So I guess I’m being sued.

[Anonymous]

So today flipping through some remaining mail while cleaning up, I found something in between some junk mail adds with my name and saying it’s urgent. Figured it was just some more junk credit offers but it was something about a lawsuit and had a case number. So I looked it up on my county court website and seems to be legit.

I haven’t received anything in the mail about this other than this letter from some kind of debt relief company offering free consultation. I asked my brother about it that lives with me and he said he hadn’t received anything from anyone, his girl friend whom is on a scale of 1-10 dingy, rates a 15 remembered answering the door and receiving a packet of paper (not an evelope of any kind) and neglected to tell anyone about it.

Appears I’m being sued by TD Bank a successor to Targret for the amount of $2,000 by Rausch Strum lawfirm out of San Diego. I reside in California by the way.

Sates this was filed with my local court house on 7/23 and I have 30 days to respond, YIKES.

I did have a Target Red card I fell behind on payments when I lost my job back in December but my union got me my job back and I’ve been playing catch up. Last I checked my balance was around $1,500 on the card. I don’t dispute the charges and be willing to pay.

Since I’m coming across this so late does anyone with experience have any suggestions? I can’t afford an attorney right now.

I have a number/email and fax for this lawfirm. Should I contact them and see if I can offer a lower amount to be paid in full?

[FireMedic1]

I re-read you post. Is playing catch up mean you've been paying on it? If no, call the law office and work out a deal to get it settled before it goes to court. You dont want that. They may work with you.

[Anonymous]

Sorry for the misunderstanding, no I was and still am behind on payments for the target card.

I’ve been playing catch up far as saving money and putting it into savings. Then later using it to pay off some of the higher credit cards in full that I owed and fell behind on. I haven’t made a payment on this card since 2nd of December 2018. I lost my job that month so I focused on other bills/rent etc and never made a payment in January all the way up till now.

[RSX]

Hopefully a call to them gets a plan setup

in the future, don’t put money in Savings and then pay a card off, without making at least the minimum on all your cards

its possible you couldn’t cover all of them, but i’m Not sure based on your post

but setup minimum payments on ALL cards. And put any extra on just 1 of them until it is paid off.  

[FireMedic1]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Sorry for the misunderstanding, no I was and still am behind on payments for the target card.

I’ve been playing catch up far as saving money and putting it into savings. Then later using it to pay off some of the higher credit cards in full that I owed and fell behind on. I haven’t made a payment on this card since 2nd of December 2018. I lost my job that month so I focused on other bills/rent etc and never made a payment in January all the way up till now.

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Paying yourself first is a good plan. But, with this law office wanting some communication from you while no other law offices are after you. I'd call and make any kind of arraingement to make payments before it goes to court. They can garnish your wages and a judgement you dont want on your reports if you dont happen to show up. Do anything possible to get this off your back ASAP. Even if it means tapping your savings. Hate to say it this way. But ya gotta get this taken care of real quick. Call them tomorrow and see what they can do before a court date is set. I wish you the best of luck. One way or another they will get their $.

[CreditInspired]

Hi and welcome to MyFICO

Even though brother’s GF on a scale of 1-10 dingy rates a 15 — okay I have to stop right here. I bust out laughing when I read this, 😂🤣😂🤣 count your blessing that you eventually got hold of the document.

So yes, call attorney’s office and ask about setting up a payment arrangement (get it in writing). And do this yesterday!

And if for any reason they won’t accept a reasonable offer, go to court. Because if you don't have a written agreement and you just don’t show up in court, a judgment will be entered against you. At least in court, you get to tell your side and the judge may decide arbitration is needed.

GL2U

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I’ve been racking my brain over this since finding out.

Here’s what I’m thinking, I’d like to pay them in full but for let’s say 60% of what they say I owe and possibly request anything removed from my credit report

Or pay them the full asking amount in payment installments of say $500 or so a month and still request anything removed from credit report. Not sure if they will go for it but I’ll contact first thing tomorrow morning.

After some digging online it seems that at the least I need to answer this lawsuit and give a copy to the court house and the lawfirm that’s suing me even if it’s just a simple denial to avoid a default on me. So I will try to get that done, may see how much help i could get with that part from a so called “free consultation”. Never dealt with a law office/defense attorney so very dubious on what they call “free”.

[coreysw12]

Not a lawyer, but here's my 2 cents from someone who has also been sued by a creditor under similar circumstances :

A free "consultation" will not provide you with any information you can use in dealing with this case. A free consulation basically means, "We'll listen to what you tell us about your case, for free, and then we'll tell you whether or not it's worthwhile for us to help you, and how much it'll cost." They won't give you any advice about how you can or should handle this... at least, not until you pay them a retainer.

This sounds like something you can handle just fine on your own, you're already on the right track. Call their office immediately, and work out a settlement. If you can't come to an agreement in writing before the 30 days is up, then you need to respond to the summons to buy some more time. You can do so for free, you don't need a lawyer for that. Simply say that you dispute the claim. And then continue to work on a settlement agreement with them in the interim. Eventually you might have to settle for unfavorable terms, because they do have the upper hand right now. You may need to pay the full amount. But you can probably at least work out a pay-over-time arrangement, regardless of the amount you're able to settle for. Good luck, keep us posted

[Remedios]

@Anonymous  Hi and welcome to the forums 

A couple of disagreements first. I would not call anyone else dingy in this situation. While it's unfortunate she failed to let you know about the mail, it's not her card and she's not the one being sued. The only reason I mention this, is when rebuild starts, accepting personal responsibility should be a priority. It's how you make sure it does not happen again. Your problems started way before the mail. 

Second, whenever there is a possibility of legal action, or legal action is in process, a "free consultation" may not be the waste of time. If the account is fairly recent, you're employed and they think there is a chance they may get full amount back plus the fees etc, they may not be willing to negotiate.

With that said, a lot of them will negotiate, or allow you to make payments over time. If you're confident in your ability to negotiate and are familiar with laws and regulations, it's your choice how to proceed. Given the time constrain, I would call them and see what they can do for you. 

Good luck and hope you get this resolved quickly 

[Anonymous]

I called today in a attempt to settle the debt. They started off with trying to get a financial statement from me and I promptly denied. I first inquired about payment installments. But also was open to a possible lump sum if I could afford it as I told them.

I began my offer with $800 to start things, was place on hold, they came back with $1400, I countered with $1,000 and they came right back with $1,400. I countered $1,200 and still no bite.

I pressed that I wanted to resolve this today in full. And they stuck with the $1,400 offer for the lump sum.

I told them I would have to look over my finances and would call back.

They also tried to tell me that they would need to receive a payment first before dismissing the lawsuit. We never got to discuss that any further as the negotiations of the lump sum began.

I know what I owe but obviously I would like to get the best lump sum deal I could get. I’ve been penny pinching like crazy so any extra funds to be placed on other debt would be great. I may call back and be willing to pay the $1,400 IF they can fax me over an agreement and I could sign and fax back. I’m not sending them a dime before receiving that nor will any checking or debit information be provided to them.