Ron Sykstus's blog

Having just observed another Halloween, I thought this might be a good time to discuss the evils of “Zombie Debt.” 

When you file bankruptcy, you have a right to expect relief from collection harassment. The automatic stay prevents most creditors from pursuing ALL collection actions immediately upon filing in most bankruptcy cases, and the bankruptcy discharge order makes that prohibition permanent--at least, as to debts that were discharged in the bankruptcy.

Unfortunately, some people who have successfully completed their bankruptcy cases still have problems with past creditors, including:

It has been discussed for a long time but now the long-awaited changes to the security clearance process are here.  An Executive Order (EO) was signed by the President on Apr

It’s no secret that collection agencies, debt buyers, and other debt collectors don’t always play fair. Most people who have been through a financial crunch and fallen behind on their bills have had at least one bad experience with a debt collector who lied, shouted at the debtor, made outrageous threats, or otherwise attempted to trick or bully him or her into compliance. Needless to say, dealing with debt collectors is never something people enjoy.

I can’t imagine that there are many people in North Alabama who aren’t familiar with attorney Cliff Hill.  Cliff was a network news anchor for several years prior to attending law school and his law school journey was not an easy one.

I have been handling all aspects of security clearance law for many years, from the initial SF 86 questions and concerns, answering SORs (Statement of Reasons) through the administrative hearing of an attempted clearance denial or revocation by the government.  I am writing this particular blog post now because I have noticed a disturbing trend over the last couple of years.

Bothersome and harassing phone calls and texts to our cell phones are, unfortunately, now a way of life for all of us, even for the former director of the FBI (and the calls he received were worse than most).  For the crazy threats of arrest, jail, and worse type of calls, just hang up on the call imme

I grew up watching David Letterman.  In addition to Chris Elliot (see the movie “Cabin Boy” if you haven’t done so!) and Larry “Bud” Melman, I was also a  big fan of his top 10 list. Currently, I know a lot of people follow the daily lists that are published by Buzzfeed.

Is it just me or does it seem like your cell phone is blowing up? Ok, I know it’s not just me! There is something you can do about this persistent and annoying harassment under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

I have recently seen a rash of individuals holding security clearances or wanting to get a clearance who have an issue arise due to debt problems.  While I have written about this topic previously here, it occurs to me to try and come up with a detailed analysis for someone with delinquent debts who is seeking a clearance (or in the process of losing