topic Re: Expecting a summons...what happens? in Rebuilding Your Credit

Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:43:01 GMT

I have a collection attorney office that refuses to put payment arrangements in writing and only want checking or credit card numbers to set one up. They refuse to send my anything in writing. I was told that if I don't set up something soon they will sue. I give up and guess I will let them send me a summons for court. What happens? If I get a summons can I pay the bill in full before court and not get a judgement on my record? My big thing is that I want to pay my debts....I just don't want to get scammed and by them refusing to put anything in writing I don't trust them. BTW I know what they are doing is illegal and have already contact state attorney and FTC.

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:44:01 GMT

BTW I also need to buy some time....trying to get some more money saved up for this

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:24:30 GMT

They may well be bluffing. Refusing to put anything in writing is a violation of the FDCPA. They were required to mail you a notice within 5 days of their first contact with you. That notice was supposed to inform you of your rights, specifically your right to demand validation of the debt.

If they do sue you, you have to file an answer with the court and send them a copy. In most states you have 30 days to do this. And in most states, the courts will encourage both parties to try to work out a settlement before the case goes to trial. So getting served isn't the end of the world.

I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice. But you might want to consider including a countersuit in your answer. Under the FDCPA they can be made to pay you $1,000 for violating your rights.

So what is the original debt? Do you actually owe it? Is it within the Statute of Limitations for your state?

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:53:05 GMT

the original debt is about 700.00 and now it is 1,032.00 and it is within the sol. Thanks for the info....I am very stressed....and I just want to get this taken care of.

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:01:07 GMT

Yes, you can pay prior to the court date. In fact, if you do, you can show the judge your receipt and make the plaintiff look like a moron (NO judge likes to have his/her time wasted like that!!). Just make sure that regardless of whether you pay the *bleeping* thing prior to court or not, that you APPEAR. If you don't, even though you may have paid prior to the court date, you will still end up with a judgment on your reports!!

Of course, if that happens, you can sometimes file a motion to vacate the judgment, but you don't want to depend on a judge's mood as to whether or not s/he'll allow it.

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

oracles — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:24:13 GMT

wonderin, i have to say, you have a wealth of knowledge. Keep up the great work in helping people. I truly have learn alot from you. thanks

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:30:21 GMT

Shucks, thanks, oracles!

Best friend's a lawyer. When he comes over and gets snookered, it's either listen to him prattle on about law for three hours or throw something at him. Unfortunately, I'm not that good of a shot!

I'm teasing him, but it's NICE having a bloodthirsty, soulless lawyer friend (his words, not mine), sometimes!! But you NEVER want to get into an argument with him! If you lose the argument, you get a bill!

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

oracles — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:31:40 GMT

ha very funny, i would enjoy a convo with you and him lol

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:34:44 GMT

ONLY if he's snookered. Trust me. The sottier he gets the more fun he is!

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:39:31 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Shucks, thanks, oracles!

Best friend's a lawyer. When he comes over and gets snookered, it's either listen to him prattle on about law for three hours or throw something at him. Unfortunately, I'm not that good of a shot!

I'm teasing him, but it's NICE having a bloodthirsty, soulless lawyer friend (his words, not mine), sometimes!! But you NEVER want to get into an argument with him! If you lose the argument, you get a bill!

Well thank you for your info.....My only worry I have now is that I will get screwed over with extra fees or something along those lines.

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:46:50 GMT

Okay, now we're gonna get all ugly here.

What state are you in? How much interest can be charged varies by state.
What kind of account is it?
And did you sign ANY paperwork for the debt, accepting responsibility (if a medical bill, the admittance paperwork; if a CC, the Issuer Agreement, etc)? If so, do you remember what it said?

We'll get this sorted out, Darlin'. Don't you worry.

FTR, though, most CAs won't sue unless they HAVE to. Even if you're not out of SoL, judges are unpredictable. And taking your behind to court costs THEM money. And unless you owe a gazillion dollars (okay, that's being unrealistic -- I think it's more common for CAs to sue on debts over $2K) ... chances are, it's an empty threat.

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:58:41 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Okay, now we're gonna get all ugly here.

