I recieved what look like court papers in the mail today from asset acceptance llc for Home Depot. This is in my husbands name, and he is disabled and out of work. I have 4 children and cannot imagine what the heck this is about. I cannot remember having a bill from HD come to the house, and now this! We have no money, Christmas around the corner, and I cannot sleep from worrying.
What can they do to us? HELP!!
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[quote=Guest]I recieved what look like court papers in the mail today from asset acceptance llc for Home Depot. This is in my husbands name, and he is disabled and out of work. I have 4 children and cannot imagine what the heck this is about. I cannot remember having a bill from HD come to the house, and now this! We have no money, Christmas around the corner, and I cannot sleep from worrying.
What can they do to us? HELP!![/quote]
It's a violation of Federal law for a collection agency to send you anything that looks like court papers, unless they're actually court papers. I kinda doubt it in this case. It's a common scare tactic collectors use. You can check to see if those are real court papers by calling the court clerk's office.
Read this about Asset Acceptance. Also do a search on this site for them. They are among the lowest of the low.
The four 'no's of dealing with collectors:
No validation? No payment. No way! No kidding!!
Tellin' you all the zomby troof
Here I'm is, the zomby woof
[Frank Zappa, 1988 - R.I.P.]
So, should I call them? Should I also call the county clerk? They claim to have filed here in suffolk, there is a Nassau county lawyer name on them, and it is notarized in michigan? You don;t think they are real court papers? Why would they do this to us?
I'm so confused, and I'm afraid they will try to freeze our accounts and I won't be able to pay the mortgage (that we are barely making as it is!)
I'm truly terrified over this whole thing. This is like a nightmare.
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I don't know if they're real court papers of not. I haven't seen them. I do know that the whole deal sound fishy to me. Note that I'm not a legal expert. Seems to me that if they were actually suing, there'd have been dunning letters, phone calls, etc., first. I do know that they can't freeze your accounts without first obtaining a judgement.
I don't think the county clerk is gonna be your ticket. They usually deal with things like deeds and marriage licenses, at least in the places where I've lived. You want to talk to someone at the clerk-of-court's office. They're the folks that handle papers, schedule cases on the docket, all like that.
I find it odd that the papers would be notarized in Michigan... I'm assuming you mean Michigan the state, right? I don't find any listing of a city/county by that name in your area. I did find that Asset Acceptance has some doin's in Warren. Michigan, though. Seems like if they were actually suing you out of that office, they'd have filed with a court there....
As to why they'd do this to ya... Did you read the linked material in my first reply? Did you see the bit in my reply about scare tactics? They obviously want to collect money from you, that's their reason for existence. If they can make you run scared, their task becomes enourmously easier. Scared people often make mistakes.
I wouldn't call them, at least until you're certain f what you're actually dealing with. Hang in here for a bit, and look for a reply from a fellow called Hockeyman. Hopefully, he'll see this when he's on next.
The four 'no's of dealing with collectors:
No validation? No payment. No way! No kidding!!
Tellin' you all the zomby troof
Here I'm is, the zomby woof
[Frank Zappa, 1988 - R.I.P.]
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Credits: 368.55 Send message to Proud2bamericangirl
How would I know if I had a judgement? This says "consumer credit transaction". It is in the state of Michigan, and it was filed there. The lawyer that is named is located in Nassau County, NY.
I read the link you gave me (thank you!) and it does show that this company is nasty. I know they want money, but this is a horrible way to do things.
Do you think I should try to just bypass these collection people and call Home Depot?
I am very confused by this letter and I'm scared for my family. Could they try to take our home? Our mortgage is completely up to date on payments, (and that's being done by magic tricks and loads of pasta dinners) so I'm hoping they can't do that!
I'm sorry for sounding so ignorant-I'm just really frightened by this!
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I'm positive they can't try to take your home over a retail account. Nor can you be arrested, or much of the other scarey things they may threaten you with. For them to try taking your home, there would have to be a lien or mortgage against it specifically. Are they threatening that?
The four 'no's of dealing with collectors:
No validation? No payment. No way! No kidding!!
Tellin' you all the zomby troof
Here I'm is, the zomby woof
[Frank Zappa, 1988 - R.I.P.]
Posts: 9
Credits: 368.55 Send message to Proud2bamericangirl
No-It's not an actual "letter". It just says consumer credit transaction and then the next page says he's summoned to appear but the date is September 11th 2007. Why would I get this now, and does that mean it was filed then? My husband was hospitalized the following week, so he wouldn't have been abled to appear anyway (he was in the ICU!) but I never recieved anything before now!
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The first thing I would do is to send a validation letter to the attorney certified return mail. Next check with the court to see if this is a real case or only their imagination. Go to the New York Unified court system web site and check out their rules of civil procedure on service process.
Keeping an eye out for consumers.
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm#809
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcrajump.shtm
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com.../about216.html
Use this letter to protect your rights under the FDCPA
myfairdebt.com & myfaircredit.com-Good source of case law in forums.
Posts: 3112
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I think this is the right section of the website.
The four 'no's of dealing with collectors:
No validation? No payment. No way! No kidding!!
Tellin' you all the zomby troof
Here I'm is, the zomby woof
[Frank Zappa, 1988 - R.I.P.]
Posts: 3112
Credits: 31424.6 Send message to unclewulf
Also, a court appearance date of Sept. 11? Isn't this December where you live? What is the date on the postmark on the envelope it came in?
The four 'no's of dealing with collectors:
No validation? No payment. No way! No kidding!!
Tellin' you all the zomby troof
Here I'm is, the zomby woof
[Frank Zappa, 1988 - R.I.P.]
Posts: 9
Credits: 368.55 Send message to Proud2bamericangirl
What is a validation letter? I'm sorry-I am so beyond ignorant in this matter. Is it asking them to prove they have a case? Or a valid claim for money?
Thank you so much for having patience!
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