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Bojanglesworth posted:Ok, update time. I paid the money due to this collection agency before the court date. The law office said they will ask for a continuance for the court date (which is tomorrow) to give time for my payment to clear. Anyone know if this will show on my credit report as a judgment or will it just show as a settled collections account? Thanks for everyones help so far! Not a lawyer. But a continuance is just a filing made with the court asking for a delay in the court date. You don't get a judgement before the case is heard by a judge. So the continuance isn't going to impact what the credit report will show. Presumably if the payment clears they'll file to drop the court case and you won't have a judgement. You should still check your credit history and verify they report it as settled.
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Dec 20, 2013 16:46
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I'm curious how the more seasoned among you would deal with this- GF ran up a debt with Amex during a time we were both between jobs- and the payments got out of hand. We requested the proof of debt- they sent us a stack of her statements only. Is this kosher? After we did this, they've started calling her ex-husband and his relatives with a recording saying it's coming from a debt collector. His sister actually answered, the agent identified themselves, and said they were looking for (GF's name) that lives in (our state). They've been calling her for months apparently, but she never answered since she didn't recognize the number. The original letter we sent did include this line- Sample letter we sent posted: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 or correspondence sent to 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. Is there anything we can do about this?
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Dec 27, 2013 17:45
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The laws are different for the Original Creditor vs. a Debt Collection Agency. The Original Creditor (AMEX) has a lot more leeway than a 3rd party debt collector. Generally the FDCPA doesn't apply to the Original Creditor (AMEX). This is the problem with all this internet advice about debt collectors and I DEMAND PROOF OF DEBT and all this other nonsense. Yes there's good information out there, but it doesn't always apply to your particular situation. If AMEX still holds the debt, the FDCPA doesn't really apply. They're probably using the last valid contact information they had for her (the ex husband's house maybe?) to try to contact her. Honestly the best thing you can do is get in front of this problem, open a line of communication with AMEX, give them proper contact information so your family members aren't getting harassed unnecessarily and try to work something out. Depending on your state, state laws may have guidelines or rules that apply to Original Creditors. California has something on the books that apply s to OC's and DCA's. That's something you should look into or talk to a lawyer familiar with debt collection laws in your state.
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Dec 27, 2013 19:31
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Yeah the original creditors don't need to validate the debt. If you're not sure if AMEX still has it or it's a separate debt collection company you might want to pull a free copy of your wife's credit report (if you haven't this year). That should tell you who currently owns the debt.
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Dec 28, 2013 03:26
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What about the calling? We sent the letter in Oct. and the calls are still coming, along with adding her ex-sister in law and the ex's parents.
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Jan 2, 2014 09:14
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GoatSeeGuy posted:What about the calling? We sent the letter in Oct. and the calls are still coming, along with adding her ex-sister in law and the ex's parents. Depends who's calling. If it's still with AMEX you're kind of screwed and should follow skipdogg's advice.
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Jan 2, 2014 09:24
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If you want better advice, provide the following information 1: How old is the debt? When was the last payment made? 2: Who holds the debt? Is AMEX contacting your or is it a 3rd party like Jimbob's Debt Collections? 3: What state are you in? State laws sometimes are more broad than Federal laws. State laws also come into play when the court system gets involved. Amex doesn't play around, if they have a shot at garnishing wages or levying bank accounts they will go after you.
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Jan 2, 2014 18:48
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Any tips on calling up debt collectors and negotiating a "pay for delete"? What precisely do I want them to agree to do? I've got five accounts in collections with four different agencies for the following approximate amounts: $1500 from 2011 showed up on my credit report in 2012 $41 from 2011 showed up on my credit report in in 2012 // this one is exact $300 from 2011 showed up on my credit report in in 2012 $1500 from 2012 showed up on my credit report in in 2013 $150 from 2011 showed up on my credit report in in 2012 They're all from ER bills I couldn't afford to pay and they're all with collection agencies rather than the original creditor (which would be the hospital?). My credit report lists a telephone number for each account. I'm guessing that they can each be reached by this number?
