It coulda been me...

It could be me who's $8,100,000 richer right now.

Hell, it could still be - that is, if only Kentucky's laws were as strong as other states'.

For years, I was harassed by debt collectors even though I don't owe any debts. They often called asking for people I don't even know - and kept calling even after it was clear I wasn't paying them shit. My new book 'A Mind's Smithereens' has a brief piece describing how I seem to have gotten rid of these greed merchants several months ago - but there's no guarantee they won't come back.

Well, a Dallas woman was facing similar harassment by a debt collector called Midland Funding. They demanded that she pay them $9,000.

But she really didn't owe them a damn thing. So she sued them to court for making harassing phone calls.

And guess what? She won $8,100,000 under a Texas law that governs debt collections. And she deserves every penny.

Midland Funding is part of Encore Capital Group - which specializes in debt harassment. It makes harassing phone calls to people all over the United States from its call centers in America and India. When people don't buckle under and pay up, the company sues them and garnishes their wages. Plus, it makes them pay creditors' legal fees. (Fred Phelps would love this company!)

Kentucky might not have state laws that are as strong as those in Texas, but there are federal laws. Believe me, if I thought I could get a fair trial in Kentucky, I'd sue over the harassing calls I got.

I'm not worried about getting the money, because I don't expect to live long enough to spend more than a tiny fraction of it. But I want total, punishing ruin for the debt collectors who harassed me.

(Source: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/4/5/854290/-Woman-Sues-Debt-Collector,-Wins-$8.1-Million)