Why does no one here hire an attorney?

$1000 to win a lawsuit?? Where?? The one attorney my husband hired got just short of 40% on contingency. His settlement still covered the debt and then some but quite frankly, he did not do 40% worth of work.

I have sucessfully received several settlements with intent to sue letters...audio tapes really help. If the average individual has all their ducks in a row and proper evidence, who needs an attorney.

(Note that I am an former Canadian lawyer plus an ex-bill collector....so I do know all the tricks. However I know several individuals who have sucessfully gone after CA's after studying different credit boards and asking for advise.)

It sure would be nice if I actually HAD $1000....

Soaplady, if you were an attorney, it hardly counts. You can certainly represent yourself, even if you are not licensed in the U.S. You also seem like the exception on this form, however.

The $1,000 figure is for debt collection defense, not fdcpa lawsuits.

Likely for the same reason I can't...can't afford it. I live paycheck to paycheck and can't spare a grand. I have spoken to a few lawyers about LVNV for example as I got them on several violations, but no one was really interested. I am trying to feel out Texas lawyers because I rely heavily on the Texas codes and don't think an out of state lawyer would know the ins and outs of Texas laws.

No, but there are quite a few consumer lawyers in Texas. Remember that most lawyers have no idea what the fdcpa is about (to say nothing of state laws on debt collection). You need to find a consumer lawyer. Naca.net is the best place to start.

Would I need to find a lawyer near me? I looked where you suggested but see many many way off in like Houston and Dallas, I'm -far- from there. How does that work?

Definitely, try www.naca.net. I found several attorneys listed near me that deal with fdcpa cases; one was at my local Legal Aid's office. Legal Aid even represented me against two CA's trying to sue me. Free of charge.
The attorney I found to sue Legal Mediation Practice has taken the case on contingency and LMP is wanting to settle out of court. Go figure!
This forum, and all the information, has definitely educated me on the FDCPA and my rights. I don't think I could have stood up to the CA's if I had not found this site.

Sam the main reason I have found for not hiring an attorney is either the attorneys near a person are weak on consumer law or they want a large amount up front. I sent a member to naca.net for a case involving cacv who had many violations and it went nowhere in a hurry.

Not sure if Cajun is speaking about me but i also went to naca and found an atty who in turn refered me to another who in turn refered me to another! After much communication with all 3, i got NO where... SLOWLY back at square one after wasting a LOT of time. :(
Then i spoke to the last atty about just settling this case for me... what he was offering was nothing more than i could do myself and save myself the over $500 he wanted to charge me to do it!! So I settled with them saving myself the 500 bux...
Trust me, I wanted an atty!
:(
Ang

Ang I was referring to you and it pi**es me off that you couldn't find a attorney for the huge violations you had on them dirtbags!

I'm still thinking about it Cajun! Just not sure where to go from here and maybe Sam has some suggestions!
:D
Ang

Depending on what you signed to settle, you may not be able to sue. But if you have any options, using naca.net to find an attorney is the only way to find out what your options may be.

I didn't sign anything to settle!! Just wired them the money after i got their settlement letter and it says nothing about not being able to sue!! All it says is if $XX paid by XX date then the judgement will be removed and any liens canceled.
That's it!
Ang

Ang!
My situation must have been an exception and not the rule. Sorry you got such a runaround when you were looking for legal help.

I really do think ur the exception Ron! Even though we see it often on this site that u can sue for violations, it's VERY rare to see where anyone wins a suit for these violations. I've been here for a year and a half and have seen maybe 2 people that have actually sued... i think only one that won!
:(
Ang

I simply have no lawyers in my area that are up on all this. I found one but she just deals with collections who harrass you after bankruptcy....she wasn't interested in sueing for violations. There are no others here in CowTown :D

Im stubborn enough though that I will do it myself if I have to. Even if I don't win, I won't go away without a fight and harassing the crap out of CA's for a change. It helps that the majority of me and hubby's debt are past SOL, so no matter how much of a pest I make of myself, they can't sue me and win.

Sam - questions for you. As most of the abuse & violations happen during telephone conversations; if a person is not able to record the coversation or have a 3rd party listen in; what documentation would you recommend I keep so I have a good chance of winning/or settling? Thanks!

Very interesting replies. I originally asked because on this forum I read about some of the most egregious violations of the fdcpa I have heard of.

When a debt collector calls family members, threatens criminal actions or jailtime, or threatens physical harm, those are really serious violations of the FDCPA, and I would like to see those debt collectors have to answer for their conduct.

