Sued by Erin, need help

Good luck Guest. I found a website that kinda referred to this. creditinfocentercom. Just do a search for debt validation. It's the first result tha comes up. Also, the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act talks about this. You can google them and probably find what you're looking for.
So you have asked for your debt to be validated and they haven't done this? I'd keep trying, but, what you have may help you better than if they actually did validate the debt. Who knows, if they've violated the law, the fdcpa, etc, the judge may go easier on you. As a matter of fact, (I'm not a lawyer) I believe you can sue THEM! if they violate certain laws.
I wish you all the best with this. Keep us posted. I'm going through some hassles myself. As soon as I realized it's not the end of the world, etc etc, I wasn't scared anymore. Because of that attitude it's been much easier dealing with all this. I didn't say I wasn't concerned, but I'm absolutely not going to let this consume me anymore.

Good luck to you!

Goin Deep

Did u recieve a citaton? Well that's waht it's called here... are there questions for u to answer? If so u need to make SURE to answer these before the time is up and send ur answers to the court house and attys.
If that's what u have let me know and i can show u an example of what i found here on how to answer it.
Good Luck,
Ang

Hi Ang, I received a summons which I think is the same as a citation. My main question is, since I had sent the debt validation ltr back in June via certified mail, and the law firm continued w/the lawsuit, is this not illegal per the fdcpa (that all collection activities are to cease until the creditor provides requested documentation)? It is my debt and I have to pay (stupid on my part I know) but did the law firm not violate my rights? I would take them to court and sue them after I pay my debt just to prove a point.
Any info is appreciated, thank you!

I'm a bit confused by the debt validation also... although i have read the law about it, i also was sued by someone who hadn't validated my debt... but being naive i didn't answer the citaton so they won by default. Now had i answered maybe i could have used that as a defense...
Good Luck and if u have questions to answer make sure to do it before the time is up!
Ang

Hi Guest,

I went through a similar problem myself in Indiana. This is a Federal law, the company is NOT allowed to sue you until they provide you with validation of the debt. They are NOT allowed to continue to seek action against you and try to collect the debt until they provide you with validation of the debt. They have 30 days in which to do so after you send them a letter requesting validation of the alleged debt. also you need to send that letter via certified mail wth a return receipt requested. Some collection agencies have tried to get around that law by attaching debt validation to the actual summons. There were several cases in federal court where the collection agency tried o state that was appropriate debt validation by the consumers attorney argues it wasn't. It was deemed to be unappropriate and a violation for collection agencies to attach the debt validation to the summons. Google "James Recker vs Central Collection Bureau" and see the court papers on that case. It's all about debt validation. And he won $1000 for the client and $5000 for the lawyer (James Recker was the lawyer).

Also, be sure to fle a complaint with the Federal Trade commission as they have violated the fdcpa Act by not providing you with debt validation when you requested it. A big no-no!

Good luck!
Daisy

Hi Daisy, thanks for your info. someone else on this site had told me earlier to look up the laws for the state I'm in (Maryland) and I do not think that MD law states a creditor (or 3rd party collection agency) has just 30 days to reply, they can pretty much reply whenever they want but cannot sue till they do so. Since the law firm did not provide the requested information and is suing me, they did violate the fdcpa. My validation request was indeed sent via certified mail, return receipt requested. I do have the receipt that they did receive my letter however I never received any kind of response until I got served last Friday.

I do have to pay as it is my debt and will probably do so before my court date. Do agencies usually offer you a reduced, lump sum payment if this is paid out of court or can I expect to be charged the whole thing? What about attorney fees, am I to pay those too if I settle out of court?

As an aside, I do want to pursue a lawsuit against this law firm since they acted illegally. I have been in touch w/State of MD licensing to file a complaint and will also do so with the FTC.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks everyone for your input, I appreciate it.

Anyone have advice on where I can get further info on this, and if I can do it myself?

Hi again Daisy, I did google search for the Recker case that you refer to above, but nothing came up except one referral to the case via this website.

Can you provide a link or further direction...is the name spelled correctly?

Thanks

Hi just bumping my original post up again in case anyone can offer me some advice on my questions. Thanks everyone for your help!