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Jan 3, 2014 00:59
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I was going to start a new thread in BFC because I was hoping to hear from a Goon lawyer, but I'll start here. I'm very stressed about this situation so forgive me if I get terse. This is all relevant to the US, by the way. I have both a huge mount of student loan and consumer debt due to a combination of post-graduate education, a long period of unemployment/underemployment, and (primarily) my own raging idiocy. My federally-backed student loan debt was consolidated 3 years ago and is under control, such as it is. My consumer debt is another story and I have put down a retainer with a local attorney to file Chapter 7. I do not own a home or a car and have no assets to speak of as well as no children or current/former spouse, so this should be fairly simple. However, it was recently brought back to my attention a foolish, presumably "private" student loan that I took out back in 2006 through a private bank. It wasn't huge - only $1500 at the time - but some dodgy "trust" in Delaware is suing me for non-payment via a local law firm. I do not believe that this loan is backed by the federal government so I cannot add it to my consolidation, though I can't confirm that because they are being very evasive. However, it's a student loan so I can't include it in chapter 7. However however, it was told to me by a legal assistant that if the case settles in civil court then the debt becomes a civil debt and is dischargeable in Chapter 7. I was served with a summons back in November and responded, choosing to fight the case. However, right before Christmas I received a list of "admissions" from the jackasses... I mean legal firm representing this case. I haven't the means to fight it and it would be stupid to engage legal counsel for what is about $2100 including legal fees. I have to respond to the "admissions" by 17 January. I have enough money to start the Ch 7 process but not really the time to do all the paperwork, but there is no way I can pay this debt. The problem is that, on paper, it looks like I make a decent living, but I only get paid September to May and have to save for the summer when I have no income. I work in higher ed, and not only am I year-to-year (and my position is VERY tentative right now) but I keep getting saddled with 9-month contracts and will not be eligible for unemployment either. I work plenty during the summer, I just don't get paid for any of it and any wage garnishing is going to look at my monthly income and think that I have plenty of money and demand that I pay hundreds a month, which will very seriously gently caress me over and make it impossible for me to survive the summer. If this becomes a civil debt if I essentially default, then I should be able to include it in a bankruptcy case, but I'm not sure if I would have to go to court or not to get it to become a non-educational debt. I've talked to people at the office of my bankruptcy lawyer and they did help a bit, but they refuse to do anything else as it's a separate case and they would want another retainer, which is impossible. I'll stop now because this is a wall of text. I apologise if I did not explain this well, but I'm not sure where to turn. There is no way that I can pay this debt and survive, but I'm not sure that I have any defence and my lawyer isn't being very helpful. Thank you for your patience and advice
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Jan 3, 2014 21:56
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You're not going to get a clear answer; you're basically asking for advanced legal advice that no one can give you (including your own lawyer). I'm an expert in the exact field you're asking about, and I wouldn't touch giving advice on that with a 10 foot pole. If my client called with that question, I'd punt and give a non-answer. I wouldn't return that phone call either. Private student loans are a weird grey area. I don't think there's any magic strategy where you can eliminate the debt, and no lawyer on the planet will say "yeah do this and this, and the debt will go away!". You owe $2100, you can't pay it. So don't pay it. Problem solved. If they ever pushed it, you can try to make payment arrangements, take out a loan etc. Not your lawyer whatsoever, and I'm probably drunk right now. The only thing I can 100% guarantee you is that you're not going to find a specific answer to your question. The lawyer is ducking you for a reason. Sorry.
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Jan 3, 2014 22:22
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EN Bullshit posted:Any tips on calling up debt collectors and negotiating a "pay for delete"? What precisely do I want them to agree to do? I've got five accounts in collections with four different agencies for the following approximate amounts: Not a lawyer, but first tip is don't call. Send a letter requesting proof the debt is yours with original paperwork and verification of the debt amount. In that letter make sure to provide your address and request that all further communication be done in writing. Make sure everything you send is sent certified with a delivery receipt for your records. Never send money without express written confirmation that they are going to settle (pay for delete). If they send you the required docs to confirm that the debt is yours within the 30 day window (directly to you...not confirming to the credit agencies), then you start negotiating. If they don't confirm the debt with original signed docs, etc. then you write a letter to the credit agencies requesting removal as they can't confirm that debt is yours. If you want a pay for delete then when I did this exact thing I started with offering 10% of the original amount (not the inflated with fees and interest amount), and stuck with that number for as long as I could. Increase by 5% every month or two and see how it goes. If you Google sample letters for any of these types of letters they are ALL over the internet. It is very easy to find a sample letter for anything you are doing like this.
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Jan 10, 2014 18:38
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There is no 30 day window for debt collectors. They can take as long as they want to verify.
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Jan 11, 2014 06:24
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AuntBuck posted:There is no 30 day window for debt collectors. They can take as long as they want to verify. But after you ask them to verify they cannot come after you for the debt until they do. Otherwise you sue them. So if they take forever at least you won't be getting hassled, and if you are hassled you'll get some money out of it.
