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Do they call you before you get served?-updated in original post

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Do they call you before you get served?-updated in original post

I am once again being harassed by a collection agency saying that they are collecting for cashnet.  I paid what I thought was a collection agency for this debt because they were threatening me with jail over a year ago but it ended up being a scam.  I now know that they cannot put me in jail over this and that it is a civil matter, I did not know that at the time.  About 4 months ago I started getting calls about this again saying they were going to be serving me if I did not respond that same day.  After I talked to them I did not call them back and didn't hear from them again.  Now check resolution services is calling me.  First I got a call from someone who didn't leave their name and said that they wanted to put me on the schedule to serve me that they couldn't get to me today but if I called the collection agency they could send a cease and decist letter to them and I would not get served.  They left the 1-800 number for the collection agency but never said who they were, where they were calling from or left their number.  So I call check resolution and of course they want my debit card and I wouldn't give them one I told them I didn't have money til Thursday and I don't have the whole amount so they said they would do 3 payments-the first of $500 and the next 2 $200 but if I was late on any of them it would get pulled and I would get served. 

 

My question is-I have been sued before for collection accounts and I believe it has been by registered mail.  I never had anyone call me and tell me they were going to serve me or put me on the schedule to be served.  Do they even do that?  What should be my next step?  I want to pull my CR to see if it is on there but I don't have the $ till Thursday to do that.  Of course when I say I want something in writing they always say they have contacted me in writing before & they will send me a release once I pay it in full.

 

Update-On Thursday "thomas" called me and left a number that did not work. He called from multiple numbers that day.  He called me again Friday morning from a blocked number.  I said "I want everything in writing"  He started laughing at me and said"you go from wanting to resolve this to not wanting to do anything" I said "no I do want to resolve this but I want everything in writing"  He said "well you can have everything in writing when they serve you" and then he hung up on me.  He was a real professional!

Message Edited by froggie on 01-09-2010 12:04 AM
Message 1 of 10
9 REPLIES 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Do they call you before you get served?

Hi froggie! Smiley Happy


froggie wrote:

I am once again being harassed by a collection agency saying that they are collecting for cashnet.  I paid what I thought was a collection agency for this debt because they were threatening me with jail over a year ago but it ended up being a scam.  I now know that they cannot put me in jail over this and that it is a civil matter, I did not know that at the time.  About 4 months ago I started getting calls about this again saying they were going to be serving me if I did not respond that same day.  After I talked to them I did not call them back and didn't hear from them again.  Now check resolution services is calling me.  First I got a call from someone who didn't leave their name and said that they wanted to put me on the schedule to serve me that they couldn't get to me today but if I called the collection agency they could send a cease and decist letter to them and I would not get served.  They left the 1-800 number for the collection agency but never said who they were, where they were calling from or left their number.  So I call check resolution and of course they want my debit card and I wouldn't give them one I told them I didn't have money til Thursday and I don't have the whole amount so they said they would do 3 payments-the first of $500 and the next 2 $200 but if I was late on any of them it would get pulled and I would get served. 

 

My question is-I have been sued before for collection accounts and I believe it has been by registered mail.  I never had anyone call me and tell me they were going to serve me or put me on the schedule to be served.  Do they even do that?  What should be my next step?  I want to pull my CR to see if it is on there but I don't have the $ till Thursday to do that.  Of course when I say I want something in writing they always say they have contacted me in writing before & they will send me a release once I pay it in full.


 

First, don't talk to collection agencies. Handle all communications in writing. Second, opt-oup with the credit bureaus (use the link in my siggie below) if you haven't done so already.

 

Let me ask you this-- You mentioned that you paid this debt to another collector, so why make payment arrangements with a new collection agency, trying to collect on an invalid debt? Do you still have proof of payment? Did this new CA ever send you anything in writing (it doesn't sound like they did). If you don't owe a debt, then you make the collector prove their claims against you. This sounds like junk debt-- a shady CA trying to scam money out of you. BUT, you need to protect yourself, because even junk debt collectors will file suit. Just because they file, doesn't mean they actually have a case and can win. Most definitely, don't give them your bank debit card number!

 

Also, telling you things like you'll be arrested, or lying about being process servers to scare you into paying, or even telling you that you can be sued at all, when they have no intention of suing you, is a violation of the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act). Because it sounds like you might have agreed to some type of payment arrangment I'm going to suggest that you talk to a consumer attorney who will give you a free initial consultation, and who won't charge you to take your case-- extracting their attorney's fees from the defendants, instead.

 

ETA: Okay, I just googled Check Resolution Services. Please, please, please don't give this guy your bank account information. If you have, call your bank, explain that someone has attempted to defraud you, and get a new account. Also, please report this guy to your state's attorney general.

Message Edited by LilMirth on 01-06-2010 05:48 AM
Message 2 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Do they call you before you get served?


