I DON'T BELIEVED THEY SERVED US.IT WAS SO LONG AGO
WE WERE UNAWARE OF THE JUDGEMENT UNTIL IT SHOWED
UP FOUR YEARS AFTER IT WAS FILED.
THEY REPRESENT FIRST SELECT WHO COLLECTED FOR PROVIDIAN AND OTHER CREDIT CARDS.
I AM LOOKING FOR ANY CLASS ACTIONS AGAINST ANY OF THESE PARTIES IN REGARDS TO PROOF OF SERVICE.I BELIEVE
THEY FAKED PROOF OF SERVICE AND OTHERS WERE SUCKER
PUNCHED THE WAY WE WERE.
I ALSO THINK WE NEED TO CHANGE THE PHILOSOPHY AND PROCESS ALOWED IN COLLECTION PRACTICES TO LEVEL THE
PLAYING FIELD.
THEY WERE REASONABLY BAD BEFORE THE BUSH DE-REGULATIONS BUT NOW THEY ARE BIZZARRO WILD WEST!
THERE REALLY HAS TO BE A LIMIT ON THE USURY AND ALSO
THE JUDGEMENTS THAT CAN BE ENTERED

I think it is fraud. Just dont get trap and pay something you dont belong to.

This is what I have sent to them and other agents or agency that have tried to extort funds. This is proven that they will
not bother you again.

A Friend.

August 4, 2009 Certified Mail:

Michael S. Hunt
Janalie Henriques
Attorneys at Law
101 Bernal Road Suite 8
San Jose, CA 95119-1306

RE: PUT IN NAME OF CREDIT CO &
Account No.

Dear Mr. Michael Hunt & Janalie Henriques:

This letter is in response to your ???presentment??? to YOUR NAME dated July 24, 2009.

It can be proven that YOUR NAME never entered into any lawful and binding agreement with NAME OF CREDIT CO., or any of its agents or assigns.

Your claims of the necessity of payment of any type by YOUR NAME are false and unwarranted. Any further attempted contact whatsoever with Your name will be met with an immediate filing of criminal charges including but not limited to violations of California harassment, stalking, and libel laws.

Respectfully,

YOUR NAME

I received a letter from Hunt&Henriques about three months for a debt from Citibank
for $2300. that i owed which stated they will file a lawsued if i would not pay. I been working with Fidelity Debt Solutions who almost guaranteed they would not filed. They were wrong i received a Summons which i have to answer within 30 days and i have to paid a $205.00 fee just to answer to the court. Meanwhile weird I received
another letter from Hunt&Henriques asking me to settle for a final payment of $1495.00 before we go to court!!.Now my suppose Fidelity Debt Solution program that I am in said that they would try to lower that payment?? I dont know about this company!! But i will settel for this amount.

Quote:

I tried the letter....it didn't work. They are still calling and sending someone around to serve papers. Now what??

If they take you to court, fight it. Make sure you file a Motion for Discovery (ask the court how). This is where they have to spell it out and prove that the debt is yours and they have the legal right to collect it.
See: "http://www.nedap.org/hotline/court.html" for details on the civil court process.

Also see "http://www.nedap.org/hotline/defenses.html" for a list of common defenses. Note especially Defense #7 in your case. It is for New York and so may vary in minor details with your state. For the proper forms, Google your local county civil court. If they are not helpful, try the state court.

I just received my first phone call from these guys--Molly De Berl or something. How long from first call to being served with papers?? Anyone know? We are working on solutions...but nothing for a couple of weeks. Thanks!

They are required to send you a dunning letter detailing the debt and how to dispute it within 5 days of initial contact.

Thanks for the information. The debt is over 4 years old for the state of California, hence I believe it is past the statute of limitations. I never received any debt validation information from them; just a dunning bill that says pay "x" amount or we will sue you. My understanding is that this "law firm" buys old debts and bullies people into paying an outrageous amount beyond the actual debt. The won't send any validation info., just a bill and demand to pay along with serving papers for a suit. They have violated the rules of conduct and of non-harrassment.

