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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:14 pm Subject: not sure what to do now

My husband just got a letter in the mail today about an old debt that he never paid. It was for around $3200 on a four wheeler he bought that got repossessed about 3 years ago. Anyways, the collection agency wanted to settle the account for $900 but we don't have the money to pay the lump sum so we kinda ignored it. Well today we got a letter stating that this account is now being handled by some law firm and that we must contact them to dispute the validity of the debt or they will assume it is a valid debt. What exactly is going to happen now? I'm not sure if we should or shouldn't contact them.

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:24 pm Subject:

You need to send a certified/return receipt requested debt validation letter so that the debt can be validated. There are samples for this letter in the diy section.

Others will be along shortly to advise you further.

ladybug

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:30 pm Subject:

Good advice from ladybug....act quickly on this! Have them validate the debt..do this in writing.

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:31 pm Subject:

..forgot to ask, who is the collection agency?

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:30 pm Subject:

The collector is the law offices of mitchell n. kay, P.C. in smithtown NY. I don't know anything about them. I will go ahead and send a validation letter to them and see what happens. I've never personally had to deal with this kind of situation so I'm not sure what to expect.

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 4:40 am Subject:

Try typing "mitchell n. kay" into the search box at the top/right corner of this page, then read what comes up. They don't have a very good rep. As others have said, demand validation as your first step.

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 5:30 am Subject:

This is a excerpt from Texas consumer advocate Bud Hibb's website:

Lawyer Mitch Kay is also involved with Plaza Associates and MKM Acquisitions. His organizations have a bad reputation for FDCPA and FCRA violations. They hire under-trained semi-desperate collectors who are hell-bent on a paycheck at any cost. I suggest that you give them the boot via the FREE cease-comm letter. You need not worry about their threats of a lawsuit, Kay likely hasn't seen a court-room since law school.

jheard · Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 8:56 am Subject:

Write them a letter disputing the debt. Check the statute of limitations in your state. Most states are 4 years for a written contract. Also, by repossessing the vehicle, they may have made an "election of remedies", which means they chose the vehicle over the balance due.

I would also wait to see if they sue you. $3200 is not a large amount of money. If the lawfirm is out of state, it is unlikely they will sue. Do not make any payments or any statements affirming the debt, as you may reset the statute of limitations clock.

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 9:50 am Subject:

I believe the statute of limitations in my state (SC) is 10 years Sad

But from what my husband was saying, he bought the vehicle for $3500 and paid on it for a year before he defaulted and it got reposessed. So I'm wondering why the balance would be that high after a year of payments... plus THEY have the vehicle, not us. That should have at least covered some of the balance due.
I am sending out a letter for validation today to see if they respond. My question now is, if they ARE able to validate the debt, what happens then?

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:48 am Subject:

Wait to see if they can validate first. Then we'll take it from there.

Credithis · Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 12:08 pm Subject: The SOL in SC is only 3 years!!

DV send it CMRR, the SOL in SC is only 3 years!!!

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 4:35 pm Subject:

What can happen is that they will sell it and then you will owe the balance if they did not get the full amount that you owed at the time of repo. Then on top of that it could have 3 years of interest added on to that. But like JCEMT posted, wait until they validate before you do anything.

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 6:47 pm Subject:

But shouldn't they have tried to sell it 3 years ago when it was reposessed? That's what I don't understand. Also, I keep finding different information on the SOL in SC. Some show 3 years, some show 10 years. Does anyone know where I can find a definite answer to this? It has definitely been over 3 years now.

Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 7:59 pm Subject:

Have a look at the South Carolina Attorney General's website. Probably under 'consumer protection/affairs' or something similar. If all else fails and nobody else steps up, one of the brothers is a cop in SC. I could ask him to find out for you, but I can't reach him until sometime next week.