I do have a copy of how to answer a summons guest but u need to check ur state civil procedures to make sure u do it correctly and also u must sign it! I'd think as a defense u could use the debt validatoin or lack there of
Let me know if ud like to see what i have as how to answer a summons. (it comes from this forum)
Good Luck and keep us updated,
Ang
P.S. Also u can go to naca.net and look up local atty's that may be willing to help u with this matter.

Hi Ang, thank you and I'd like to see what you have re: answer to summons. I am confused as to if I have to answer the summons or if I should just call the law firm to settle. That does not include my intent to sue, however, since they violated the fdcpa. I will not of course mention that when I talk to them.

I have contacted Bud Hibbs and contacted two attorneys in state of MD with questions regarding lawsuit, however I have yet to hear back from either. Guess the stakes aren't high enough for their time or effort. I wanted to know if I can pursue this on my own??

Thanks again, appreciate your help and advice!

Here's what i have:

It is a written answer to the plaintiff's complaint, basically saying whether the plaintiff's statements are true or not. Their complaint is usually numbered, and will list every argument they have for suing you. For Example:



Make sure u look up ur state's civil procedure also....
Hope this helps u some what,
Ang

The law firm does not have to be licensed as a collector, though they are held to be a collector according to the fdcpa. Ang posted a good response, though do check with your state's rules of civil procedure. In my opinion, yes it would seem that answering a DV letter with a summons would be an offense.

Thanks Ang and law student for your assistance.

One more question (and probably more to come), when I was served. the paperwork I received did not contain some of the items I requested when i sent DV to law firm (i.e., original signed contract w/credit card company and statement of activity on account), I all I received was some generic looking piece of paper from Erin showing the date they bought the debt fm Providian and the amount due). Is this sufficient because it doesn't look like it to me. For the signed contract which I requested, I did receive the FAQs from Provident re: interest rates and all other info on the credit card. however it did not contain paper that had my signature on it.

Please advise (again) and thanks for the help!

I'm not sure but i the summons and validation are 2 diff things! In ur summons do they have something like an affadavit by someone stating u owe this amount??? If so, i also think u can dispute that as hear say... it won't stand up in court so challenage it.
Good Luck and ask anything u need to know,
Ang

Hi Ang, thanks again. I know the summons and DV are two different things :-) With the summons, the law firm included several backup documents (I believe what they consider to be debt validation) but some of the documents just look like generic info vs. detailed info on my unpaid account.

I want to settle this out of court if I am able to. There was note w/summons that if I want to make payment arrangements or make lump sum payment to settle, to call the law firm.

I want to call the law firm to make these arrangements but want to make sure I understand exactly what I should and should not do when I call them. I will not mention that I am going to file suit re: the DV that was unanswered when I was served with the lawsuit. Is there anything else I should or should not do when I contact the law firm?

Thanks again, and have a great day!

I'd advise u to do it all in writing via USPS and certified return reciept requested. If u do this over the phone who knows if they'll stick to their bargain and not sell this debt to someone else then u have NO paper trail to prove u already paid it!
Good Luck and keep us updated,
Ang

Hi Ang, thanks again. My idea was to call them and find out about settlement and see if I can negotiate the total down at all. Then I am asking for letter from them with offer before I do anything further. If they will not provide me with a letter, I will send one outlining everything to them via certified mail, and ask that they confirm before I make payment. Additionally I will pay via money order and not give them any bank info, etc. I do not trust them at all.

Will let you know what happens.

Hi just wanted to give an update. I called the law firm and was able to negotiate a settlement that was almost 1K less than what they claimed was due if I went to court. How funny, it is almost the same amount as what was originally owed.

So, I am waiting for everything in writing before I pay this off.

Additionally, when talking to the person at the firm I couldn't resist and specifically asked why my DV letter was not answered which was sent via certified, return receipt email and asked if she was aware that my fdcpa rights had been violated. Of course there was dead silence.

I am still pursuing the lawsuit against them as soon as I find an attorney or maybe i can do this myself, I don't know.

Thanks for everyone's help and advice. I found this board a long time ago and read it all the time yet I didn't post until recently. Such helpful and knowledgeable info and responses is really great for people stuck in a bad situation such as me.

Thanks again :D

Congrats on ur settlement!
Feels good doesn't it?
:D
Ang

Thanks It'll feel a lot better when I actually get the letter fm the law firm and see all of this in writing, LOL :lol: