topic Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal? in Rebuilding Your Credit

Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

Nickkifu — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 14:59:08 GMT

Happy Friday! A weird situation has happened, and I would like to get some feedback from the masses.

I have worked dilligently to get all the negatives off my report! No negatives left, but I received a private call and voicemail yesterday from Legal Documents Services (at my job) claiming that they had legal documents for me to be served at my workplace. The gentleman said that if I called 213-536-7428 and ask for Jonn Lewis that they would hold off delivering the documents. Naturally, I was super confused and called the number back, and John Lewis was out of the office for the rest of the day. I spoke with a woman by the name of Elizabeth Greene, she verified me by the last 4 of my SSN, and she ran down all the information including the case number for the case. She stated they called my job because they are delivering wage garnishment information.

Apparently, I am being sued by Continental Finance. The alleged debt was 659.00 opened in 2008 and closed in 2011, but she said because I had a 24.99% interest rate the suit being filed against me was 4395.98. She said the client sent papers to my home in April (I have moved), and since I did not respond, they were going to go ahead with litigation. She put me on hold and called the client and said that they offered a settlement amount for a lump sum of 1,000 or an eight-month payment of 300 and some change a month. I looked through my credit report, and there is nothing from Continental FInanace or First Bank of Delaware and no judgment against me. I told her I needed to validate the debt, so she told me to google continental finance and get a 1-800 number and call them and speak to the charge-off department and ask for a chain of title (I have not done She told me she would give me until Monday EOD to make a decision, or they would move forward with the litigation. I called back to get the address, and Elizabeth was not available, and the address given to me was the post office.

Here are my questions:
1. Can they sue me and there is no record of the debt on my credit report?
2. I can't find any information on them, is this legal?
3. Would someone who is going to serve you call and tell you?
4. Should I call Continental Finance?

Thank you so much! I have worked super hard to get back on track from stupid decisions in my late teens, and the last thing I need is a judgment on my record.

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

RonM21 — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 14:42:38 GMT

I'm not.saying it is, but there is a possible.chance this can be a fraudulent attempt. For a several years there has been a known history of these types of calls with threats to sue and so on. They get your info from phishing somehow.

Again not saying this is what this is. But I wouldn't do anything without getting all of the right info validated from them. Info a lender should know about you, that would confirm. If they are legit, they'll have no problem providing it.

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 14:54:09 GMT

@Nickkifu wrote:

Happy Friday! A weird situation has happened, and I would like to get some feedback from the masses.
I have worked dill gently to get all the negatives off my report! No negatives left, but I received a private call and voicemail yesterday from Legal Documents Services (at my job) claiming that they had legal documents for me to be served at my workplace. The gentleman said that if I called 213-536-7428 and ask for Jonn Lewis that they would hold off delivering the documents. Naturally, I was super confused and called the number back, and John Lewis was out of the office for the rest of the day. I spoke with a woman by the name of Elizabeth Greene, she verified me by the last 4 of my SSN, and she ran down all the information including the case number for the case. She stated they called my job because they are delivering wage garnishment information.

Apparently, I am being sued by Continental Finance. The alleged debt was 659.00 opened in 2008 and closed in 2011, but she said because I had a 24.99% interest rate the suit being filed against me was 4395.98. She said the client sent papers to my home in April (I have moved), and since I did not respond, they were going to go ahead with litigation. She put me on hold and called the client and said that they offered a settlement amount for a lump sum of 1,000 or an eight-month payment of 300 and some change a month. I looked through my credit report, and there is nothing from Continental FInanace or First Bank of Delaware and no judgment against me. I told her I needed to validate the debt, so she told me to google continental finance and get a 1-800 number and call them and speak to the charge-off department and ask for a chain of title (I have not done She told me she would give me until Monday EOD to make a decision, or they would move forward with the litigation. I called back to get the address, and Elizabeth was not available, and the address given to me was the post office.

Here are my questions:
1. Can they sue me and there is no record of the debt on my credit report?
2. I can't find any information on them, is this legal?
3. Would someone who is going to serve you call and tell you?
4. Should I call Continental Finance?

Thank you so much! I have worked super hard to get back on track from stupid decisions in my late teens, and the last thing I need is a judgment on my record.

Scam. 100%.

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

RobertEG — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 16:18:01 GMT

Credit reporting is voluntary. Presence or absence of credit reporting is irrelevant to their ability to bring legal action.

The real issue at this point is their complaince with the debt collection requirments of the FDCPA.

They have initiated communication with the consumer, and thus are requried under FDCPA 809(a) to send you a formal collection ("dunning") notice within 5 days, imformaing you of the current amount of the debt, the owner of the debt, and adviement of your right to request debt validation.

Their decision to call you triggered that obligation.

The prudent thing at that point is to simply inform them that you await their written collection notice, and hang up.

If no dunning notice is received, you have an addtional violation of the FDCPA.

Meanwhile, any misreporesentation that they have sued or that they are atttempting legal process if they have not done so is a violation of FDCPA 807, for which you are entitled to statutory damages of $1,000 per violation. Yu can additonally file a formal complaint with the CFPB.

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

Nickkifu — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 16:22:01 GMT

They never identified themselves as a debt collector, but as a law office. Are they still under the same obligations?

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

RobertEG — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 16:34:27 GMT

It depends.

An attorney can also be a debt collector, provided their normal business is to seek collection of debts.

However, if their primary purpose is legal representation, then no, they are not a debt collector, and thus not subject to the requirments of the FDCPA.

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

hpotterfan77 — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 17:34:43 GMT

This is 1000% a scam and if I remember correct, this "company" is being investigated by the CFPB. Do not call back. Do not give them any money. No legit company warns you that they are going to be serving you papers. Before I filed for our bankruptcy, we would literally get 3 calls like this a day with the same exact message. We just blocked them and moved on. To this day, we have never been served...lol

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 17:39:32 GMT

Googling strange phone numbers help to find out who people really are. They also can't garnish you unless they already have a judgement. So it makes no sense to stop filing if they would have already had to have filed for garnishment.

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

Nickkifu — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 17:58:44 GMT

I did google the number and got no info, I called back and got the address and the one they gave me was for a post office. Filed a complaint with the CFPB, hopefully this gets resolved. I hate that they knew my place of work and the last 4 of my social security #.

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

hpotterfan77 — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 18:45:18 GMT

They probably got the information one of two ways....either they purchased a zombie debt you once owned eons ago and it had that info on it or they used a website such as Lexus Nexus to obtain information about you. Scammers have disturbingly easy ways of obtaing your information. I've become sort of an expert on it and have filed my fair share of complaints. I even got a letter from a zombie collector one time. It took one google search and a search on Ripoffreport.com to figure out that about 1000 other people got the exact same letter, just with different names and addresses. Ridiculous!

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

Nickkifu — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 13:30:08 GMT

As an update, the CFPB has not been able to register and identify this company as of yesterday. I'm assuming they are ghosting their number? I have yet to received my "legal documents". It's disgusting that these companies LIE to people. They scared me; I hate being chased by something that I do not have on my credit report anymore.

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 15:26:46 GMT

OK, I worked as a 3rd party debt collector and am still a debt collector for the alst 12 years. I would guarantee you this is a scam. If you DO get served papers, request a hearing and go talk to the judge. It will be the companies burden of proof to SHOW you owe this to the judge. I have NEVER in all my years even when I worked for a shady attorney in his basement collecting money for Cap One have I ever put someone on hold to "call the client" and get a pay off amount. 99% of the time, unless it's medical or anyone else but the big banks, chase, amex, capone, etc.. do they still own the debt. They sell the debt, so whomever the client is won't care. What happened is they put you on hold, and either talked to their supervisor or came back with a SIF offer for you that they could approve to see if you would pay. If they call you again, ask for their address, and send them a written letter requesting documentaiton of the debt. Ideally this should have been done within 30 days of the first notice, but anyway just do it and send it certified. If they can't prove to you that you owe it, they can't collect it and all collection activity must cease. Also, if you are really worried ask them what county they filed the lawsuit in, and call that county clerk's office and ask if they have any public records against you and if so by whom. If they truly did file it, then it would be on public record.

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 21:47:06 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
OK, I worked as a 3rd party debt collector and am still a debt collector for the alst 12 years. I would guarantee you this is a scam. If you DO get served papers, request a hearing and go talk to the judge. It will be the companies burden of proof to SHOW you owe this to the judge. I have NEVER in all my years even when I worked for a shady attorney in his basement collecting money for Cap One have I ever put someone on hold to "call the client" and get a pay off amount. 99% of the time, unless it's medical or anyone else but the big banks, chase, amex, capone, etc.. do they still own the debt. They sell the debt, so whomever the client is won't care. What happened is they put you on hold, and either talked to their supervisor or came back with a SIF offer for you that they could approve to see if you would pay. If they call you again, ask for their address, and send them a written letter requesting documentaiton of the debt. Ideally this should have been done within 30 days of the first notice, but anyway just do it and send it certified. If they can't prove to you that you owe it, they can't collect it and all collection activity must cease. Also, if you are really worried ask them what county they filed the lawsuit in, and call that county clerk's office and ask if they have any public records against you and if so by whom. If they truly did file it, then it would be on public record.

Better yet, ask them for their physical address so your attorney can send the summons for the suit you're filing over their FDCPA violations.... Watch how quickly the line goes dead and you never hear from them again.

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

Anonymous — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 00:23:14 GMT

Address is a post office, but address isn't a post office box?

That means they are using one of those postal box companies to appear to have a physical location.

SCAM.

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

undrtkr65 — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 00:32:01 GMT

I had some scam phone calls trying to collect on some payday loan I never heard of. they even went as far as sending me a letter. I know it was fake since they said it was deposited in a account thats been closed for over 2 yrs. they will do anything to steal your money. in your case I pretty sure it's a scam.

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

Anonymous — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 00:38:54 GMT

@undrtkr65 wrote:
I had some scam phone calls trying to collect on some payday loan I never heard of. they even went as far as sending me a letter. I know it was fake since they said it was deposited in a account thats been closed for over 2 yrs. they will do anything to steal your money. in your case I pretty sure it's a scam.

That happened to me too! I can't believe there are groups of people that do this for a living. They are obviously smart, so why not do something positive for humanity!!

Re: Wilson & Associates- Suing Me for a Debt That's Not On My Credit Report. Is This Legal?

undrtkr65 — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 00:43:05 GMT

I received multiple phone calls over the past month almost everyday until I told them if they call me back again I was going to sue for harassment. they finally stopped calling.