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Jan 11, 2014 07:15
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The 30 day window is what the credit bureau has to verify if you dispute. It's arguable that if the debt collector verifies with the credit bureau before they verify with you that is collecting activity in violation of the law and the more violations you have against them when you sue the better.
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Jan 12, 2014 22:59
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OssiansFolly posted:If they send you the required docs to confirm that the debt is yours within the 30 day window (directly to you...not confirming to the credit agencies), then you start negotiating. I thought you had to send a debt validation letter within thirty days of receiving the first communication from the debt collection agency? My thirty days are long past.
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Jan 13, 2014 05:29
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Right now my credit score is sitting at ~660, and I've got two accounts in collections: 1 from October 2009 and one from September 2007. I'm more than likely letting the 2007 one just roll off as that's going to happen within the year, but I'm concerned about the 2009 one. I absolutely have the means to pay it off, but I don't want to send the money and have it stay on my record, possibly past the current 2016 date. A few questions: 1) Is there a rough estimate of how much these are hurting my score? 2) Were I looking to get a mortgage, would having the 2016 account absolutely block me from doing so? 3) What, if any, would be the best way to either get that account to go away or at least turn them positive (again, payment is absolutely an option)?
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Jan 17, 2014 00:42
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EN Bullshit posted:I thought you had to send a debt validation letter within thirty days of receiving the first communication from the debt collection agency? My thirty days are long past. You can absolutely send a debt validation after that 30 day window has passed, really you can dispute a debt at any time, but you lose a bunch of your rights after that 30 days. It may still to your benefit to verify and at least tell the debt collection company to contact you only in writing.
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Jan 17, 2014 02:01
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EN Bullshit posted:Any tips on calling up debt collectors and negotiating a "pay for delete"? What precisely do I want them to agree to do? I've got five accounts in collections with four different agencies for the following approximate amounts: As previously stated - stay off the phone. Before you do anything, I would go over to creditboards and research the HIPPA resources over there. It may be possible to get it removed under HIPAA, if they are medical. Be careful with anything under statute of limitations as contacting them in any form may wake them up and file suit. But if you want to try a pay for delete do it all in writing.
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Jan 22, 2014 20:45
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GobiasIndustries posted:Right now my credit score is sitting at ~660, and I've got two accounts in collections: 1 from October 2009 and one from September 2007. I'm more than likely letting the 2007 one just roll off as that's going to happen within the year, but I'm concerned about the 2009 one. I absolutely have the means to pay it off, but I don't want to send the money and have it stay on my record, possibly past the current 2016 date. A few questions: The longer the account is on the report (date of last activity) the less it hurts your score. This is why people damage their credit further by paying off an old account in full (or settlement) because they update the reporting and the DOLA is now very recent. Note that paying off in full rarely gets it removed, it's just updated as Paid with a freshly minted timestamp, screwing up your score. The issue here is just about any mortgage lender will not give you one with an account on the report that shows unpaid balance. So if you really want to buy a house, you'll have to pay it off if you can't get it removed, which in turn lowers your score. I would do this: - send a debt validation to letter to owner of the account (if its a collection agency). If it is the original creditor I would write them anyway asking them to remove the account as my records don't show I owe anything (worth a shot) - after 30 days or response received it ain't going norewhere, dispute (not online!!) via letter to the all credit reporting bureaus (google 'Jack Attack') - when investigation completes and no satisfactory results, I would write a 623 letter if the bad account is owned by original creditor. - I would dispute via CFPB.gov at the end if it's still there Account can only be on there for 7 years after you stopped paying, if it's under 1 year you can write usually dispute it as obsolete and they'll remove it. I'd try it 1.5 years before and try every couple months. You can always send a FOAD or a nutcase or intent to sue letter and if you're desperate.
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Jan 22, 2014 21:13
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Thanks for all of the advice, everyone. Looks like I'll be sending out a bunch of validation letters this weekend. I just got two more collection letters, looks like two of my accounts have been sold on. One of them has been sold to SomeDebtBuyer, LLC and placed with SomeCollectionAgency for recovery. The collection agency sent me a letter asking me to pay. Should I send my debt validation letter to SomeCollectionAgency or to SomeDebtBuyer, LLC? The letter says to send it to the collection agency, but I don't think I'm supposed to trust everything I see in a collection letter, so I'm not sure where to send it.
