Debt collection law firm shut down

After Oregon's attorney general received more than 90 complaints about a law firm's debt collection practices, the practice was shut down. The attorney general launched the investigation on McGavic and Finney PC after consumers accused the firm of systematically ignoring debtor rights and protections. Derrick McGavic - who was forced to pay $70,000 and hand over his lawyer's license in the settlement - allegedly increased interest and fees payable to the firm and its clients. By deliberately confusing or misrepresenting creditors' identity in documentation, McGavic delayed consumer response, the attorney general's office said. The state's investigation also found that McGavic falsified fee affidavits in Motions for Default Judgment by making claims for services he never performed, and discovered that he set up a schedule to arbitrarily increase fees depending on the amount of money claimed, the office said. Debt collection agencies and firms that do not comply with consumer protection laws are often hit with lawsuits. One Maryland-based law firm had hundreds of suits filed against it for allegedly using harassing and high-pressure tactics, The Baltimore Sun reported. Mann Bracken LLP had an "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau and was forced to close in January after an affiliate went bankrupt.