What happens when the credit card debt goes to lawyers, I want to make payments, but am in no shape thanks to payday loans and the money withdrawn on my checking account, which is now closed. I feel like I am robbing Peter to pay Paul. I want to pay these debts off. I am looking for a part time job and that has not gotten very far as of late, it seems no one is hiring.

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It depends. Has the debt been charged off?

If the debt has not been charged off and the attorney is hired by the original creditor they do not have to follow the fdcpa and can therefor sue you without notice.

If it has been charged off and then sent to an attorney or a debt collector then an attorney they would have to follow the FDCPA and send you a dunning letter giving you 30 days to dispute the debt.

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Also unless you recently signed up for this credit card, the chances are slim it will go to a lawyer before charge off.

If this credit card was opened within the past few years, most likely there is an arbitration clause in it, giving up your rights to fight this in court.

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What is a charge off? They did send it to a law firm, it is a citibank card out of Sioux Falls SD, I am in Nebraska. I was in a debt consolidation and paid it down from 16,000. I went on some meds and went through a bad time, I did get it down to a little under $3000 before I went through my trying time. HELP

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hey Guest...I read the part in your post:

If it has been charged off and then sent to an attorney or a debt collector then an attorney they would have to follow the fdcpa and send you a dunning letter giving you 30 days to dispute the debt.


so, if the OC Charged off, sent it to a ca, they have to or are supposed to send a dunning letter that then lets you DV them?? If it's a have to, is there case law to support that or what? if so, how do you prove you didn't get anything? Or how do they prove you got one, I don't see how unless it was sent cert, UPS, or fedex.....hmmm...

I'm just interested...Thank you

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the law firm sent me a letter that they are collecting on debt and I need to call them. does this make sense?

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Spere, under the FDCPA a consumer has 30 days to dispute the validity of a debt. If they never contact you in writing and sue you, that violates your rights. Bringing a consumer to court is not considered an initial communication. That is why they must first contact you in writing with the 30 day disclosure and after that can proceed to file suit if you fail to reply or dispute.

I must clarify on one part that I think I am wrong about. If a debt is in default but not charged off, I still think they must give you 30 days to dispute UNLESS it is an employee of the original creditor.


To mjanssen, does this letter have a 30 day disclosure saying you can dispute the letter? I am just trying to see if this is the first time you have been contacted by these people. Either way, do not call them, you need to send a debt validation letter within the 30 days certified mail return receipt requested. Do not sign the letter only type your name. Use this as a template:

Your Name
Your Address
CITY/Town, STATE ZIPCODE

Date: March 9, 2005



Collection Agency Name
Address
CITY/Town, STATE ZIPCODE

Re: Acct Ref. # XXXXX and XXXXX

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is being sent to you in response to a alleged debt. Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.

This is NOT a request for verification or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you
.
What I need you to provide as the debt validation is as follows:
1. What the money you say I owe is for;
2. Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
3. Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;
4. Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
5. Identify the original creditor;
6. Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account
7. Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state
8. Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent
9. Proof that the collection company owns the debt/or has been assigned the debt. (You are legally entitled to collect this particular debt from me.) This is basic contract law.
10. Complete payment history, starting with the original creditor. (I need to have proof of my payment history with original Creditor, what the amount of the debt was when the creditor assigned the debt to your company, and what fees/interest has been tacked on to this debt and how you/they determined these fees.) This requirement was established by the case Fields v. Wilber Law Firm, Donald L. Wilber and Kenneth Wilber, USCA-02-C-0072, 7th Circuit Court, Sept 2004..
11. Copy of the original signed loan agreement or credit card application. (My contract with the original creditor establishing the debt between us.) This is also basic contract law.

At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureau's (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent

I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:
1. Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
2. Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
3. Defamation of Character

If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following declaration, I will require at least 30 days investigating this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist.

Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel for suit. This includes any listing any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is.
If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately.

It would be advisable that you assure that your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action.



Best Regards,

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Also for the other question on what a charge off is go to this site and it will give you some insight on it...

answers.com/topic/charge-off

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:cry: never heard of a dv letter til came upon this site. I did receive a letter from a law firm representing a West Lake Financial Grp. I thought it was a fishing letter to get me to acknowledge a long past debt & did not respond to it. The 30 day period would have expired on 12/14.
Now what can or should I do? They are trying to serve a summons on me & have a court date set up. Please advise as to what I can do.

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deekay...Just because you didn't respond to that initial letter, it doesn't make the debt valid, like the letter probably stated. ("If you don't respond, we will consider the debt valid."yada-yada-yada, or some such wording.

Go to the FDCPA site and read some of the laws regarding initial contact, summons, etc.

What state are you in?
How do you know they are trying to serve a summons on you?

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am in Missouri--saw the summons info on casenet much to my surprise! do I just type in FDCPA to get to the site??
Thanks for responding

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When you get to the FDCPA....Scroll to page 12 (c)

LOL! Sometimes ya don't WANNA see yer name on the web, eh?

I don't know anything about Mo. laws, sorry.

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if I go to a lawyer for a consultation can he turn me in?? Is the info to him confidential? And am I admitting I owe all of the amt. the collection co. is stating??

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if I go to a lawyer for a consultation can he turn me in?? Is the info to him confidential? And am I admitting I owe all of the amt. the collection co. is stating??

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okay...so if a CA never sends you anything...then files suit, it violates your rights? So do you countersue them for it? I thought since they filed suit already, my only option was to DV through the discovery process? I can still do that too right...the burden of proof is on them correct?

groovy....Thank you

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Legally, initial communication can be oral or written. Had you received calls from them previously? Also,found this researching the topic:

Thomas v. Law Firm of Simpson & Cybak, et al., No. 02-1113 (7th Cir. 12/20/04).

After reading the entire case, the 7th Circuit court stated that a legal summons CAN be construed as initial contact.



You will have to go thru the discovery process for validation and you are correct that the burden of proof is on them but if you are using the affirmative defense of SOL you would have to prove that as well.

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