What state are you in? How much interest can be charged varies by state.
What kind of account is it?
And did you sign ANY paperwork for the debt, accepting responsibility (if a medical bill, the admittance paperwork; if a CC, the Issuer Agreement, etc)? If so, do you remember what it said?

We'll get this sorted out, Darlin'. Don't you worry.

FTR, though, most CAs won't sue unless they HAVE to. Even if you're not out of SoL, judges are unpredictable. And taking your behind to court costs THEM money. And unless you owe a gazillion dollars (okay, that's being unrealistic -- I think it's more common for CAs to sue on debts over $2K) ... chances are, it's an empty threat.

I am in KS...collection lawyer in Colorado...It is a charged off checking account...the bank charged off what I owed in march and sold the account to a collection agency. I don't know what you sign when you get a checking account.....I have NEVER received anything regarding this....nothing from a collection firm....nothing in writing from this lawyer office...I have asked for something in writing and they won't give it...they are so mean on the phone that I won't pick it up anymore....I was first told of this debt when I answered the phone a couple of weeks ago. I don't understand why the wouldn't want to send me something in writing regarding a payment agreement we agreed to over the phone...and why they don't want cashier checks.

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:03:17 GMT

Okay, first of all, your SoL is 5 years. Are you SURE you're not out of SoL???

Second of all, send them a frigging DV!! Make them, as per the FDCPA, send you something in writing stating what you owe, who you owe, and PROOF that you owe it.

Hold it a sec and I'll be back with a good DV letter you can modify!!!

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:07:43 GMT

Here's a good DV letter. Change the obvious to suit your needs!

Your Name
123 Your Street Address
Your City, ST 01234

Nasty CA
Address
City, State, ZIP
Date:

Re: Acct # XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is being sent to you in response to a notice sent to me on ______ __, 20__. Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.

This is NOT a request for “verification” or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you.

Please provide me with the following:

What the money you say I owe is for;
Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;
Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
Identify the original creditor;
Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account
Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state
Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent
At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureau’s (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:

Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Defamation of Character
If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following Declaration, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist.

Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel for suit. This includes any listing any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is.

If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately.

I would also like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS.

It would be advisable that you assure that your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action. This is an attempt to correct your records, any information obtained shall be used for that purpose.

Best Regards,

Your Name (typed)

At the very least, this letter will give you time to save up to pay the *bleeping* bastiges off.

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:09:01 GMT

Yeah I am sure it is still within SOL. I am going to send them a DV but I have read alot of posts on the internet that this lawyer sends out a summons as soon as you ask for a DV....so I want to hold off a couple of weeks if I can because I need to try to work some overtime to try to have enough to pay it off if I do get a summons. I am so worried about a judgement and I have so many money issues going on this month.

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:10:06 GMT

Thats a good letter....I will use that for sure....

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:08:02 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
...It is a charged off checking account...the bank charged off what I owed in march and sold the account to a collection agency.

I just had a mental image of the robot from "Lost in Space."

DANGER DANGER DANGER

The reason I'm alarmed is because the FDCPA may not apply here. The definition of debt in the FDCPA is more specific than the everyday definition of the same word. I know of two specific cases where the "debt" that was being collected was judged by the courts to not be a "debt" under the FDCPA. One involved library fines and one involved parking tickets.

The fact that this collection did not originate as a loan or credit-card transaction MAY mean that you don't have the protections of the FDCPA.

Re: Expecting a summons...what happens?

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:16:01 GMT

It may not be a "debt" per se, but the FDCPA does apply here since the lawyer in question is a "third party" seeking to make a collection. That would apply even if the "debt" in question were a bad check.

(IF it were a bad check, the only arena it would not be considered merely a "bad debt" would be if the first party/victim tried to collect. Then it would be purely a civil matter with pursuit under the State's Atty's office.)

Also, the FDCPA wouldn't apply if the "collector" were the original creditor.

But in this case, it should, since the "debt" was indeed sold to a third party.

I forgot to add: parking tickets and library fines, or any government owed debt, AFAIK, would not apply under the FDCPA because, simply put, they're government debts and fall under different laws and guidelines. Also, the government, AFAIK, does NOT sell "debts" ... they merely assign them.

Even were this a CU that she was dealing with, and they sold the debt, the FDCPA would still apply.

Message Edited by Wonderin on 07-03-2008 01:16 PM