Earlier this month, Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced an agreement with Hollywood Video to curb its consumer debt collection activities. Hollywood Video hired a company to collect outstanding late fees and product fees from consumers. The company made collection efforts without proper notice to consumers about the amounts owed, and without verifying the amounts owed from consumers.
The company also added collection fees and interest to the amounts owed and notified credit reporting agencies of the delinquent accounts. Attorney General Gansler said the agreement would stop the improper collection activities.
According to the agreement, Hollywood Video will rescind any outstanding adverse credit reports. In addition, it will refrain from reporting adverse information to consumer reporting agencies in the future. Hollywood Video must cease collection efforts if a consumer disputes the validity of one of its collection notices. If Hollywood Video claims a consumer owes both a late fee and product fee, it will collect the lesser of the two fees and forego collecting any interest or collection fees on the account.
Any future purchaser of Hollywood Video’s customer accounts is required to abide by the agreement’s terms.
Contact a Maryland bankruptcy attorney if consumer debt collectors are calling you, and you think Chapter 7 is an option. An experienced Maryland attorney can explain how the Chapter 7 bankruptcy process stops debt collectors.
