Wisconsin Is About To Make It Easier For Debt Collectors To Go After Consumers

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/02/24/3753102/wisconsin-debt-collector-lawsuits/
"People who make money collecting debts in Wisconsin are about to get a big favor from their government. A law sitting on Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) desk this week would make it much easier and much less risky for debt collectors to go after consumers in court, and much harder to prove that any given collection effort is bogus. The same idea was defeated in 2014 after state officials testified it would harm consumers. The state didn’t raise those same warnings in a September hearing on the nearly-identical 2015 version of the bill, however. It passed both Republican-dominated chambers of the state legislature on party-line votes. The bill dramatically lowers the standard of proof that collectors have to meet in court in order to bring the justice system to bear on the person they claim owes them money. It also makes it harder for people to recover the cost of hiring lawyers even when they win in collections court, thus encouraging collectors to take matters to court almost risk-free."