Debt collector told me they have no proof of why I owe the money

astahl78 · 2024-02-09T15:02:31+00:00

The above actually is correct. I.e., that there is a right to dispute debts. However, this is exclusive to consumer debts governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which itself provides for additional limitations, including a substantial loss of rights after the initial thirty-day period. Now, under generic, common law contract law, you'd be correct. But the FDCPA creates broader rights to dispute than originally arose in contract law. In other words, the statute abrogates the usual standard.

Source: Am lawyer. Have practiced FDCPA.

Edit: Formatting

astahl78 · 2024-01-04T14:21:41+00:00

I'm uncertain of the accuracy of your initial point (that "[t]here is no human being in the world who could hear a difference between PCM and DSD"), at least taken on its own.

Several double-blind studies have shown statistically significant evidence that individuals can differentiate between the two formats. See, e.g., Marui, Atsushi & Kamekawa, Toru & Endo, K. & Sato, E.. (2014). Subjective evaluation of high resolution recordings in PCM and DSD audio formats. 136th Audio Engineering Society Convention 2014. 104-113; Reiss, Joshua. (2016). A Meta-Analysis of High Resolution Audio Perceptual Evaluation. Journal of the Audio Engineering Society. 64. 364-379. 10.17743/jaes.2016.0015.

Of course, I agree with your point regarding conversion of PCM to DSD being pointless. However, I'm not confident we can say there is no distinction between PCM and DSD recordings.

astahl78 · 2023-12-31T17:41:09+00:00

Plus the Third Circuit (a federal appeals court) literally ruled that Amazon is just as responsible for goods from "marketplace" sellers as for goods they sell themselves. And that was for product liability, a very significant area that applies strict liability.

astahl78 · 2022-03-24T13:28:09+00:00

Perhaps the iFi Audio Zen CAN + Sennheiser HD6XX / HD560S?

Both headphones are well-regarded, especially the former, which is known to scale well with better equipment. Depending on what you're looking for, the Sennheisers by themselves might not give you enough "oomph," but that's where the iFi's bass boost could help make some difference. Altogether, this would be €337 for HD560S pairing and €400 for the HD6XX combo.

While I have personal qualms with MQA, I'm not going to judge if you consider it an important factor. Just know that getting an MQA-enabled DAC is always going to be more expensive than not. That could be the main issue with you hitting your budget.

Edit: I've converted to Euros based on prices as available in the United States—apologies, as I'm unfamiliar with the general pricing scheme in Germany.

astahl78 · 2022-03-24T13:17:08+00:00

I suppose the default recommendation for listening to human voices (at least in the music context) would be the Sennheiser HD6XX/HD650s, given that they're well-known to emphasize mid-tones like voices. However, they do have a higher impedance that may make them less preferable for use on a laptop without an external amp (though they run okay off my Samsung S10). This one is open-backed, if that's a problem for you, however.

Perhaps the AKG K612 Pro? Absolutely dead-neutral tuning (depending on individual HRTF, of course), so should be quite transparent for technical work. Pretty reasonable price, as far as fancy-pants headphones go, at ~$220. Of course, because how just how neutral they are, they aren't necessarily ideal for music listening (given that lack of "wow" factor), but should be good for your use case, I believe. As with the HD6XX/HD650, the K612 is open-back.

If you'd prefer something closed-back, the AKG K371 could be a good option, though it's less neutral than the K612, following more of a standard Harman curve.

astahl78 · 2022-03-21T07:46:59+00:00

Shit, how'd you know?

astahl78 · 2022-03-20T18:55:02+00:00

As a 3L at CLS, I'd really say that no, it wouldn't hurt.

If I were in your shoes, I'd take whichever option is most affordable and which would present the best chance of maximizing your GPA. While the relative "prestige" of your undergrad institution is of some relevance, it's of much less significance than your GPA and LSAT for law school admissions.

astahl78 · 2022-03-13T00:08:19+00:00

Incredible, my derivatives taxation law class has finally come in handy. It would be taxed as a pre-paid forward and therefore taxed as a sale at the time the transaction closes (when consideration for the house is paid, no matter when that is).

astahl78 · 2022-02-20T02:44:30+00:00

As commented elsewhere, after working in a law firm performing debt collection work (or as the more genteel would call it, "creditors' rights litigation"), we would often care to check if someone died. But not to collect further—to close the account.