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Jan 24, 2014 01:13
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I would check with your credit report and only deal with who is reporting the debt to a credit bureau
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Jan 24, 2014 04:58
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edit: taken care of.
jjef fucked around with this message at 12:44 on Jun 18, 2014 |
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Jan 24, 2014 06:29
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This is in Pennsylvania. So. Someone (debt collectors, not identifying themselves as such) called my folks place for me and my dad took a message. They later called back and left a message on their machine for me that they were calling about a debt collection. 1) My dad took the message but never said or implied that I lived there. Under the Fair Debt Collection Act are they allowed to leave a message on my parents' machine stating that they're calling me about debt collection? The act says "Any debt collector communicating with any person other than the consumer for the purpose of acquiring location information about the consumer shall not state that such consumer owes any debt". I haven't lived there for a very, very long time and at no point was it implied that I do. 2) Under the Fair Debt Collection Act, they're allowed to contact people who are not me to try to locate me only once "unless the debt collector reasonably believes that the earlier response of such person is erroneous or incomplete and that such person now has correct or complete location information." Can my folks still just tell them that I don't live there and not to contact them again? Are they legally obligated to tell them how to contact me/keep receiving calls since they've let on that they have access to me by taking the initial message?
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Jan 24, 2014 06:55
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jjef posted:With all of this in mind, should I have my mother send them a letter? Shes already in lots of debt and is planning her bankruptcy right now. If a letter is sent, what should it say? Any advice? I am not at all a professional, but if she's already filing for bankruptcy, she should bring this up with her lawyer. The lawyer is getting paid to deal with this stuff.
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Jan 25, 2014 21:23
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edit: taken care of.
jjef fucked around with this message at 12:44 on Jun 18, 2014 |
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Jan 26, 2014 09:02
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Hi, I am getting some conflicting advice on debt in collections and I need to know what to do. 3 debts in collections. The collection agencies are NOT contacting us and have not contacted us for who knows how long. #1 - went into collections July 2011. Balance is $204. #2 - went into collections April 2011. Balance is $30. #3 - went into collections October 2011. Balance is $2,356 All hospital debt, all (as far as we can tell) from the same ER visit. Here's my question - I want to just pay off #1 and #2 since they're tiny debts and I can pay them off. But I have gotten some advice saying since the collection agencies haven't contacted us about the debts, this might lead to trouble. I want to pay them off. is it a bad idea to send a letter to those 2 collection agencies requesting a pay-for-delete if I pay in full? If I do that, then they will have our contact information (at least our address). But will it even matter if they have our address since I'm contacting them to pay it all off? Should I send them a letter asking them to verify the debt before I request a pay-for-delete? If I do that, they'll still get my address. But if I pay it in full... who cares if they have our address, what are they going to come after us for? A debt we already paid? If I contact them via mail and pay off the debts, can they then give my contact information to debt #3? As far as I can tell, #1 and #3 are with the same collections agency, but they are based out of different offices in different towns. They are listed as 3 separate collections accounts on the credit report. What do I do? I want to get rid of the two smaller debts but I don't want to start any poo poo because right now, they're not contacting us at all, in any way. Everything I've read online only refers to situations where the collections agency is coming after you and how to get them to stop. They aren't coming after me. They are not contacting me at all. Is it a bad idea to contact them, even if it is to pay off the debts? It'll be years until these things fall off our credit report. I want to get this situation squared away but not if it is going to bite me in the rear end for trying to do the right thing (paying off the debt).
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Jan 28, 2014 22:17
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I'll just say this generically: it is common for medical collections to not report to credit bureaus, and then for the medical bills to go beyond the statute of limitations without any collection attempts. In those cases, contacting the collection agency can wake the dragon. But I also see medical collections go all Rambo on people for stupid debts, report to credit bureaus, and sue like crazy. It makes no business sense. A person will owe 8 different medical bills totalling $50k, and the $400 one will be the one that sues. You can't assume and take things for granted. Smaller bills are no problem. But if you're having trouble paying medical, and there has been zero collection activity, I'd check my credit report to see if it's even listed.
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Jan 29, 2014 03:37
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woozle wuzzle posted:I'll just say this generically: it is common for medical collections to not report to credit bureaus, and then for the medical bills to go beyond the statute of limitations without any collection attempts. In those cases, contacting the collection agency can wake the dragon. Typing this while knocking on wood, but I have some medical bills from four years ago that have never reported to any agency. I attempted to pay a couple of them and I couldn't even get in touch with anyone at the agency. Just adding as my personal experience.