And says it is rare to see anyone win a lawsuit for FDCPA violations, but that is simply not true. Consumers are vindicating their rights in court every day.

As to what documentation to keep, keep everything. Takes notes on every phone call and record them if you can. Good notes are sometimes as good as recordings.

I meant it was rare to see a lawsuit here on the forum!! I sure did not mean in the courts! I have NO experience with the court system Sam!!
ALso, golden, the very first atty i spoke to who was the best did not live in my city but was 4 hours away and said that he came to my city all the time for cases! SO u may want to call one of the atty's on the naca list and they may either be able to help u or refer u over to someone else closer!
GOod luck,
Ang

Good discussion here...as both my husband and I have potential cases...not where the CA is threatening to sue, but where the CA is in violation! We are dealing mainly with LVNV and Asset Acceptance. Asset Acceptance refuses to validate, but continues to try to collect. LVNV has been long settled, but they are not accurately reporting the account to the credit reporting agencies. I'm sure there is money to be made in both cases...I mean, mine is probably worth $6,000 alone, and even half of that should be worth it to some attorney...especially since it should be an easy win!

Are u in the process of suing now??
I'd be interested in hearing about it!
Keep us updated,
Ang

Sam - since you've been so helpful; here's another ?

In cases you've handled, what is the percentage of cases where you've settled out of court & the percentage you've won due to default (no response from defendant?)

I read the bottom of your post re: PM'ing you. If this is outside of your scope or experience; please let me know:

Most of the members in the forum are dealing with collectors/creditors where the very nature of their business is questionable; that they may not be legit; would you still pursue a case against them (say they are offshore trying to collect debt in the US)?

Oh Yeah! Sam

Does the fdcpa apply only to 3rd party collectors? So if the creditor is keeping the collection activities 'in house' then the FDCPA doesnt apply to them?

The funny thing is, Ive just been waiting for the CAs to pull the phone crap with me, now that I know what they say is a violation! Seriously, in the past when I didn't know any better I had CAs threaten everything from jail to taking my children away...oh and one time I had one tell me that if I don't pay my bill that god will smite me down to Satan :roll:

NOW I am hoping for this kind of activity and so far they haven't yet..kinda dissapointing.

The fdcpa only applies to 3rd party collectors, but your state will have laws that would apply to the original creditor that are likely very similar to the FDCPA.

hvn_sent: A colleague puts it this way: When you file a fdcpa lawsuit, you are the cabdriver, the debt collector is the passenger, and the meter is running (damages plus attorney fees). But the doors only unlock from the outside. The debt collector can get out any time they want to, but they have to pay the amount shown on the meter before you will unlock the door and let them out.

And yes, the FDCPA only applies to third-party collectors, but it also applies to an in-house collector or wholly-owned subsidiary if they lie about their identity.

goldenbast: Know your rights, and let the debt collectors violate the FDCPA if they are going to. Don't goad them into it, just let them do what they do, take notes, record if you can, and then call an attorney.

I wasn't goading...just waiting for those types of calls now that I am armed against them. The closest to goading is when I call em to get some info, but generally when they used to call me they scared the crap out of me. Now the shoe is on the other foot and I won't let them abuse me this time.

Sam, glad to see you're back! This is indeed an interesting topic you present.

I had what I thought was a case last year/beginning of this year. I counted 5 fdcpa violations that a CA committed while trying to collect from me. And it was all in writing, well-documented, I had copies of everything. There is a well-known attorney here in Chicago (Edelman & Combs) that does these sort of cases; I faxed them everything I had. They wrote me back and say "sorry, not interested" and referred me to NACA.net. I went to that website and jotted down a few names/numbers -- I even called a couple of them, and never got a return phone call. It just became more hassle than it was worth - I settled things with the CA on my own.... ended up paying them what I originally offered as a settlement. Maybe I could have ended up getting some $$ out of it, but in the end I was glad to just close the file.

Even now, I believe I have an FCRA case against WaMu (for pulling my credit and then sending a firm offer of credit), which they ended up denying because "the social I provided didn't match their records." It's just a lot of time and effort involved, and it becomes one of those things that "I'll do tomorrow if I have time."

That's how i also felt Debt, like NO atty was really all that interested in helping. I, like u, also settled 3 years later with my original offer made to them back then...
I'll never figure it out!
QUit trying now.
Ang

Sam, no offense here, but I think a lot of attorneys who would do these cases on continency, would only want "easy cases" that are A) a sure-win, and B) they don't have to spend a lot of time on. Unless, of course, they can make a class-action out of it.

