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Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:16 pm Subject:

Not my money, Sue. Remember who you're talking to here...

But it chaps my Wulfish ass to see them pull this crap on

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:16 pm Subject:

ok. i'm putting a stop on debits from the account. wulf, thanks for the info on what type of lawyer. there's none in my area from that site. i'm going to check the phone book.

what a mess i'm in!

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:19 pm Subject:

Hey, many of us have been in that mess before you. And some were much deeper into it than you are. There is hope, and you've got us as backup.

Check my sig for an important message about validation.

Guest · Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 3:10 pm Subject:

I contacted the california DA and filed a complaint about the ca and tomorrow I'll contact the Mass DA and file a complaint also. I've contacted some lawyers and I'm just waiting for a callback.

Cellular · Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:44 pm Subject:

First, I would close the account.
Second, Paul Coleman is NOT licensed to practice law in California. So any judgement would not have been obtained by them. Check with your local and I mean local (as in your County) court and see if there was any case filed against you.
Third, the Statute of Limitation in Cal is 4 years so when was the last time you made a payment on this account.

Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 6:09 am Subject:

In addition to complaining to your DA you should also file complaints with your state Attorney General's office and the Federal Trade Commission.

Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 9:55 am Subject:

Cellular, last time I paid on this account was 11/2003. I just checked with the county court, no case has been filed against me. JCEMT I meant to say I the Attorney General, not the DA. I just filed with the Mass AG and filed a few days ago with the FTC.

Cellular · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 8:41 pm Subject:

If the last time you paid on this account is in 03 then the debt is beyond the statute of limitation.

So you are in the driver seat regarding this debt. Send them a validation letter stating that the SOL has expired and if they will provide the legally mandated info you will then and only then consider the validity of their claim.

Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:41 pm Subject:

I talked to a lawyer today. He laughed as I was telling him the story (especially when I got to the part of how they said they wouldn't validate my debt because they are a "law" office) and directed me to a lawyer who could help me deal with this collector. I'll be glad when this is over. He gave me some good info that lets me sleep at night. Time to go put the stop payment on my account or close it all together.

basically he said if they sue me, I tell the judge the SOL on this case has passed and then countersue them. He also said Mass has some strange laws when it comes to debt collection within their own state (that takes place of the federal debt collection laws) but as soon as they try to collect outside of Mass, they have to abide to the federal laws. Since I'm in California, their Mass laws don't apply to me. Lastly, he said a lot of lawyers own CA, but they have no idea what "their" CA's are doing. He said if this is indeed a lawyers office, once the lawyer found out this fiasco, this whole thing will end. Question, should I contact the Mass bar and report this "lawyer"?

Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:26 pm Subject:

Okay, I just found out the last time I paid on this account was 04/23/2004 (I called the credit counseling Svc I used to deal with). This makes the account not passed the SOL. What can I do if anything? I have not received the green slip that states the ca received my dv letter. I'm going to check online when I got home as to whether they received the letter yet.

Secondly, I received information from the AG of California and Mass. California AG just sent me a bunch of informative information on debt collection. The Mass AG said they were going to contact a mediator to work this out.

I did talk to a lawyer who said it's an issue that I sent the request for the dv letter after the 30 days. She has not taken my case yet. She instructed me to write a letter to the ca stating I was coerced into making a payment and I dispute the debt and demand proof of debt and accounting of debt and that they are not authorized to take any payment from my account.

Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:56 pm Subject:

I guess they have 12 days to file suit if they intend to do so. If they do file suit then just request validation during discovery, if they can't validate then motion to dismiss with prejudice.

Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 9:15 pm Subject:

well, now it's a waiting game to see what's going to happen.

Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2008 5:36 pm Subject:

I thought I'd post an update since this forum has been very helpful to me.

The CA received my dv letter with a statement to stop calling me on 04/08 and the letter that the lawyer instructed me to write that they are not authorized to take any money from my account with another request for a dv on 04/14.

So the week of 04/26 I received a phone call from the CA that went to the answering machine. The same week, I received a letter from MA Attorney General office that they had mediated the problem for me and sent me some letter stating a payment plan from the CA. Ha, I'm not agreeing to anything till I get a valid debt validation letter. So, I call the CA and tell them they had a written request from me to stop calling and that they were violating the law by calling me. They tried to say it was an automated call and they forgot to take my number off the system. then he tried to ask me about my pmts. I said I wrote a letter regarding that and I'm done with this call. He said they could fax me a dv letter I said whatever and hung up.

Today I get home and sitting on my fax are two letters from the CA (same letter twice, pretty much like the letter they sent me in the mail originally except they added that I'm paying them $100 at the end of the month) with some other original account # and other original creditor that has nothing to do with the initial letter they sent me they claim I owe. Probably they think I'll call back and say "hey, you put the wrong info down!" In fact, the original creditor they are saying they are collecting for in their so called debt validation letter, I paid that creditor in FULL and I have a receipt to prove it. As for the account number they are referring to, I have no idea. I've never had an assigned account number with that number from that creditor. They just hung themselves. I'm not calling them back. Ever. All their communication is supposed to be done with me thru the mail. I closed the account I had given them information on so I'm done with them. These fax letters are golden to me now! I'm so glad they finally made a mistake in writing!

Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 5:28 am Subject:

Give them time... If they made one written mistake, they'll likely make more. Document everything fully! No reason you shouldn't let them pay you for their folly.

Best of luck!

Michboo · Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 12:16 pm Subject: Law Office of Paul J Coleman

I'm having the same issue with this debt collector as well, only they're calling me weekly to collect on debts that belong to other people. I've filed officially with the FTC and filing with my state Comsumer Protection Agency and the Financial Regulations board. They threatened to send the sheriff to my house - which I told them that I didn't care if they did. I'm also filing a complaint with the better business bureau and MA has a Judicial Review Board for their attorneys. If this is a real attorney's office, then maybe everyone who is having issues with this company should also file a complaint with the MA Judicial Review Board.

Micheboo · Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 12:25 pm Subject: Paul J Coleman Law Office

ebyokuri - I just contacted the MA Attorney General's office and they said that they have had no complaints with this company and their records go back to 2005. Just FYI

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