In reponse to Lost, I think you should talk to a good lawyer who specializes in consumer credit/debt matters. The first consultation should be free and you will know exactly what your options are. I am a lawyer, but I don't specialize in creditor/debtor matters, though I have done plenty of work in this area.
While I can't give you specific legal advice on this type of forum, I can tell you that you are correct in that applicable statute of limitations for breach of a written contract in California is 4 years from the date of breach. I don't know what type of debt this arises from, but assuming it is for some type of consumer credit, like a credit card or other installment agreement, it would be based on a written contract. Calculating the exact date when the statute expires can be a bit tricky, but normally it goes back to the date when you first defaulted by failing to make the required payment. It is NOT 4 years from the date the debt was incurred (ie. the purchase)Howerver, be careful, because if you subsequently make any payments, each payment restarts the the 4 year clock! This is to allow a creditors time to make an agreement with you to pay over time, without worring that you will just stop paying after the 4 years expires. So, one of the sneaky tactics that slimy collection firms/agencies use is, 1) they buy old (essentially worthless) debts for pennies on the dollar, and 2) they try to get a payment from the debtor - any payment, because if you send them even 1 dollar towards this old debt, you have inadvertently restarted the 4 year statute of limitations again, so even if they couldn't sue you before, now they can. Sometimes their tactic are deceptively nice, "just send us $10 and we'll get you on an affordable payment plan. We'll work with you!" Others will try to threaten you into making any payment to restart the clock.

All collection agencies, and lawyer/firms which handle collecion cases, are subject to state and federal laws governing their practices. As another poster correctly stated, you have 30 days to demand written verification or proof of the underlying debt, from the date you receiver their inital dunning letter. Your demand for verification must be in writing, not over the phone, and you should send it certified, return receipt, so you can prove you sent it and exactly when they received it! Once they receive your written demand for proof of the original debt, they must stop all further attempts to collect from you, UNTIL they provide you with written proof of that debt, or they are in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices laws. If they failed to notify you of these rights in their first dunning letter, they have again violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices laws. The penalties for violation of the FDCPA can be very stiff, certainly enough to scare the crap out of the the collectors. Lawyers are also subject to dicipline by their State Bar. Please review the web sites below and if you believe they have violated these laws, you should have no trouble finding a good lawyer to sue them for these violations, on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you would not have to pay any attorney's fees, unless and until your lawyers actually collected from the collectors. :)

For specific information on the Federal and California Fair Debt Collection Practises Acts, please check these sites to start your research:

California Attorney General http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/general/collection_agencies10.php

Federal Trade Commission Info
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre18.shtm

And if you really want the details, the full text of the federal statutes is here
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf

If you are reasonably sure that the 4 year statute of limitations has expired, and this law firm is still trying to collect from you, you have at least 3 options:

1) Do nothing. Most importantly, don't make a payment, no matter how small, or you will restart the statute of limitations. If they do sue you, which is unlikely if they realize the satute has expired, then you will need to file an Answer in court within 30 days of being served, making a general denial and asserting the statue of limitations has expired. It's a good idea to get a lawyer at this stage, since the may be able to defend you successfully and bring a claim on your behalf against the bad guys;

2) Fight on your own. Often a well written letter from you, demonstating that you are aware of your rights under the FDCPA, and itemizing their violations of it, is enough to force them to just stop breaking the law, and never bother you again. If you write to them, be polite, and professional. Remember, you are really writing to the judge, and you want them to know that you are making a record for the judge, who is going to decide their fate by looking at their conduct and well as yours. If you have previously demanded verification of the alleged debt, I would start by documenting that you have previously demanded but have not received written proof of the alleged debt from them, in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practises Act (15 USC Section 1692g). Do your researce on the various violations, then simply go through as itemize each violation, including that the statute of limitations has expired, and therefore, their threat to sue you is a fraudulent missrepresentation (also another violation of FDCPA). Close with a short statement asking them to immediately stop all further collection efforts and advise them that if they take any further steps to collect from you and/or to damage your credit or reputation, you will turn the matter over to your attorney to pursue your remedies under the FDCPA and file complaints with the Cal. Attorney General, Federal Trade Commision and Cal State Bar.

3) Consult with a lawyer (or better yet, several). If you can document the facts regarding the alleged debt, and each of your contacts with the collectors, with dates and specific acts, it will make it much easier for the lawyer to evaluate your case and give you your options. The easier you make it for your lawyer to defend you and to build a case against the collectors, the more likely it is that he/she will agree to represent you without charging you any fees or costs up front. Additionally, once your lawyer has contacted them, they can't bother you directly anymore, they have to deal with your lawyer (yup, that another violation).

Hope this helps, good luck!

WARNING: LEGAL DISCLAIMER. The foregoing is neither intended, nor should it be relied upon, as legal advice. Your legal rights and duties are unique and can only be evaluated by a qualified licensed attorney, based on your specific facts and circumstances.