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Jan 29, 2014 05:48
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woozle wuzzle posted:I'll just say this generically: it is common for medical collections to not report to credit bureaus, and then for the medical bills to go beyond the statute of limitations without any collection attempts. In those cases, contacting the collection agency can wake the dragon. They are listed on my husband's credit report. That's how we found out about them - obviously he knew about the debt because he went to the ER and was uninsured and got a bill for it, which he simply ignored. But he had no idea what the status of this debt was until we checked his credit report the other day and saw that it had been sent to multiple collection agencies. We aren't having trouble paying them since no one is asking us for money. They're negative things on his credit report that I was thinking about paying off and hopefully improving his credit a bit. Sounds like we don't want to touch these debts at all or make any contact. It's a shame the system is so whack that even when you try to do something right (pay the debt) you get screwed over. Oh well, we'll just go back to not caring 
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Jan 29, 2014 06:02
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I've had a certain debt shuffled around from collection agency to collection agency for years at this point, and whenever I sent a DV letter to one agency, another snaps it up. While I can easily pay it off, the last thing I want to do is reset the clock on it as its set to fall off early 2015. I filed a dispute yesterday online, which was "investigated" in around 6 hours and was found legitimate(should've read the thread, that was a waste of time) After sending a validation letter around a year ago to (at the time) current collector, they shifted it and put it on a new collector, who called me for the first time yesterday. This guy was a real scumbag, claiming they "sent me a letter a month ago" hich I never received / is most likely not true,and saying, "why aren't you just going to pay what you owe?? Should I wait until I receive actual written correspondence from them, or send a DV letter right away? I plan on making a paper trail this time so I can get this removed from my report. EDIT: I read this, which states, Within 5 days of the first communication with you, debt collectors must provide you with a written (or verbal) notice that contains: The amount of the debt The name of the creditor A statement noting the debt will be considered valid unless disputed within 30 days Notice that the debt collector will send a verification and validation of the debt if the request is made within 30 days During our conversation, the only thing that was mentioned to me was the name of the creditor. sleepness fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Feb 13, 2014 |
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Feb 13, 2014 20:03
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Send a DV. And pay it off if it's your debt.
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Feb 13, 2014 23:01
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Hi, I have a question about pay for deletes. I called about 3 negative items on my husband's credit report today. One he said was definitely his but the other two were fraudulent (someone used his name to get medical treatment, and it was physically impossible for him to be at that hospital the bills came from because he was in Army AIT at the time--and we have papers to prove that). One of the collectors for the medical bills agreed to delete the item, because he had called them before about it so there was already a long paper trail, and he told his story again today. They're sending us a deletion letter in the mail. Yay! The second collector for a separate medical bill--but from the same date when it would have been impossible for him to be in the state they occurred in--asked us to fax in his orders, etc. as proof so they could try to get it dropped with the original medical billing place. So we did that today. So, how long should we give them to respond? I asked that they send their response via US mail. Finally, the third account agreed to settle at 50% but they won't do a PFD. Should I call them back and offer more (offering more than 50% would only be about $200) if they can do a PFD? I would really rather have this disappear completely than have a "paid settled" on my husband's credit report. If they won't do a PFD, is it better to settle than to leave it just sitting not being paid? We still have a couple more to inquire about but I'm trying to deal with the easiest ones first, that aren't his with 100% certainty, to give his score a boost.
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Feb 14, 2014 01:05
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sleepness posted:I've had a certain debt shuffled around from collection agency to collection agency for years at this point, and whenever I sent a DV letter to one agency, another snaps it up. While I can easily pay it off, the last thing I want to do is reset the clock on it as its set to fall off early 2015. I filed a dispute yesterday online, which was "investigated" in around 6 hours and was found legitimate(should've read the thread, that was a waste of time) You don't have to wait for them to contact you before sending a debt validation. After that five days passes send them a polite form letter including a request to contact you only in writing, and let them know that calling you without sending a dunning letter within five days of first contact is a violation of the FDCPA. It's up to them to prove they sent it, not you to prove you didn't get it. Also, send your letter certified mail with a return receipt. A lot of companies will back off if you know your rights, or make it clear you're going to be a pain in the rear end. If this company continues to harass you, you can file a complaint with your state attorney general's office.
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Feb 14, 2014 01:27
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Hip Hoptimus Prime posted:Hi, I have a question about pay for deletes.