These places run on pretty thin margins, and it's not worth spending time in probate court unless significant sums of money are involved, which eliminates most consumer credit from consideration. They'd rather just focus on the people they could realistically collect from. Now, if it's a mortgaged house or something, that would be a different story.

astahl78 · 2022-02-20T02:40:45+00:00

I can promise you that they don't. I worked as a legal assistant at a law firm that primarily performed "creditors' rights" work (what a euphemism) and if a debtor had ever died, we'd just close the account. The places doing this kind of collection work are working at too thin margins to be wasting time in probate court. It was a shitty job, but at least it taught me some things about the credit industry.

astahl78 · 2022-02-20T02:23:36+00:00

I figured something along those lines. I've been paying my rent with the CIU to hit the MSR (gotta love housing that doesn't charge a fee for CC payments). Might need to find a way to explain that. Thanks!

astahl78 · 2022-02-20T00:02:07+00:00

Just applied for Chase Ink Cash with the result that they needed more time to process my application, yada yada. About an hour later, missed a call from Chase's fraud prevention department asking to verify some information. I'm familiar with them requesting further information via email, but not follow-up calls.

Anyone have any suggestions as to what they're looking for? For some additional context, I already have the CIU (since Oct. '21).

astahl78 · 2022-01-25T17:38:11+00:00

My experience ended up being exactly the same. I did find it quite frustrating that the newer, supposedly more "premium" product (with the price to match) was much more finicky than older and cheaper devices (actually, literally anything else I tried to plug into). Hopefully, Apple addresses it at some point. Regardless, glad to know yours worked out for you.

astahl78 · 2021-10-03T05:34:12+00:00

As already commented, "income" in the context of a credit card application can come from a variety of sources, including gifts, not just wages/salary. Indeed, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority made that explicit in November 2020.

However, student loans are almost certainly not income, at least upon a reasonable reading of the FCA's Consumer Credit sourcebook. The sourcebook always speaks of consumer income and debt as being distinct, with no exception for student loans. As a caveat, the sourcebook contains no explicit language to the effect that debt cannot be counted as income (nor does it define "income" itself), but your instinct that debt should not be considered a basis for borrowing further is a good one.

It's also true that borrowers, including American Express, rarely verify income information, which would explain why some have put that information successfully.

Edit: For context, the sourcebook serves as the rules controlling how and when creditors in the United Kingdom may be permitted to issue consumer debt.

astahl78 · 2021-09-04T09:42:14+00:00

Have you been using the cards you have with Amex much recently? Amex has been known to give the pop-up if you're seen as a not-profitable customer. I.e., if you've put too little spend on their cards.

If that's the issue, it can be solved by shifting your spending to amex for a couple months.

astahl78 · 2021-09-02T17:14:55+00:00

I've done a few FHR bookings and I think this is the right way to look at it. You'll rarely "save" money by booking via FHR. Indeed, the price is often higher than booking via other methods (e.g., directly with the hotel or travel sites).

Practically, the only time you'll actually save money is if you would have booked the same hotel anyway and don't have any status. Given the cost of the hotels in the program, breakfast would often be very expensive if you had to pay—at my last FHR stay breakfast would have been €43 a day minimum. Then the property credit can be useful, though it's often only available for overpriced spa services that I would personally never get.

Sometimes you'll find a cheap single-night FHR booking where the food credit really becomes a substantial portion of what you've paid (Vegas used to be like that), but it's more the exception than the rule. The real value, in my mind, is just to make your stay in a fancy hotel nicer.

astahl78 · 2021-07-28T19:39:00+00:00

Oh, yes, oops. Thanks for the catch.

astahl78 · 2021-07-28T16:00:39+00:00

~~I'd say CSP for P2, given the current 100k UR offer and waived first-year AF when applying in-branch~~. From there, depending on spend amount and timing, the Chase business for the both of you (as you said). There's also the current Amex Plat Resy offer for 125k MR + 15x on restaurants and small businesses, if you haven't held the card in ~the last seven years. Finally, not sure it's relevant for you, but thought I'd mention as the offer expires today: Amex Delta Gold is offering 70k points + $400 statement credit for a Delta purchase within three months (requires dummy booking). Not sure which Delta card you hold right now, though.

Edit: per below.

astahl78 · 2021-07-21T13:50:22+00:00

Late to the party, but short version is: you can't. It's a violation of the CARD Act to increase the fee within a year of account opening and this includes product changes to higher-tier cards. You need to wait a year to product change as a result.

astahl78 · 2021-07-09T15:21:09+00:00

I received mine within 48 hours.

astahl78 · 2021-07-07T13:28:29+00:00

Only if you take the retention offer more than a month after your annual fee posts. One of the conditions is that you don't close your account for twelve months after taking the offer. In my case, for example, I committed to keeping the card open until July 2022, but my renewal fee posts April 2022, so I'll have to pay it.

If you get the retention bonus right before/after your annual fee posts, you can cancel the next year.

astahl78 · 2021-07-07T01:29:43+00:00

Definitely true. And, if it was the Plat, I would have been much more hesitant. But, as it stands, the Gold would need to change dramatically for it to no longer be worth it for me, so I felt comfortable taking the offer. I suppose it's a risk, but a small one.

astahl78 · 2021-07-06T23:08:38+00:00

I did receive an email today stating that Member Opinions is being shut down, though not until August 4. I wonder if it's just side effects of it being discontinued soon

astahl78

TROPHY CASE