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The INDEPENDENT, July 20, 2011
Eat BBQ to help the library Learn how to handle debt collectors
The Friends of the Banks
Public Library and Burnt Ends
BBQ are teaming up to cele-
brate National Night Out on
Tuesday, August 2, and raise
money for the Banks Library.
Pre-orders for BBQ beef
ribs, pork ribs or chicken will be
taken at the Banks Library until
Wednesday, July 27. BBQ beef
brisket sandwiches plus potato
salad, cole slaw and BBQ
beans will be available at the
event in Greenville Park from
6:00 p.m. until dusk.
Ribs dinners, which will feed
2-3 people and come with two
sides, are available for $28,
whole chicken dinners will be
$18, and half-chicken dinners
will be $12. Items can also be
ordered a la carte.
A portion of the proceeds will
go to the Friends of the Banks
Public Library.
Governor appoints Wipper to be
Washington county Circuit judge
Governor Kitzhaber an-
nounced, on July 8, the ap-
pointment of Janelle Factora
Wipper to fill the vacancy on
the Washington County Circuit
Court created by the appoint-
ment of Judge Marco Hernan-
dez to the United States District
Court for the District of Oregon.
She will start her new position
on the court August 1, 2011.
“Janelle Wipper’s diverse
background, which includes
both criminal and civil law, will
make her an asset to the trial
court,” said Governor Kitz-
haber. “Her personal and pro-
fessional experiences, along
with her commitment to public
service, will benefit the citizens
of Washington County and the
State of Oregon.”
Ms. Wipper received her
Doctor of Jurisprudence de-
gree from Willamette University
College of Law and her Bache-
lor of Science degree from Ore-
gon State University. Ms. Wip-
per has been serving as Asso-
ciate Chief Counsel for the Civ-
il Enforcement Division of the
Oregon Department of Justice
and previously served as a
Deputy District Attorney in
Washington County for 11
years. Currently serving as
President of the Washington
County Bar Association, Ms.
Wipper is also a member of the
Oregon Women Lawyers, Ore-
gon Minority Lawyers Associa-
tion, and the Oregon Asian Pa-
cific American Bar Association.
by Jason Alderman, www.prac-
ticalmoneyskills.com
If you’ve ever fallen far be-
hind on paying your bills, you
know what it’s like to dread
whenever the phone rings:
What if it’s another bill collec-
tor? Ignoring the call – like ig-
noring a toothache – is never a
good idea. Sooner or later,
you’re going to have to deal
with the situation.
According to Gail Cunning-
ham, spokesperson for the Na-
tional Foundation for Credit
Counseling (NFCC), “Our 2011
Financial Literacy Survey
found that most people – 68
percent – pay their bills on
time. However, 28 percent said
they experience difficulty mak-
ing timely bill payments.”
Ideally, you should contact
your lender as soon as you re-
alize you may have difficulty
paying a bill. They would much
rather work out a repayment
plan than enter the costly and
time-consuming
collections
process. But, if that ship has al-
ready sailed, here are a few
precautions you can take to
protect your interests:
You have certain rights
whenever dealing with debt
collectors. For example, collec-
tors cannot harass you by:
• Using abusive language or
threatening violence or arrest.
• Calling before 8:00 a.m. or
after 9:00 p.m.
• Falsely representing them-
selves as attorneys or govern-
ment employees if they are not.
• Threatening to sue you if
they don’t intend to.
• Contacting you at work if
you tell them your employer
disapproves.
• Contacting others, except
to verify where you live and
work.
• Revealing to others that
you owe money.
If a collection agency con-
tacts you initially by phone,
they must send written notice
within five days stating how
much you owe, the name of the
creditor owed and how to file a
dispute if you don’t agree.
Once contacted, you should:
• Get names of all persons
calling and their agency, its ad-
dress, phone and fax numbers.
• Take detailed notes of all
conversations,
correspon-
dence and pre-recorded calls,
noting names, dates and times.
• You may request that all
subsequent contact be handled
by mail. Send this request –
and all further correspondence
– by certified mail, return re-
ceipt requested.
• Request that all conversa-
tions be followed-up in writing.
• Document any false, mis-
leading or harassing state-
ments and include them in your
correspondence.
• Request full details about
any debts the collector claims
you owe, including dates,
amounts, lender’s name, etc.
• Instruct that you be the
only person contacted, unless
you want your attorney in-
volved.
• Retain all records indefi-
nitely in case of future disputes.
• Have all agreed-to repay-
ment plan terms verified in writ-
ing, including promises to re-
move or adjust reports to your
credit history.
If you feel you’ve been tar-
geted in error, tell the collection
agency – in writing – that it has
the wrong party and to stop
contacting you. If they can’t
provide proof, by law they must
cease collection efforts.
Unfortunately, it’s not un-
common for identity thieves to
run up debt in someone else’s
name and to have those unpaid
debts eventually go into collec-
tion. That’s why it’s important to
check your credit reports regu-
larly and to report any errors or
mistaken transactions immedi-
ately. You can order one free
credit report a year from each
of the three main credit bu-
reaus through www.annual-
creditreport.com.
The Privacy Rights Clearing-
house’s “Debt Collection Prac-
tices: When Hardball Tactics
Go Too Far,” offers great tips
on navigating the debt-collec-
tion process, including your pri-
vacy rights, sample letters and
where to turn for help (www.pri-
vacyrights.org/fs/fs27-debt-
coll.htm).
Public warned of new FBI scam
Jim’s Thriftway SS 100
The Oregon Department of
Justice has received numerous
complaints about an email so-
licitation scam. The fake email
claims to be from the FBI and
requests $350 from the recipi-
ent to obtain a “Clearance Cer-
tificate.” The email threatens to
send an agent to the recipient’s
home for questioning, and/or
other legal sanctions if they fail
to contact the Department of
P IT G ATE O PENS AT 2:00 P . M .
G RANDSTAND G ATE O PENS AT 3:30 P . M .
Q UALIFYING S TARTS AT 5:00 P . M .
R ACING S TARTS AT 6:00 P . M .
S TRASSEL ’ S A UTO R EPAIR
& H YDRAULIC H OSES
COME TO THE RACES
SATURDAY, JULY 30 TH
Don’t forget to make a pit stop for
Jim’s Famous Bar-B-Q Fri. & Sat.
660 So. Main, Banks • 503-324-2171
2-4-6 S PIRAL W IRE
S UCTION H OSES
A DAPTORS - 3/16” TO 2”
A MERICAN & M ETRIC F ITTINGS
B ULK O IL P RODUCTS
276 S UNSET , B ANKS
503-324-9808
Homeland Security within 24
hours in order to obtain their
“Clearance Certificate.” The
email also lists contact informa-
tion for the FBI in Washington,
D.C., and the Economic and Fi-
nancial Crimes Commission in
Lagos.
Do not respond to these
emails. They are being sent by
scam artists to a large number
of people with the intent of ob-
taining personal or financial in-
formation.
Fake email solicitations –
also commonly known as
Nigerian email scams – are
among the most common
scams reported in Oregon. In
2010, international money
transfer schemes were report-
ed by more than 1,000 Oregon
consumers. Last year, Orego-
nians lost nearly $2 mil-
See FBI on page 16