In all honesty, if an attorney is going to have to spend 15 hours working on a case - and his 1/3rd cut will only be $500 (or nothing if there's a chance he will lose) - why would he take it on?

Maybe that's not a fair assumption, because I don't know how much time an attorney would actually vest in these sorts of cases. Maybe if you only have to put in 3 hours to get a cut of $500, then it might be worth it.

In my situation, I don't think the attorneys I contacted turned down my case because they thought they would lose - I just think they didn't stand to make enough money off it to bother.

The reason I never hired an atty was because I had one PDL co threaten me with arrest. I didn't know my rights and that i could have recorded the call and hired an atty. I came here learned about my rights, handled the 3 PDL's I had and never took out another one again. Thus I didn't have to shell any money out to an atty, the people helped me here for FREE. These people will eventually go down. The nation as a whole is on a cliff of financial disaster so for me I am cutting my losses including all credit cards and PDL's. when the economy bottoms out I won't have any thing for anyone to take away. I got all that information from the DCC site and people

Thanks for responding Sam. Especially the part that the fdcpa applies to an 'in-house collector or wholly owned subsidary if they lie about their identity'.
That's the one thing the PDL 'collectors' do well; they LIE.

Sam, I'm with you. I'll hire an attorney if any of my rights are violated. And again, like you said, I won't goad them into violating, but I'll just let them violate away, keeping records, etc. My only question is, I thought you had to sue, etc in the state where they are located. That would be the only reason why I wouldn't take legal action. If they're not here, I'm not going to them. Am I wrong there? But short of that, If I'm violated, I'm gonna take action.

You may sue in the state where you live, regardless of where the debt collector is located.

Regarding "easy cases." Remember that the fdcpa includes attorney fees. The cab metaphor is a good one, because the more work an attorney has to do, the more the debt collector must pay.

That said, most established consumer lawyers with an FDCPA practice are probably not looking for technical violations, but threats of arrest and things where the debt collector has stepped well over the bounds of human decency.

Thanks for the info Sam. I thought that might be the case. In my case, I haven't had any problems yet, technical or otherwise.
I think alot of people might be too scared when it comes to this. I'm sure it can be overwhelming. It's certainly not something that I'd look forward to, but believe me, I'll do whatever it takes to ensure I'm not being stepped on.
I'm lucky in the fact that I'm in the military, I have legal officers, JAG officers, etc, that I can get advice from. I have a JAG officer at my command, he's been doing this for along time. I also have a legalman who can help me with paperwork, etc. They can't represent me, but they can give me advice. It's free for that matter. Which is a pretty good benefit. Better than good, it's great actually.
I'm also lucky that there are laws protecting the armed forces from certain practices from creditors, debtors, etc. Garnishment of wages for instance. In Washington State for instance, if you default on a payday loan, your wages can't be garnished.
I wish everyone had the same benefits, but I have to say, if you've been wronged, you should take Sam's advice and get some help!

Sam has offered very good advice. In my area it might also help if you have more than a couple of fdcpa violations for an attorney to consider the case. Also, look up your state laws.

I agree with you law. About looking up state laws. The only problem with that is trying to interpret those laws if you're not in the "business".
In my case, I'll seek advice when needed (my biggest piece of advice, don't go through tough times alone if you can help it!!)
Understanding the law is for lawyers, having fun breaking the law is for the rest of us!

thank you Sam and God Bless you for being here for what I actually know are the the right reasons! Your knowledge surpasses the pretenders and I want to thank you for caring enough to be here!

Sam, on the naca website, when it says "interest" next to a particular type of case, what does that mean? If someone is looking for an attorney, and it says "interest" next to the type of case you're interested in, should you look for someone else?

Thanks Sam, my assumption above was an uninformed theory. I'm not used to the "taxi meter" analogy. When my company sues people over delinquent debts, the courts here will allow a flat $350 for attorney fees, but "the meter doesn't keep running" as my attorney spends more time on the case.

And in my case, the fdcpa violations were more 'technical' than 'over-the-line' (ie 1) the initial letter didn't say they were a debt collector attempting to collect a debt; 2) they sent the 1692g notices more than 5 days after the initial notice, 3) I disputed the balance and demand validation, yet they still filed suit without verifying the debt.).

