How can you have a judgement amount if you never were served a judgement?

[JShidell]

These P.N. Financial guys are halirious.  I paid off a collections account with these guys before I knew about this forum so I didn't know any better, but I received my letter of release for this account and they state I settled the account in full for less then the full amount and they list the judgement amount of over 2 thousand dollars more then what I originally owed as the full amount.

How in the sam heck can they charge me a judgement amount if I was never served a judgement?

Wow, I got so much dirt on these guys.  They are scum big time and they stole my money.

Thank goodness they never reported on my CA, but if they ever do i'll fight them to the end.

I plan on sueing this company big time!

v/r

James

Message Edited by JShidell on 06-23-2008 09:32 PM

[Anonymous]

Whoa, James ... did they say WHERE they filed against you? In your home state?

You need to find this out ... what defines proper service depends on your state's laws and statutes.

But honestly, I think they may be yanking your chain. I have never heard of a situation where a judgment was obtained yet didn't report to the CRAs. I think that smells fishier than the Wahoo we had for dinner (and trust me, it stank-o!).

But find out WHERE it was filed. Somewhere, it should have a case number. If not, ASK for it. You've already paid the *bleeping* thing ... what else do you have to lose???

[JShidell]

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Wonderin wrote:
Whoa, James ... did they say WHERE they filed against you? In your home state?

You need to find this out ... what defines proper service depends on your state's laws and statutes.

But honestly, I think they may be yanking your chain. I have never heard of a situation where a judgment was obtained yet didn't report to the CRAs. I think that smells fishier than the Wahoo we had for dinner (and trust me, it stank-o!).

But find out WHERE it was filed. Somewhere, it should have a case number. If not, ASK for it. You've already paid the *bleeping* thing ... what else do you have to lose???

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Wonderin,

They never filed, i was never, ever served a judgement.  I received a letter a few months back from them stating if I don't pay $2077 amount of dollars they would have no other choice but to persue further action and sue me for $4,050.50 amount of dollars and they had that amount listed as a judement amount.  That amount was 2 thousand dollars more then the original debt (What? hahaha 2 thousand dollars for a judgement?)

Anyways they said if I pay the $2077 amount of money they will not file the judgement, blah blah, whatever.

I quickly paid off the $2077 amount in fear of receiving this judgement.

I just now today got my release letter from them as SIF (Settled in Full) and they list the Judgement amount as my full balance.

What? How can they list my judgement amount, when I wasn't even served a judgement? And then have the nerve to say I settled for less because I didn't pay the judgement amount of 2 thousand more, when I clearly didn't have to.

This is what the letter said

"This letter is in regards to your ***** account in the amount of $4,050.50 that was placed with PN Financial.

This letter confirms that the above referenced account will reflect a zero balance, with your final payment on May 27th 2008 in the total amount of $2,077.19"

But my original balance wasn't $4,050.50, that was the amount they said they would sue me for if I didn't pay the $2,077.19.

v/r
James

[Anonymous]

Short answer: There is NO "judgment amount" without a judgment!!

Think about it ... only a judge (or arbitrator) can decide a judgment amount. The plaintiff can say "I want $XXX" and state their reasons/case, but they can't actually decide the judgment.

Honestly? I think they tried to word it in such a way that it scared the bejabbers out of you. And it did work. You did pay. While I don't think they were in violation of the law (except perhaps of making you think there already WAS a judgment against you -- or pretense to bench), they WERE dishonest.

I don't know if you could nail them with the judgment thing ... because, really, they could have sought judgment against you. And chances are, you can't prove that they did NOT have the intention of suing you.

[JShidell]

To put a twist on things, the account I paid off with them is the same account I paid off with a different CA prior.   The reason why I paid PN Financial is because they were throwing that judgement in my face, and they would not back off even after telling them I paid it off prior, they still said they were going to pursue the collection.  I was not sure of what they were capable of doing, and so I paid.  You are right they scared me.

I also go the release letter from the previous CA about the account being paid in full.  The previous CA that I paid is the one reporting on my CR.

v/r

James

[Anonymous]

Okay, I'm not sure how you'd best approach this legally ... on the one hand, they fraudulently collected a debt from you under false pretenses (if they can't sue for the $$, they've got no standing). On the other hand, they could easily say that they were trying to collect the balance owed after you settled with the other CA.

DO you have proof that the other CA accepted the amount paid as satisfied/settled? If you do, you have a case, I would say. I would also say, that unless they could "prove" it was merely an oversight, you'd have them on fraud charges, as well as a few other violations.

To paraphrase the good Bard: Get thee to a lawyer, post haste. They fleeced you with threats they couldn't have made good on legally. That's against the law. Go get'em.

But remember, you have an SoL on filing, too. In most states, there's a limit to when you can initiate a lawsuit. What state are you in and I'll look that up for you?

[JShidell]

my SOL is 4 years.  My home state is TX.

v/r

James

[Anonymous]

In your case, the SoL for filing a civil lawsuit on the grounds of fraud is the same -- 4 years.

I'd get on it ASAP ... it's your money, why should you let them have it to play with any longer than necessary??!!

When will you be back CONUS?

[JShidell]

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@Anonymous wrote:
In your case, the SoL for filing a civil lawsuit on the grounds of fraud is the same -- 4 years.

I'd get on it ASAP ... it's your money, why should you let them have it to play with any longer than necessary??!!

When will you be back CONUS?

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Wonderin,

That is the thing I won't be back CONUS until Sept/Oct (if im lucky), but that is just for r&r and only for maybe a week.

I won't be back in CONUS for good for another year or so maybe 2010.

Thanks

v/r
James

Message Edited by JShidell on 06-24-2008 11:06 AM

[Anonymous]

Wonderin wrote:

When will you be back CONUS?

Excuse me for being nosy ... but does "CONUS" mean "Continental US"?