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Feb 14, 2014 04:31
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SiGmA_X posted:Why do you have to pay anything for ones that are fraud?! We aren't. Didn't I make that clear in my post? I said the one, they agreed to delete and they're sending us a delete letter. The second, they asked for proof that he couldn't have been in the same state at the time the medical bills happened. We sent it, and now we wait. Hopefully this one will also be deleted once they see rock solid proof that he was in another state. The third wasn't fraud, which I want to do a PFD for, if I can get them to agree.
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Feb 14, 2014 04:53
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Hip Hoptimus Prime posted:We aren't. Didn't I make that clear in my post? I said the one, they agreed to delete and they're sending us a delete letter.  When you said PFD initially, and then "agreed to delete the item" for the first...my mind went sideways.From what I've read, PFD's are a lot harder than some people make out. I had zero luck with them with a medical bill that went to a 'reputable' collection agency. Strictly speaking, PFD's aren't allowable under credit bureau agreements so the collection agency could lose their license, or whatever that is called. So only the most shady collectors will actually do PFD's. I wish you the best of luck with requesting and obtaining a PFD!
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Feb 14, 2014 05:05
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Thank you! The agency that agreed to do the PFD today said that if we paid in full, they would PFD it. That was before my husband called them back, went over the fraud in full detail and they deleted it without us paying. But surprisingly, the lady we talked to was super sweet. Like she wasn't at all abusive or acting like we were deadbeats, which we appreciated. I have another question. There's an account my husband stopped paying on from a jewelry store and it's listed as "transferred to another lender or claim purchased." However, there isn't any other item on his report for the same amount that looks like it's something in collections. Could we contact the original creditor in this case, since there doesn't seem to be anyone else to contact? I would really like to get all the ones that we can't get deleted, at least settled.
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Feb 14, 2014 05:23
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So, I live in Arkansas. Back in 2008,i accrued a medical debt while under the assumption I was covered under my mother's insurance. I was unable to pay the $4500 bill as an 18 year old, and moved several times between then and now. The hospital apparently hired a lawyer and sued me for the debt. I received no notification of the court date as they did not have my correct address. Yesterday (January 18th 2014) I received a writ of garnishment notice stating that my wages from my brand new job will be garnished. It feels like my only option is to file bankruptcy at this point, as I can in no way afford the garnishment. Is there anything else I can do?
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Feb 20, 2014 05:30
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Bankruptcy will kill the garnishment, and it's highly likely you'd get any garnished money back. My only caution is that there's an incentive for attorneys to push people into chapter 13's that don't belong in chapter 13. Chapter 7 is typically the best bet for some one in the vague situation you've described. Aside from that, one option is using state law protections to minimize the effect of the current garnishment, buying time to settle/pay/deal with it. Those options will depend highly upon your state. Specifically, each state has a set of exemption laws on what property is exempt from creditor collections (like they can't take your furniture, clothing, etc etc). If your state has an exemption for income up to a certain amount, by invoking that exemption you'll buy time up to that amount. But once they run over that amount, the garnishment kicks back in. You'd need to consult with a local attorney to determine if any of this is viable. Depending on your area, legal aid or social services might help provide this info? Outside of bankruptcy and state exemptions... I think you're left with paying it in full. With a garnishment latched on, no creditor will back off with anything less than full payment. Getting a loan or credit card to pay the $4500 could work, but then you're left with a monthly payment. It wouldn't shock me if the bill were nearly doubled now, due to attorneys fees, collection fees, interest, etc. And not to scare you, but just food for thought if you're weighing bankruptcy: once one garnishment sticks it's much easier for other creditors to sue and garnish. The hard part of finding your employer is now public record. You moved around so they couldn't find you, but now the beacon is lit. If you have other lingering debts that just haven't bothered to sue, they may line up on you if you clear the current garnishment through payment.
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Feb 20, 2014 06:05
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Thunderbutts posted:So, I live in Arkansas. Back in 2008,i accrued a medical debt while under the assumption I was covered under my mother's insurance. I was unable to pay the $4500 bill as an 18 year old, and moved several times between then and now. The hospital apparently hired a lawyer and sued me for the debt. I received no notification of the court date as they did not have my correct address. Yesterday (January 18th 2014) I received a writ of garnishment notice stating that my wages from my brand new job will be garnished. I would contact the court that the garnishment is filed through and see what your options are - whether it be setting up payment arrangements or filing an objection based on the fact that you were never served.
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Feb 21, 2014 19:31
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