The harassing company pays our fees.
Stillman Law Office or SLO is a law firm based in Michigan that specializes in third-party debt collection. SLO has received consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) such as attempting to collect debts not owed and threatening to take actions that cannot legally be taken. If you have been contacted by SLO, understand your rights before responding.
According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Stillman Law Offices was founded in 1994, and the BBB established its profile page in 2008. The BBB lists SLO as a law firm. Buzzfile estimates SLO’s annual revenue at $3.5 million and the size of its staff at 40 people.
According to its website, Stillman Law Office employs an “aggressive, skilled attorney staff…prepared to represent clients in all areas of creditors’ rights.” SLO’s “main focus is commercial and retail debt collection and litigation throughout the entire state of Michigan, and nationally, through an extensive co-counsel forwarding network.” SLO “routinely handles insurance subrogation, equipment lease litigation, foreclosures, repossession actions, evictions, and creditors’ rights cases in bankruptcy.”
Stillman Law Office’s clients “range in size from small organizations to large, international companies.” Their client list includes insurance companies, equipment lessors, financial institutions, collection agencies, hospitals, and automotive lenders. SLO is primarily a law firm. However, their legal staff specializes in collecting delinquent debt. Because they are a law firm, SLO is also able to offer its creditor-clients remedies such as “law suits, judgments, garnishments (wage and bank), attachments, and repossessions.”
As a licensed collection agency, Stillman Law Office offers a full range of services, including third-party collections; insurance subrogation; equipment lease litigation, including aggressive pursuit of equipment return orders; repossession; bankruptcy relief, including motions to lift stay, objections to valuation, and adversary complaints to determine non-dischargeablility; and real estate title and probate claims.”
Stillman Law Office’s website stresses that it is an aggressive agency focused on asserting creditors’ rights in all cases it receives. The payment portal displays the mandated disclosure, “This is an attempt by a debt collector to collect a debt. Any information obtained will be used for that purpose.” It also contains an “Apply for Hardship” link that requests detailed personal and financial information. However, there are no consumer protection resources, and there are no links or references to consumer protection laws or enforcement agencies.
Who are we? We are Lemberg Law, a Consumer Law Firm
Lemberg Law is a consumer law firm helping victims of collection harassment and abuse. We are ranked A+ by the BBB. We’ve helped more than 15,000 consumers stop harassment and recover money from debt collectors. Harassed? Abused? Misled by a collector? Call our Helpline today! There is no charge unless we win.
The BBB has closed 6 complaints against Stillman Law Office in the past three years, with 1 closed in the past 12 months. All of those complaints allege problems with billing and collections. Since July 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has received 20 complaints about SLO. Justia lists at least 3 cases of civil litigation involving Stillman Law Office.
Absolutely. Here are some Sample Cases against Stillman Law Office
In August 2015, in United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division, a judge issued an Opinion in a case alleging Stillman Law Office had violated provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Michigan Collection Practices Act (MCPA), Michigan Comp. Laws, and the Michigan Occupational Code (MOC). The August 2015 hearing was held to determine the outcome of SLO’s request to dismiss the charges. The initial challenge was whether the plaintiff had the right to bring charges against Michael Stillman, the owner of the law firm, as a private individual bearing personal liability for the charges outlined in the complaint. The court denied Mr. Stillman’s request to dismiss these charges and upheld the plaintiff’s right under both the FDCPA and Michigan state laws to hold both SLO and Michael Stillman equally liable for the violations she claimed in the complaint.
As or the actual violations, the plaintiff claimed that SLO violated FDCPA provisions prohibiting “false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt” and against “unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect any debt.” The basis for this claim was that the debt was too old; therefore, collection efforts were prohibited by the expiration of the statute of limitations. During the hearing, Stillman Law Office presented evidence that this was not the case, and the plaintiff conceded, allowing the judge to dismiss those charges. Similarly, Stillman Law Office objected to the plaintiff’s charge that SLO had violated the FDCPA provision against communicating “credit information which is known or which should be known to be false.” The plaintiff did not respond and the charge was dismissed.
However, the plaintiff filed two additional charges. The first was that SLO had violated FDCPA prohibitions against “false representation of ‘the character, amount, or
legal status of any debt’” and against “false representation or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect any debt” by sending several letters with conflicting amounts owed that did not specify how much of each balance was the result of fees, interest, and other charges. The other charge was that Stillman Law Office had violated the FDCPA prohibition against contacting any consumer known to be represented by an attorney. Although the judge did not make any final determinations, he did dismiss SLO’s objections, indicating that the plaintiff adequately alleged plausible violations on these counts.
