settlement so strongly with the banks.

Banking stocks indeed have still been hammered because of the uncertainty in legal actions that are still outstanding. Most investors expect billions to still be paid out to settle allegations of wrongdoing. Coakley's action means that it could take even longer to resolve the situation if individual states pursue action on their own.