But I still wonder ... an FDCPA violation (even on technicality) is still nonetheless an FDCPA violation worth $1000 each at least. Why would it matter "how decent" the violations were?

UnemployedRon -- in the context of keeping this thread on a single issue, I have split your post/issue into it's own: http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/collection-agencies/about36255.html

I also replied to it.

I did talk with an attorney early on with my problem. I had felt they broke several regulations-threatenng, verbally abusive, gave my number and name to Wells Fargo and told them I need help-wells fargo called me back and told me, no validation, but kept trying to collect through their Law firm,etc.

I was told since I did not have them recorded, it would be very hard to prove-kinda like my word against theirs. Actually when I called th CA on these, they denied it and said their call was recorded, they never did anything of the such!

Another attorney wanted $500.00 to start, like I have that money lying areound! So I did try an attorney-got nowhere..karen

I remember when I did my PDL battles 2 yrs ago I had no clue..I didn't think any attorney in the world would touch anything concerning PDLS.

Bossy 4455: A lot of attorneys will ask you to pay a bit up front--say, $500. This just about covers filing fees and service of process costs in federal court. Many attorneys want the client to also have a stake in the outcome, however small. If you can't commit to investing a few hundred dollars, why should an attorney invest thousands of their own plus much more in time?

I can certainly sympathize with that view, although I prefer to screen my clients carefully and make sure they are as serious about the case and as willing to go the distance as I am.

DebtCruncher: Yes, a technical violation is still worth $1,000 plus attorney fees. However, a threat of jail time might be worth $50,000 (or more) plus attorney fees.

Further, consumer lawyers try to avoid flooding the legal system (the way debt collectors do) with technical violations. Unfortunately, debt collectors have been complaining to Congress that consumer lawyers are jumping all over them for every violation. While that is far from true, and I hope Congress will not buy their talk (call your representative!), there is the potential for the fdcpa to be watered down as a result of their lobbying. This would be catastrophic for consumers.

submarinesailor: That means the attorney is interested in the subject area, but probably does not have a lot of experience with it.
Faced with the big picture and hundreds of potential clients a year, some consumer lawyers try to focus on the egregious cases.

I see your point, and well-taken now.

That would be kind of scary if we allow these laws to be watered down 'because they're being broken too much.' How about if all the murderers get together and lobby for looser criminal laws?

Sam,
I for one always appreciate you and the other attornies' insight when they post--and I am also speaking specifically of Texaslawyer, whose contributions to our forums have been invaluable.
However, there are many reasons why people don't consult lawyers, and I think the biggest one has to be financial. When you are struggling to pay rent and put food on the table like many of us are here--AND the PDL's are your back, well, you can see where I am going with this one.
I'm glad to see you back and hope to see alot more of you!

Sam, I know attorneys require up front money-my friend is an attorney and judge.

What I am saying is, I don't have alot of Extra money laying around-what with expenses, taking care of a disabled son, and a mother whose health is failing.

I was just stating that that is the reason I didn't hire an attorney, that doesn't mean I am not serious about this-on the contrary, I have a file 4 inches thick with notes,data and research I have done.ii If possible, I would hire an attorney-can't get one through Legal Aid, they say we make too much money--where is it-I can't find the "too" much money :lol: karen

kscornell & Bossy4455: I hope I didn't sound like I was scolding. Some attorneys requires money up front. Others do not. I do not charge up front for fdcpa cases, but I know attorneys who do, and I was trying to explain what I perceive to be their reasons.

If you win an FDCPA case, the debt collector pays your attorney fees. So if you invest $500, it should come back to you. On the other hand, if you look, you should be able to find an attorney who will take your case on full contingency with no money up front, since they should be able to recover for their time.

Sam - thanks for taking the time out of your day/night to read & respond on this forum. Believe me, I've listened to enough of my friends and relatives who 'perceive' to know the law. It's refreshing to see a person of your profession trying to help us. You offer great advice and thanks for the attention grabing title/subject line.
You can bet money that if a collector ever threatens me with the lame 'arrest' statement I will search out an atty who will help me. I hate people who try to intimidate others for their own gain. I hope that you stick around the forum, we need ya!

Sam is right. Many would charge something up front for filing fees if nothing else. As to recording calls, check your state. In California for example, both parties must be informed. In others, such as Texas, you don't have to tell them you are recording.

I've worked with a couple of attorneys, and have seen that many times in fact, the collector starts backing down when they know you have a lawyer. Because they know they won't win.