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Subderisorious posted:I know what it's going to say about my credit score and that's why I'm worried. If I've been dodging calls from collectors for YEARS because I haven't had enough money to live off of, let alone pay bills, I'm curious what action they can take against me. Is there a way to find out if they've tried to sue me and just haven't been able to find me to give me the paperwork? I've moved so much that no one has my number or address.... The courts aren't generally going to issue an arrest warrant in a civil case like this; they'll just enter a default judgement against you. Which will appear on a credit report if you want to see if that's happened. Apparently there are six states that allow for arrest warrants though, a fact I discovered when hitting Wikipedia planning to say that "We don't have debtors' prisons anymore."  Debt collectors/creditors for unsecured debt like credit cards can basically harass the gently caress out of you (theoretically subject to the limits of the FDCPA), they can report it to the credit agencies which will reduce your creditworthiness, and finally take it to court to get a legal judgement against you, which will allow them to potentially seize some of your assets and bank accounts, contact your employer to garnish your wages, claim your tax refund if any, etc, all subject to state exemption rules protecting personal property from judgement.
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Aug 14, 2011 13:42
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AuntBuck posted:That's generally how it goes. They're more likely to have the info they need to get a judgement against a person than a junk debt buyer who has copies of copies of copied info, assuming they have anything more than an account number and a balance. If you want to settle, sooner is better than later. If the OC feels they can get a judgement for the full amount they may not settle, or at least not for a reasonable discount. Trying to settle is better. If you go to trial and lose you will probably have to pay the other side's lawyer and filing fees, and the judgement amount can be subject to an obscene APR until the balance is paid off. I just realized i sent the law a firm a dunning letter in may 2010 and they never responded before filing. Citi also reported my account as charged off literally every month since then. Those are all violations yeah? Edit: i also disputed it with experian and they confirmed it. beergod fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Aug 14, 2011 |
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Aug 14, 2011 18:13
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theDoubleH posted:Just to clarify, he was properly served with the summons (he contested the suit), but not with the judgment. Sorry if I'm confusing terms here, I'm clearly in over my head. Just hoping to get my money back as I'm a broke grad student. Can't you just put a lien on his building? You may not be able to find him, but you sure can find property he owns 
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Aug 14, 2011 18:40
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beergod posted:I just realized i sent the law a firm a dunning letter in may 2010 and they never responded before filing. Citi also reported my account as charged off literally every month since then. Those are all violations yeah? You mean a debt verification, right? The original creditor doesn't have to verify. Now some states do require the OCs to follow the FDCPA as well as the FCRA, check your state's laws. In most they don't. Also a charged off account is not the same as a sold/transferred account.
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Aug 14, 2011 22:27
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Mercury_Storm posted:Question here: This makes me wonder, if one has debt and takes a job in another country. Is there any real down side to ignoring collection calls? Or does it depend on citizen ship status? I saw it suggested (in a student loan thread I think) to someone with 100k in loans who got a job working in another country to just stop paying since its not like they could collect anyway. Is this something that would work in reality?
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Aug 15, 2011 00:47
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AuntBuck posted:You mean a debt verification, right? The original creditor doesn't have to verify. Now some states do require the OCs to follow the FDCPA as well as the FCRA, check your state's laws. In most they don't. Also a charged off account is not the same as a sold/transferred account. Right. a DV letter. How isn't an attorney a "debt collector"? Surely they are.
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Aug 15, 2011 01:42
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beergod posted:Right. a DV letter. I never said they weren't. Do your research. There are debt collections agencies that also act as law firms (and some shady ones that pretend to be but aren't), but unless they bought the debt outright they are simply representing the OC in court. If you hired a lawyer to represent you in a suit they wouldn't be considered a third party in the trial.
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Aug 15, 2011 02:29
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Also, I don't think anything in the FDCPA prevents them from filing a lawsuit, even if they haven't responded to a demand for proof of the debt. They just have to stop contacting you to collect it until they provide the proof. I may be misremembering, but that was my impression.
