Info on summons, being sued by Erin Capital

Hi welcome to the forums! They are in violation of the fdcpa. File a complaint immediately with the FTC and the Maryland Attorney General against them. They were required by law to respond and to validate that debt within thirty days. Make sure you show up in court with that letter and a copy of the complaint and deny everything. There is a good chance they may not even show up. If you can afford aan attorney go to www.naca.com and find a lawyer with expertise in this area and sue them. What state do you live in? What was the name of the law firm so I can try to find out more about them? It is good that you have some time before your date.

Frogpatch is right. If you can prove you sent a validation request to them, and they never responded, then they have violated the fdcpa.

You will also get some more information once you recieve the summons. Then you will know for sure who it is that is suing you.

Thanks for your response. Although I think the debtor might be Providian I am not sure. I filed for bankruptcy back in 1991 and received several letters, etc. after my case was dismissed. I was wondering if this case was something regarding that. Additionally, the law firm sent my letter to me at an address at which I have never lived. The ironic thing, the person that had my phone number before me lived at the incorrect addy, and I get collection calls for him all of the time.

I am just trying to cover all of my bases. I did contact a few attorneys when I received the original letter because I had read about Erin and the things they pull with the lawsuits so I wanted to be prepared. But no firm was willing to represent me, maybe because nothing illegal had transpired yet.

Will keep you posted as I will need assistance when responding to my summons. I am located in the state of MD, will I be served in person or receive notice in the mail?

Thanks again, appreciate your help. :-)

PS: the name of the law firm is Thieblot, Ryan, Miller & Hrehorovich, P.A., Attorneys at Law, 401 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202-3091

Thanks again

Hi again, I keep trying to submit this but it isn't working. I wanted to let you all know that when I received original debt collection ltr from law firm in Baltimore, it stated that no attorney had reviewed my case. I believe this is illegal practice and found my info via ripoff report but am wondering if this is just applicable for NY or for MD as well?

"Debt Collection Letters Sent by Law Firms Without Attorney Review Violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. On May 10, 2005, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York held that law firms that send debt collection letters on behalf of debt collection agencies violate the fdcpa when those letters are automatically generated without individualized attorney review of the facts of the case. Reade-Alvarez v. Eltman, Eltman & Cooper, P.C., No. 04-CV-2195-ILG (E.D.N.Y. 2005). The court found that sending form letters on firm letterhead to collect debts violated the FDCPA because it created an impression that attorneys had reviewed the matter and were familiar with the case, when in fact there had been no attorney review. The FDCPA requires ???????some degree of attorney involvement" in the letter, ???????including direct control or supervision of the process through which the letter is sent." The court, however, dismissed as not actionable under the FDCPA plaintiffs' claim that the use of form letters amounted to the unauthorized practice of law by the debt collection agency as the firm's ???????alter ego."

Thanks again for all of the help, I appreciate it and am feeling better now. :-)

Well i'm not sure about the suit part on your end but i can say that i also was sued and had sent out many many dv letters none being answered.... now where i went wrong, TOTALLY wrong was by NOT answering the summons! This is very important for u to do and i'm thinking u can put something in your answer about the debt never being validated!
Good luck,
Ang

thanks, I do know that I definitely need to answer the summons. I just hope it is sent to correct address, the letter from the attorney which I received in June was sent to an address which I never had. Thus I am wondering if this debt is even mine? I've read about shady tactics of Erin. We shall see but I do understand I need to respond and I will. I have no problem working out payment plan to pay off my debt. However I will not tolerate my rights being violated under any circumstances!

Also just so u know, i don't think there is a 30 day rule for a CA to validate ur debt.... it says they may not continue collections until validated but of course they do... So send it that way when u get ur summons this could be a defense for u. Debt never validated.
Good Luck,
Ang

if they sue you are they not continuing debt collections? I just want this to be over and hope that I can do what I need to. I am no expert but again I will not tolerate abuse. I admit this debt might be mine but without the validation I do not know as I receive tons of calls from the previous "owner" of my phone number who happens to own the address that my original collection letter was sent to. Don't you think that is just a little ironic?

Thanks again and good evening all

Well good point about suing still being collecting but i guess that's when the refusal to validate the debt comes into play.... And of course that is just a guess...
ANd u definately want to get this debt validated and make sure this is yours!
Good Luck,
Ang

Check your state law for a start. It is important that you send an answer to the summons, and I would wend a follow up to your letter of validation as a part of the discovery phase of the case.

Hello Law Student, thanks for your response. Can you please clarify what I am checking my state law for? Also, you say to send a follow up to my letter of validation, are you suggesting that I send another letter to the law firm? Sorry for these questions, just confused and want to make sure I do the right thing. Thanks

Yes if u look in under do it yourself of this forum u will find a follow up dv letter.... I'm thinking LS wants u to look up the law on validation in ur state as each state is different.
And as he stated u can use this in discovery in your answer to your summons. (the follow-up dv letter)
Good Luck,
Ang

thanks Ang, will check out the letter and validation law in state of MD.

Ang (or someone else) can you please tell me exactly where the follow up letter is? I've done a search and can't find it. Thanks for helping

Here ya go:
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/letters/sample7.html
Good Luck,
Ang

Hi - if anyone can help - I am in the process of purchasing a home and on my credit report from 2004 is something for this Erin Capital .. the status is reported as unknown .. if I try to contact them and find out the status, will I be opening a can of worms? or will they even respond to me? It is for an amount, like the others I have read that isn't familiar to me, and I believe - because she has the same name as I do - that they garnished my MOTHER'S wages instead of mine! (She didn't even question anything they did - another story)

Thanks!