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Bombarded by vultures today

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Bombarded by vultures today

A month ago I received a call from “Hale law group” saying I owed $5000 or so for a defaulted loan from 2015. Immediately wanted to know if I’d like to settle before they peruse wage garnishment.. I hun purée them and asked for a validation letter, got an email from a domain without a website and looked up the address on the header but couldn’t find the “law firm” in the building directory. The info regarding the debt was all inaccurate and I ignored it. Today, myself, my boss, my wife, her employer, and her parents all received calls stating they were coming today to serve legal papers. I spoke with the representative briefly and all of the information he had regarding the debt was inaccurate and he was threatening my wife and I about wage garnishment.

We live in PA and weren’t married when this debt was incurred, which was over 4 years since it defaulted. Does any of these seem legit?
Message 1 of 11
10 REPLIES 10
silver_idle
Established Contributor

Re: Bombarded by vultures today

Even if the information is invalid, you shouldve informed them that it is instead of ignoring it as they have provided their proof, which allows them to proceed to contact you in attempt to collect the debt. You can tell them to cease all contact with you, employer, etc in writing (either by a valid email, but its preferred that its by certified mail). The address they may be using could be a virtual office so it might not even be a place they are physically located at, so keep that in mind. They cannot garnish wages without a suing and getting a judgement and any continued threats without any real intent of suing is a voliation of the FDCPA. Speaking of which, other than your wife and attorney (if you ever hire one), if they talked to others in regards to your debt, including employer, that is also a voliation of the FDCPA. They are allowed to contact them, usually once, to find out your address, number, etc., but nothing more.

EDIT: If you do owe a debt but the information is invalid to your knowledge, I would suggest getting confirmation from the original creditor, if possible. This CA sounds like they are blowing empty threats in hope of you paying, but if the DV came back invalid, dont pay anything. Do research, dig around, and dispute it. They could be in hot water if they are also altering records.

Message 2 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Bombarded by vultures today

Thank you very much- I’m in PA and to my knowledge, even with a judgment they can’t get wage garnishment. This debt was sold by the original creditor to a third party debt collector in 2015 (the original creditor notified me) should I contact that agency, or the actual original creditor?

I will work on a letter disputing the validity of the debt, what they provided contains no proof of the debt and the information is inaccurate.
Message 3 of 11
TattnallTrio
Frequent Contributor

Re: Bombarded by vultures today

I had a similar issue recently with a lady calling from a place without a name but saying that they are a mediation service.
I talked with my former bankruptcy attorney and was advised that there are scammers out there and they likely have picked information up from a data breach like Equifax. And with that, they have old
Account information.
No legitimate collection agency would collect without sending a letter. Much less spend the money on filing a judgment when there’s a chance you may pay.
Also, it’s a violation of the FDCPA to contact other people if they’ve established contact with you.
This is very likely to be a scam. They probably do know your SSN and such.
I put a 1 year fraud alert on my credit file (report it to one bureau and it’ll spread) and from my credit files, plus from Chexsystems and Innovis.
I wrote into the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and they said they’d investigate my case as well as the FTC. No outcome but they quit calling me.
Message 4 of 11
Jnbmom
Credit Mentor

Re: Bombarded by vultures today

Sorry but most legitmate law firms do not call and tell you they are coming to serve you, that kinda defeats the purpose. And they certainly can not tell a "third party" that they are serving you papers.

 

I think this company is full of crap.

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Message 5 of 11
OmarGB9
Community Leader
Super Contributor

Re: Bombarded by vultures today


@Jnbmom wrote:

Sorry but most legitmate law firms do not call and tell you they are coming to serve you, that kinda defeats the purpose. And they certainly can not tell a "third party" that they are serving you papers.

 

I think this company is full of crap.


if it is a "company" at all.

 

OP, I would keep doing research. Definitely sounds like a scam, and if it's not, they're still violating FDCPA laws regardless, and you could sue them back for it.


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Message 6 of 11
FireMedic1
Community Leader
Mega Contributor

Re: Bombarded by vultures today

Sounds like a bottom feeding scam and their FOS. If they answer your letter. Which they probably wont. You got enough there to go after their hind ends with a nice lawyer who'd love to make some money if it's legit. Make sure you add to cease and desist all calls to anyone in your letter. That is if they even have an address.


Message 7 of 11
gdale6
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Bombarded by vultures today

First thing to do is to ascertain the DoFD and see if its still within SOL.
Message 8 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Bombarded by vultures today

September 2013 was dofd, debt was sold in 2015 but no payments ever made. SOL in PA appears to be 4 years
Message 9 of 11
gdale6
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Bombarded by vultures today


@Anonymous wrote:
September 2013 was dofd, debt was sold in 2015 but no payments ever made. SOL in PA appears to be 4 years

Ok, even though it may be past SOL they can still sue and its up to you to use SOL as your defense to get the case kicked. This place sounds like a bogus outfit but better safe than sorry, I would check with your local courthouse to see if any suits have been filed on it and if there is you need to respond to it using SOL as you defense. Most reputable outfits never call to make threats of suing a marshall just shows up with papers and serve you with them. If the debt is yours and you want to settle it I would deal with the current debt owner directly.

Message 10 of 11
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