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Aug 15, 2011 03:53
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That's the thing, in most states original creditors are not subject to the FDCPA. They follow the FCRA, and they are not required to validate the debt.
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Aug 15, 2011 04:00
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Ninadene posted:This makes me wonder, if one has debt and takes a job in another country. Is there any real down side to ignoring collection calls? Or does it depend on citizen ship status? I saw it suggested (in a student loan thread I think) to someone with 100k in loans who got a job working in another country to just stop paying since its not like they could collect anyway. Is this something that would work in reality? Assuming you mean taking out all the loans/debt in the US, this would work so long as you are leaving the country for good and never returning. Then again, there are plenty of countries you have to provide some proof of income/positive net worth before they will ever issue you a visa to live/work there. I have a friend with dual citizenship with an EU country and it makes me a little sad that his life plan right now is to rack up massive debt via student loans and then move to Europe forever so he never has to pay them.
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Aug 16, 2011 00:20
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AuntBuck posted:You mean a debt verification, right? The original creditor doesn't have to verify. Now some states do require the OCs to follow the FDCPA as well as the FCRA, check your state's laws. In most they don't. Also a charged off account is not the same as a sold/transferred account. Just for everyone's info: original creditor ended up settling for 50% of what i owed. Attorney's office told me theyd go lower but id have to submit all of my financial information and proof of income to the creditor and theyd make a determination. Attorney's office had no authority to unilaterally go lower. Oc was citibank, venue was las vegas. Apparently litigation is a much more realistic specter than it used to be, unfortunately.
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Aug 17, 2011 07:48
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AuntBuck posted:That's the thing, in most states original creditors are not subject to the FDCPA. They follow the FCRA, and they are not required to validate the debt. This is true in nevada but they did respond to my ver letter before filing. I suspect theyre being extra careful in case they get in front a judge who really doesnt understand how the law works.
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Aug 17, 2011 07:50
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Sirotan posted:Assuming you mean taking out all the loans/debt in the US, this would work so long as you are leaving the country for good and never returning. Then again, there are plenty of countries you have to provide some proof of income/positive net worth before they will ever issue you a visa to live/work there. I have a friend with dual citizenship with an EU country and it makes me a little sad that his life plan right now is to rack up massive debt via student loans and then move to Europe forever so he never has to pay them. Why are you sad? That's an excellent plan given the mess that things are over here.
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Aug 22, 2011 17:15
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I just need a little reminding on the procedure to follow here: My wife got a lawsuit filed against her, and I got an 'intent to defend' filed with the court. In the meantime, she paid them a 'good faith' payment (without my knowledge) to them. Now she never got anything in writing or even asked for them to halt legal action ,etc. They acknowledge the payment, but i also got a notice that they have won a default judgement against her, dispite the filing. The court needs a reminder of this, right ? EDIT: I should say that it was just a notice to defend, but that should get me to the hearing date and prevent a default judgement, right? Roundboy fucked around with this message at 20:21 on Aug 22, 2011 |
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Aug 22, 2011 20:09
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Athaalin posted:Why are you sad? That's an excellent plan given the mess that things are over here. It's an excellent plan until his friend learns that the EU has most of the structural economic problems of the US in spades.
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Aug 23, 2011 14:58
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I have an ER hospital bill in collections, and it has been there for over a year. They have not reported it. They also never sent me any validation and claim that they do not correspond in writing -- only over the phone. I cannot afford it. I didn't know there was anything I could do about it, but where is a good place to go from here? :|
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Aug 27, 2011 20:10
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rrrrobot posted:I have an ER hospital bill in collections, and it has been there for over a year. They have not reported it. They also never sent me any validation and claim that they do not correspond in writing -- only over the phone. Offer then 10% of the balance if you can afford it. Hospitals negotiate balances all the time. Make sure to get it in writing, they're lying to you... tell them you don't appreciate that.
