Heard back from attorney on CACH .....

When you go to the court, show your paystub and all other sources of your income to the judge so that he can fix a payment plan for you. Take copies of your debt validation letter sent to the CA. The judge will be convinced that you were never avoiding the repayments. You wanted to be sure of dealing with the right company having your account. Have you verified the case with the county clerk? You need to file your answers with the court.

Well that's the whole thing, when i recieved the citaton, i was naive and didn't even realize it meant i was being sued. I even called CACH immediately and asked them about this citaton. Troy told me, if i was willing to settle this debt that day, they would not sue me! He decieved me, being naive, by not telling me that a citaton WAS in fact a suit! Stupid on my part, i know, but i believed him! CACH was quite the opposite of most of these CA's, they were quiet, they were sneaky, they NEVER pestered me, as a matter of fact i NEVER recieved one piece of mail from them in all this time! The only times i spoke to them on the telephone was when "I" called them! They layed low, like a snake, and waited out their time then hit me with their venom. Not much I can do now but hope the judge allows me to make monthly payments and learn a VERY valuable lesson! I'll be paying back over $12,000 on a $4,000 debt and i'll have a judgement on my credit report. Although, obviously my credit sucks already from this charge off!

Did they answer your first validation letter? They can't answer a request for validation with a summons. Use discovery. Ask how they calculated $12,000 from a $4000 debt and to show you in full detail. Tell the judge that you have repeatedly tried to settle the debt, but CACH refused.

No LawStudent they have NEVER sent me even one piece of mail about this account! I've sent them 3 DV letters and numerous other attempts to try and settle this account. I've never denied owing the debt, just the amount, which I now have in full. I've been saving what I offered to pay them monthly back in Nov 2005 and now have enough to pay off the initial debt but of course now they want 3 times that! I, personally think they did this on purpose to get more money. They've known all along I was willing to work with them!! All calls and letters on this matter have come from me, I've never heard nor recieved anything from them! Chalk it up as life lesson I guess and see what the judge has to say about it all.
I'm still scared though! Court intimidates me! :(

For a start, they've already broken the law by not sending you some letter within 5 days of first contacting you according tho the fdcpa. You only had a year to sue though. If they want to go to trial, things look rather favorable for you it seems to me. You're right, they're trying to rip you off.

LawStudent, i am NOT interested in suing them. All I want is to pay back what I rightfully owe, not 3 times that amount but that may be exactly what happens! A life lesson learned, i guess....
What are the chances that the judge will allow me to set up some sort of re-payment plan as i've wanted to do since Nov 2005???

Ang,sometimes it takes your threat of sueing them on their wrongdoing to force settlement.If you desire to settle a debt without the legal proof of how it is calculated and proof that it is legally collectable,that is entirely your right.

But the way I understand it, it's beyond that point Cajun, (btw, i'm cajun too) Being naive and trusting CACH and trusting their word, I screwed up by NOT answering the citaton to the courts but to them instead.... another long story.... aren't they all? I think this attorney is supposed to get back to me tomorrow, am hoping anyway....

Oopps that was me, I forgot to sign in or put my name!
Ang