@Anonymous wrote:

I am once again being harassed by a collection agency saying that they are collecting for cashnet.  I paid what I thought was a collection agency for this debt because they were threatening me with jail over a year ago but it ended up being a scam.  I now know that they cannot put me in jail over this and that it is a civil matter, I did not know that at the time.  About 4 months ago I started getting calls about this again saying they were going to be serving me if I did not respond that same day.  After I talked to them I did not call them back and didn't hear from them again.  Now check resolution services is calling me.  First I got a call from someone who didn't leave their name and said that they wanted to put me on the schedule to serve me that they couldn't get to me today but if I called the collection agency they could send a cease and decist letter to them and I would not get served.  They left the 1-800 number for the collection agency but never said who they were, where they were calling from or left their number.  So I call check resolution and of course they want my debit card and I wouldn't give them one I told them I didn't have money til Thursday and I don't have the whole amount so they said they would do 3 payments-the first of $500 and the next 2 $200 but if I was late on any of them it would get pulled and I would get served. 

 

My question is-I have been sued before for collection accounts and I believe it has been by registered mail.  I never had anyone call me and tell me they were going to serve me or put me on the schedule to be served.  Do they even do that?  What should be my next step?  I want to pull my CR to see if it is on there but I don't have the $ till Thursday to do that.  Of course when I say I want something in writing they always say they have contacted me in writing before & they will send me a release once I pay it in full.


LilMirth is correct.

 

Also, 99.9999999% of the time you will never be warned that you are about to be served.  Those that do warn you are generally either con artists or scumbags trying to strong-arm you into paying a debt you may very well not even owe.  If they were to call me, after taking careful notes or even recording the call, I'd tell them to KMA and hang up on them.

 

Whatever you do, do NOT give them any information by which they can initiate ACH or other forms of electronic payment. 

 

Meanwhile, check your credit reports and look for whatever files you have about this debt.  Do you have an approximate date as to when you supposedly defaulted on this debt?  What is the nature of this debt and which state are you in now?  There's a chance the statute of limitations onenforcing this debt has expired and you can safely tell them to KYA.

Message 3 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Do they call you before you get served?

Thank you for the responses.  These are some of the same things I was thinking but just needed some reassurance from others who are more savy than me.  I have not given them any information and do not plan on doing so.  This debt is suppossedly from 2007 so the SOL would not be up yet.  The suppossed CA I paid last year I believe was a fraud so I do not believe this account is paid off.  I do have records of those paments. There are 2 separate payments that were taken out of my checking account.  Both have a different phone # attached to the transaction and neither phone # works.  After googling the information about last years transactions it seems that was a common scam too.  I wish I had the first call recorded when they said they were going to serve me, but I deleted it from my voicemail.
Message 4 of 10
msdraglox
Regular Contributor

Re: Do they call you before you get served?

If you are confident that the payment you made was to a fraudulent company I think you can talk to your bank and have them research it as fraudulent activity on your account. When you get served they either just show up to your house or they mail you the paperwork, you can easily check it online by going to your local clerk of court website and do an online search from there website for name. Any court papers will be there even if it is a civil matter.
Started at 586 EQ and 604 TU in 8/2009
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Current 573 TU (myfico) 632 EQ (from lender) Jan 11
Message 5 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Do they call you before you get served?

I did just do a search on the cler of courts website and did not see anything on there.  If they had paperwork to sue me wouldn't that be on the website already?  So if there is nothing on the website listing a case # then they are using collection attempts that are against the FDCPA guidelines?  When I talk to them tomorrow should I bring up their unlawful collecting practices or will that cause me more problems?  I didn't know if it has been to long for my bank to research it since it is over a year old.
Message 6 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Do they call you before you get served?


@Anonymous wrote:
I did just do a search on the cler of courts website and did not see anything on there.  If they had paperwork to sue me wouldn't that be on the website already?  So if there is nothing on the website listing a case # then they are using collection attempts that are against the FDCPA guidelines?  When I talk to them tomorrow should I bring up their unlawful collecting practices or will that cause me more problems?  I didn't know if it has been to long for my bank to research it since it is over a year old.

 

Unfortunately, you cannot dispute charges against your account that are a year old. 

 

Unless your court clerk is incredibly efficient, it is common to get served before the case has been uploaded into online court files.  In many jurisdictions it can take at least a couple of days and during that time you can be served.  Still, it is highly unlikely this creditor / collection agency is actually suing you ... for now.  Depending on your state's SOL and the amount owed, they may attempt to sue you later on in the game though. 

 

Why not contact the original creditor and deal with them?  At least that way you know you aren't getting scammed.

Message 7 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Do they call you before you get served?

So when I talk to them tomorrow what should I say to them?  Should I tell them to send me everything in writing and no longer call me and hang up?  Or is there something better I should tell them?
Message 8 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Do they call you before you get served?


@Anonymous wrote:
So when I talk to them tomorrow what should I say to them?  Should I tell them to send me everything in writing and no longer call me and hang up?  Or is there something better I should tell them?

 

I would get their name, address and account / reference number and tell them you will contact them in writing.

 

Meanwhile, why not contact the original creditor?  If they can still accept payment, you might be better off dealing with them.

Message 9 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Do they call you before you get served?-updated in original post

I updated in the original post after talking to that **shole.
Message 10 of 10
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