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Aug 28, 2011 20:39
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baquerd posted:Offer then 10% of the balance if you can afford it. Hospitals negotiate balances all the time. Make sure to get it in writing, they're lying to you... tell them you don't appreciate that. Thanks. I think I'll just send them a letter, anyway, and see what happens... I couldn't afford the bill when I was in college, but now I can. I just don't want to give them my money if they won't send me anything in writing, especially since I researched the agency and they seem to do a lot of shady things with peoples' payments (like selling it to other agencies, even after people pay them). (It is with CMRE collections agency, and the hospital (original creditor) doesn't want to cooperate at all with me at this point.)
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Aug 29, 2011 04:31
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I have another question... It seems that the statute of limitations for a medical debt in California is four years. Does this mean that if it is reported, it will be on my credit report for four years, or would it be on there for seven years? All of this is very confusing to me, and any help would be appreciated.  EDIT: Never mind this post. I just found out that it would be on my report for 7 years after the first delinquency date. Another thing I would like to know is how to make sure it doesn't end up on my credit report, though (or how to get it off of my credit report, should it get reported). I'm assuming it's too late to ask for a validation of the debt since it's already about a year old. What is the deal with writing HIPAA letters? How do you do it? rrrrobot fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Aug 29, 2011 |
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Aug 29, 2011 06:23
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theDoubleH posted:My situation is quite different than what this thread is intended for but reading the first few pages got me worried I've done something wrong. Did you contact the debtor after he filed bk? If you did, you may want to just drop everything and write that money off. You can get hosed for much more then you are owed. Otherwise, make sure you go to the meeting of creditors and put in your claim...you might get some of the repayment.
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Aug 29, 2011 18:21
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This morning I received a call from CBV Collections Services Ltd. and was put on hold for awhile. No one picked up so I called them back to see what's going on. They first asked for my name, and some identifying information. When I asked why I had been called it was about an outstanding debt to the tune of ~$4000 w/ interest ~$6500. I will admit right now that I was a stupid kid back in 2008, and that I am surprised it has taken this long to catch up to me. I had never received any letters in the mail, or notification of this debt until now. Currently I am finishing my studies (1 year left) with student loans that were just approved. Considering I can no longer ignore this debt. what is my next move? Ideally I would like this record removed from my credit report, however I am not sure if the advice in this thread applies to canadian agencies as well. If it matters I am in Alberta. Some things I am concerned about: 1. Can they sue me? ( it's been nearly 3 years ) 2. Can I offer to pay back a smaller amount and have the record removed from my credit report?
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Aug 29, 2011 18:40
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LorneReams posted:Did you contact the debtor after he filed bk? Nope. Should be safe then? LorneReams posted:Otherwise, make sure you go to the meeting of creditors and put in your claim...you might get some of the repayment. Well I already filed a proof of claim. Recently I got a letter stating the case was converted to Chapter 7, meaning now he doesn't have to pay us (I think?). It also said "don't file a proof of claim" with the explanation basically saying "debtor has no assets, don't bother. If that changes we'll notify you." There was also a notification of the creditor's meeting, but at this point it all seems kind of hopeless. Sigh.
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Aug 29, 2011 23:50
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I just want to thank the OP (and all contributors.) I've gotten so much taken off of my credit report and feel so much better about myself just from reading this thread. Also I don't feel pressured to file for bankruptcy anymore so hooray.  Some of y'all are scared/nervous to pull your credit report. Don't be. It's like getting on a scale if you're worried about your weight. You know poo poo sucks, but it's not going to get any better until you look at it, see what the damage actually is (and most times it's not quite as bad as you think it is,) and make a conscious and determined effort to change it.
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Aug 30, 2011 10:27
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This might be a dumb question, but how do you pay a judgement? I've scoured the court website and there's nothing there for debtors who want to pay, only creditors to report payment. It looks like I have to mail them money and then they're supposed to let the court know that I paid it? I'm kind of wary about sending a bunch of money to a shady bunch. EDIT: I don't have any paperwork leftover from when they hounded me for the money, which included invoices etc. samizdat fucked around with this message at 10:34 on Aug 30, 2011 |
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Aug 30, 2011 10:31
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samizdat posted:This might be a dumb question, but how do you pay a judgement? I've scoured the court website and there's nothing there for debtors who want to pay, only creditors to report payment. It looks like I have to mail them money and then they're supposed to let the court know that I paid it? There will likely be a phone number on the judgment you receive from the court. Give a call to whoever sued you in the first place (and apparently won). It sucks to pay money to someone who blatantly lied to a judge and the court, but if the judge believed their lies (like he did against me this summer), you have no recourse, and you have to pay the shady pieces of crap. I chalked my experience up to "welp, I should've bargained with them; I would've only had to pay half, and it would be off my credit report by now." Edit: I forgot to mention that, if you don't contact the plaintiff after the judgment, they'll probably garnish your wages, and you'll be paying them that way. Halvor fucked around with this message at 13:30 on Aug 31, 2011 |
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Aug 31, 2011 13:27
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Is there a way for a consumer to get a default removed? I've had many default judgments against creditors removed and had to go to court again.
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Aug 31, 2011 15:49
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samizdat posted:This might be a dumb question, but how do you pay a judgement? I've scoured the court website and there's nothing there for debtors who want to pay, only creditors to report payment. It looks like I have to mail them money and then they're supposed to let the court know that I paid it? You can fight it but it's going to be tough if you don't have any documentation. How long ago was this judgment? How long since the CA last contacted you?
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Aug 31, 2011 17:45
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If at all possible I would like someone's advice soon. Quick backstory: I have an old debt, 3 years old at this point. CBV has finally contacted me, they are not the original creditor. Today I gave them a call asking them to send me this information in the mail to my current address, as they had an old address on file, I also asked that they stop calling during my working hours. My initial research has led me to this course of action: 1. Upon receiving a letter from the collection agency, reply with a letter stating that I dispute the validity of their claim and require a. Proof that the original debt has been assigned to the agency, b. A complete history of the debt beginning with the original creditor and c. A copy of the original loan agreement. 2. Send a seperate letter requesting that all further communcation regarding this debt be completed in writing only. 3. ??? ( this information was all taken off of canadian-money-advisor.ca ) I'm incredibly new to this, and although I have read the thread I am uncertain how much of the advice applies to canadian citizens. Ideally I would like to settle for 10-30% of what they are asking and have it removed from my credit history, I'm just unaware of how I can achieve this.
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Aug 31, 2011 17:58
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I'm not that familiar with Canadian debt collection laws, though like in the US collections agencies are not allowed to harass you or call you whenever they feel like. Read up on what they can and can't do and keep thorough documentation on what violations they make, if any: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/oca-bc.nsf/eng/h_ca02149.html
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Sep 1, 2011 04:29
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Not sure if this is the right thread, but how do you get a mistaken credit entry off your credit report? My wife's credit report shows an unpaid court judgment against her, but we have court documents showing that the court found for her (defendant), rejecting the plaintiff's claim. e: Looks like I just need to write a letter providing proof. That doesn't sound too bad. gvibes fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Sep 1, 2011 |
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Sep 1, 2011 18:16
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Hi, I have a few questions (at the end) if I may. First off, I'm in Canada, and I just received a notice of claims in the mail for a $10, 000 student line of credit (from the bank who issued it.) I have had trouble securing full time employment after completing school, but have worked on a contracting basis making enough to scrape by, but by no means enough to be paying off my student debts. Also, despite being at the office full time, I am paid only a fraction of that, which is really the root of why my ends aren't meeting. The bank was fine and happy to close the account and continue to charge me interest payments on the account, and as long as I was paying those, they were happy with that. I've been doing that for at least 2 years now. Now currently, the client who I work for is currently struggling not to go bankrupt, and I haven't had much of any work with him, so I haven't been able to make even those minimum payments, thus the notice of claim I have now. I might be able to get support from my clients that show that I have been working full time, I'm not sure when push comes to shove how far they would go to cover their own asses that they haven't been paying me all of the hours I've been at the office. This line-of-credit had a cosigner, I would really like to know at what levels they will be affected by this. I noticed she is included as a defendant in the letter, but the letter itself was addressed only to me. I have no assets, and nothing they can reposes (they can take my laptop, but they will never take my freedom!  ), I have another large loan through the Canadian government that is unpaid and a few utilities that have gone to creditors.Because this stuff at work I have been looking for a job these last two weeks because I've been getting tired of my debt situation and not having $$$. I've done some reading about notice of claims and what options are available to me, but nothing that really fits the situation "I'm broke as gently caress, have fun trying to crush raisins into wine." Obviously, I'd like to talk to a lawyer and get actual legal advice. I have half a mind to fight this even though I'm totally guilty of not paying, I've got the balls if I've got a case. I'm just dumb enough to work full time for people and not get paid for it, and let this go on for too long. The Questions: -Should I try to settle directly with the bank even though I have no wages to garnish, or any assets for them to repo? -If I manage to secure employment by the court date how would this affect things, am I better off to wait until the court date before securing a full time job? -How will my cosigner be affected by this? She does have assets (houses). Thanks' in advance, off to do some more research. SliceofVice fucked around with this message at 22:33 on Sep 1, 2011 |
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Sep 1, 2011 22:31
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Ok so backstory, I posted in this thread about a year and a half ago seeking advice but ultimately did nothing at the time, go figure. Last month I finally seriously began dealing with my debt. I pulled my big 3 credit reports, whittled things down to two debts with two different collection agencies, one big (close to $9000) and one small (less than $100). At that point, I sent out debt validation letters to both via certified mail telling them to send back documentation yadda yadda. They both received those by Aug 15. Today I got back a letter from the owner of a smaller debt with a very brief record showing a $210 debt for a woman (I'm a dude) with the same last name as me who lives about an hour away from me. So, basically, they don't know what the gently caress. Following some information from elsewhere online, it appears my next step is to send them another certified letter stating that the debt is not mine and that continuing to seek money from me is a violation of the FDCPA. My question is, while I'm doing this, should I also dispute the entry on my credit report, or give them a chance to respond further first? My other debt is slightly more complicated but I'll keep it simple for now. I may have a judgment against me for the larger amount. Court records from the county court where I used to live are difficult to parse but seem to indicate they went to court and won in arbitration against me. I am waiting for a response from them to verify this, but here's my other question... let's say they DID win in arbitration against me, but now don't get a response to my request for debt validation back to me before 30 days pass... can I legitimately dispute their listing on my credit report and possibly have it removed, or does the judgment they won gently caress that? I should mention that I have moved twice since racking these debts up, once back to a previous address and then again over a year ago to another state. I'm guessing this is why the smaller debt owner has hosed up in regards to figuring out who I am, and why I haven't gotten a response back yet from the owner of the larger debt.
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Sep 3, 2011 18:19
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Are collection agencies allowed to tell you what your Medical debt is for? My Fiance got a call for a collection agency and they were more than happy to tell her it was for a lumbar spine xray at the name of the hospital on a specific date. I thought that was a violation of HIPAA?
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Sep 3, 2011 18:25
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ratbert90 posted:Are collection agencies allowed to tell you what your Medical debt is for? My Fiance got a call for a collection agency and they were more than happy to tell her it was for a lumbar spine xray at the name of the hospital on a specific date. It is, which is good for you because it means it will be easy to get it off of your report. Look at page 4-5 of this thread, where they talk about that a little bit. Also do a google search about HIPAA regulations, collection agencies, and what your rights are. It should help you in finding out what the next move should be for you.
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Sep 3, 2011 18:56
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Corkscrew posted:My other debt is slightly more complicated but I'll keep it simple for now. I may have a judgment against me for the larger amount. Court records from the county court where I used to live are difficult to parse but seem to indicate they went to court and won in arbitration against me. I am waiting for a response from them to verify this, but here's my other question... let's say they DID win in arbitration against me, but now don't get a response to my request for debt validation back to me before 30 days pass... can I legitimately dispute their listing on my credit report and possibly have it removed, or does the judgment they won gently caress that? I hate to say it, but if they got a judgment against you, you just sent them your new address. They don't have to respond to you, they can just begin garnishing you. Were you served or contacted at all by this company? Are they representing the original creditor or are they a collections agency? Judgments are far more difficult to get out of and they are collectable for much longer. Go back and read through the thread and start doing some research.
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Sep 3, 2011 20:22
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My jackass situation: Earlier this year, my Dad called me and asked me if I had any outstanding debts. I told him I have debts, but I'm working on paying them down and haven't missed any payments. He told me that he was getting phone calls for a debt in my name. In true brilliant fashion, I told him it wasn't my debt so gently caress those guys, good luck to them collecting on something I didn't owe! I ignored his advice to get a credit report. Until this past week, anyway, and I found out that this company is trying to collect $400 from me. The original creditor is DISH Network. I've never, ever, in my life had basic cable, let alone satellite TV. This bill isn't mine. I know, I'm a jackass for putting it off til now, I can't make any excuses for myself except that ignoring the problem seemed like a good idea when I was high on righteous indignation. There's apparently been a recent development, however. My Dad says that the original collection agency has stopped calling him, but now a new company is trying to collect on it. They haven't appeared on my credit report yet, though the old claim is still up there. So... any advice on how to approach this? Should I attempt to go through DISH Network to help my cause? Should I send a DV letter to both collections companies, or what? Thanks in advance. [edit] typo tysova fucked around with this message at 00:14 on Sep 5, 2011 |
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Sep 5, 2011 00:06
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tysova posted:So... any advice on how to approach this? Should I attempt to go through DISH Network to help my cause? Should I send a DV letter to both collections companies, or what? Most likely this debt was sold off long ago, contacting Dish Network isn't going to accomplish much. If it isn't yours, then yes, send some letters and dispute the record on you credit report.
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Sep 5, 2011 02:22
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AuntBuck posted:You can fight it but it's going to be tough if you don't have any documentation. How long ago was this judgment? How long since the CA last contacted you? The judgement was April 2009, and they did try to garnish my wages/bank account shortly after but all my money is exempt so they had to give it back. I've got no documentation and can't remember the last time they contacted me, it was probably to garnish my bank account. Halvor posted:There will likely be a phone number on the judgment you receive from the court. Give a call to whoever sued you in the first place (and apparently won). Yeah I feel like I should've done more instead of being paralyzed by anxiety and ignoring taking action, but I was having bad clinical depression and couldn't handle much of anything at the time. BTW this is CapitalOne with a shady law firm, not a CA. Which makes it worse in my mind.
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Sep 5, 2011 09:40
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I've read a lot that pay for deletions seem very hit or miss for individuals. In my case I have 0 outstanding accounts - but am perpetually denied for any and all forms of credit outside of having a cosigner. The total debt owed did not total more than $2,000 owed to 6 different companies - but apparently this is enough to move my credit score below 600 which puts me on par with a crack head in the eyes of a banker. If I paid off several accounts around 3 years ago in full or in settlements - is there any rate of success for having it removed now? I realize that those collection agencies have virtually no reason after receiving my payment to remove it from my account - so I wanted to ask if anyone had insight before I start stacking up certified letters.
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Sep 6, 2011 01:51
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I've skimmed through the thread, but I couldn't recall this scenario: I inherited my desk, phone, and direct phone number from an old coworker who left before I started. Everything was nice and peaceful for the first few months. But now, there's a debt collector, calling once a day, looking for this former coworker. I've been ignoring the calls (because I haven't been at my desk when they come), and they haven't left a VM - until now. Someone from Pinnacle Financial LLC Collections is looking for the former coworker. If I just continue to ignore these, how long will they call? Is it even worth it to try to tell them that they no longer work for us, and I don't know where they are? (And I checked my VM, I have my name on it instead of theirs. So there's no mistake that they did NOT get the desk of who they were looking for.) Qu Appelle fucked around with this message at 20:54 on Sep 9, 2011 |
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Sep 9, 2011 20:46
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