Ryan Torrens is running for Florida attorney general.

TAMPA – Ryan Torrens, a Tampa consumer protection attorney and candidate for Florida attorney general, promised that, if elected, he will draft legislation to protect military income from collection by unscrupulous payday lenders.

“Our heroes put their lives on the line to keep us safe at home, and the well-deserved pay our heroes receive should be protected from garnishment by predatory and abusive payday lenders,” Torrens said today (May 28).

The bill would be modeled after a law on the books in Washington State. The legislation would provide that payday lenders:

• Cannot garnish any wages or salary paid for service in the Armed Forces when attempting to collect a delinquent loan;
• Cannot contact the military chain of command to try to collect a delinquent loan;
• Must defer all collection activity during the time the borrower is deployed to a combat or combat support posting; and
• Must honor the terms of any repayment agreement made with the borrower, military counselors, or third-party credit counselors.

The legislation is part of a series of proposals released by the Torrens campaign designed to protect members of the active military as well as veterans. Torrens recently pledged to establish, for the first time in Florida history, a designated Veterans Hotline in the Attorney General’s Office so veterans can have immediate access to a qualified attorney.

Torrens said he is running to put the Attorney General’s office back on the side of consumers again.

A fifth-generation Tampa native, Torrens has his own law practice, which focuses on foreclosure defense and consumer protection litigation. Torrens defends consumer clients against mortgage foreclosure actions and also represents against creditors and debt collectors for collection violations. Before starting his own law practice in 2012, Torrens worked as an independent consultant on the federal government-mandated Independent Foreclosure Review Project, where he was charged with reviewing toxic mortgage loans.

Torrens, a Democrat, is one of six candidates for Florida attorney general. The others are fellow Democrat and Tampa resident Sean Shaw and Republicans Jay Fant, Ashley Moody, Ross Spano and Frank H. White.

The primary is Aug. 28. The general election is Nov. 6.

For informatoin about Torrens, go to RyanTorrens.com.

Ryan Torrens | Florida Attorney General | Politics | Elections | Tampabay News

#RyanTorrens #FloridaAttorneyGeneral #Politics #Elections #TampabayNews