Texas Attorney General Charges Home Loan Servicer With Violating State Debt Collection Laws

North Texas e-News
August 31, 2010

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has charged American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc. (AHMS) with using illegal debt collection tactics and improperly misleading struggling homeowners. According to investigators, AHMS agents used aggressive and unlawful tactics to collect payments and failed to credit homeowners who remitted payments on time. AHMS agents also have been accused of falsely claiming that homeowners did not make payments on time in order to justify profitable late fees or escrow accounts. They also reportedly failed to properly credit homeowners after withdrawing funds from the homeowners' checking accounts. This unlawful conduct often led to homeowners defaulting on their loans, which led to foreclosure proceedings. The attorney general has charged AHMS with multiple violations of the Texas Debt Collection Act and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), and the state is seeking civil penalties of up to $20,000 per violation of the DTPA.
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