Ok, so I owe for credit cards, house, vehicles, etc. (I deal with the mortage lender as it is local and they do everything they can to help me) I'm 2.5 months behind on my car, but still making payments every month to keep it from being repo'd.
I've quit answering my phone because CA's (for the CC's) and GMAC (for the vehicle) keep calling, and I was tired of being called a liar and constantly harassed about bills that I would love to pay, if only I had some money to do it with! (personally, I think that feeding and keeping a roof over my child's head should come before paying on credit cards - so sue me...but wait! they already did!)
Anyway, the other day some guy called and left a message that he was from some law firm and he had a case against me for "Failure to Comply".
Am I required to talk to these people? I know I have to give them valid contact info, but does that mean I have to actually communicate with them when they have shown no sign of wanting to work things out?
Or is this just about my not paying them?
Has anybody heard of this?

HELP!

(Sorry if I sound a little witch-y. I just don't know what to do with these people)

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It sounds like a scare tactic to me. You are not required to talk to anyone, you can even stop them from hounding you (The collectors, not the original creditors). But beware that they may sue you.

I agree %100 you need to feed and house your child.

Figure out what you can afford to pay each month and start sending payment arrangement letters, stating your situation and how much you can pay each month on the account. Send these letters certified mail, return receipt. That way you can show a judge you were making an effort to meet your obligations but that it wasn't enough for them.

Make sure that you demand validation from any that are collectors, so you can be sure who has the right to collect and how much.

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Also, make sure that it was an actual law firm that called. The first time Il-Legal Mediation Mal-Practice contacted me, they used those exact same words: there was a case against me filed at their firm.

LMP was no more a law firm than I'm Britney Spears.

And I would do exactly as GoldenBast suggested, DV every CA that contacts you. Make sure the amount of the debt they are trying to collect on is correct and they are even authorized to be collecting on that debt.

As for the "failure to comply" comment? If I had a dollar for ever CA that told me they were going to mark me down as "refused to pay" when I was unemployed and had no money to pay, or some other such nonsense, I would have been able to pay back all my debts. And then some.

I told one CA, when they threatened me with that, they could mark it down as me telling them to kiss my @$$ for all I care!

Also, check your state laws regarding any laws that do apply to the original creditor. The fdcpa only applies to CA's; however, your state may have laws in place that are applied to OC's.

Florida (my state) has the "Fair Consumer Collection Practices Act" and reads a great deal similar to the FDPCA and is applied to OC's as well as CA's.

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Sorry Meg. Daddy loves ya, but Daddy also loves Star Trek, and in all fairness, Star Trek was here first.
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