National Service Bureau, Inc.
18912 N Creek Pkwy., Ste. 205
Bothell, WA 98011
Telephone: (206) 533-0877
Website: http://www.stillmanlaw.com/
Federal laws protect you. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) regulates the behavior of collection agencies by prohibiting actions such as the use of abusive or threatening language; harassment; or the use of false or misleading information to collect a debt. The FCRA regulates how collection agencies and creditors report delinquent debts to credit reporting agencies. Additional consumer protection laws include the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).
But here’s the rub: If you want to enforce your rights, or recover money for violations — you need to sue. These laws provide individuals like you with a means to seek monetary damages in court. For example, the FDCPA allows consumers who have been violated to recover damages of up to $1,000, plus attorney fees and court costs.
Your debt harassment checklist:
“Thank you and your staff for the exceptional work you did on my behalf in dealing with a debt collector. I’ve not experienced the level of professionalism, care, timeliness in follow-through, and financial compensation obtained through your firm.”
“I won’t be afraid to contact you or recommend your services to others for debt collection difficulties. Please keep up the outstanding work you do, and again, thank you for helping me through this challenging time. I am most grateful.”
“I did not realize I’d be getting any money from this wretched affair. I’m taken aback by what you have achieved in my behalf.”
We can absolutely help. Call us today.
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Sergei Lemberg is an attorney focusing on consumer law, class actions related to automotive issues, and personal injury litigation. With nearly two decades of experience, his areas of practice include Lemon Law (vehicle defects), Debt Collection Harassment, TCPA (illegal robocalls and texts), Fair Credit Reporting Act, Overtime claims, Personal Injury cases, and Class Actions. He has consistently been recognized as the nation's "most active consumer attorney." In 2020, Mr. Lemberg represented Noah Duguid before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case Duguid v. Facebook. He is also the author of "Defanging Debt Collectors," a guide that empowers consumers to fight back against debt collectors and prevail, as well as "Lemon Law 101: The Laws That Lemon Dealers Don't Want You to Know."
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They are calling my job, they even went as far as asking to speak with my doctor who I work for. Now they are stepping over the line, telling my co-worker if I don’t respond they are going to sue me.
They called me at my job..so was very awkward for me!
Stillman law office claims to have served me papers on a debt that I had no knowledge even existed. They went thru the entire court process without ever contacting me (I had the same address for over a decade) they received a judgement to garnished my paychecks and are currently taking b the max they are allowed by law. The judge ruled in their favor or issued a default judgement because I didn’t appear in court (because I was never given any notice to appear). Tried to fight it but the judge accepted their employees statement which claimed I was unable to be served. I’m a man currently having wages garnished for thousands of dollars in women’s skirts apparently as stillman law produce 2receipts for mail order skirts and claimed they were mine. Absolutely untrue and ridiculous that I never got to have my day in court now I’m at risk of losing my home because they are taking my money and I am the only income for our family. It’s horrifying that they are able to legally steal my money
These people are THE WORST, heartless and cold. Tried to BULLY me into paying some ridiculous payment plan I couldn’t afford and threatening me with “LEGAL PROCEEDINGS “! They need to be shut down!
These people are beyond ridiculous. They prey on and harass the elderly. When confronted by someone advocating for the elderly, they become belligerent. The only thing left to do is file a lawsuit against these deceitful and untrustworthy people and the company
Stillman Law Office is trying to garnish my wages for a debt that is 21 years old. They also had crooked court officers that were threatening people and then taking the money people were paying for their debts. Their collection practices are shiesty.
Stillman Law has been contacting me and they sent a collection letter for a debt from a few years ago I was out of work at the time and could not pay what should I do
Micheal Stillman law of West Bloomfield, Mi is beyond crooked. I was just made aware that they signed my daughters name to a summons and shes been out in the military for 2 years. I will be contacting my counsel.
Stillman Law Offices, at one point, placed a lien on my parents’ home. They told me they did this because my father and I shared the same first name.. and they had no way to ensure I wasn’t the owner of the home. If they had done even 2 seconds of investigation, they would have found that my father purchased this home in 1966. I wasn’t even born in 1966. Once I threatened them with severe legal action, they tucked their tails between their legs and removed the lien from my parents’ home. These are unethical pieces of trash.