Settlement and Lawsuits
Date: Wed, 01/30/2008 - 12:52
Contrary to what they think, not only are they not safe but in many cases more vulnerable. The settlement company contacts a lawfirm with a first offer which is low. The law firm now realizes that there is not only an inability to pay but there are several others out there looking to collect. The law firm thinks, if we file suit we can get the full amount and if we do it quickly we can beat everyone to the punch. Next thing you know there is a knock at the door.
In many cases the now defendant calls the settlement company and says he has just been served. The settlement company advises him wrongly not to worry that they are working on it. They are not, it is too late. The defendant ignores the summons and a default judgement is awarded for the full amount and now all the assets are fare game.
This, along with what settlement can do to your credit, is why I believe that consolidation is the best program.
Frog...couldnt agree more. I know you and I weighed in on a coup
Frog...couldnt agree more. I know you and I weighed in on a couple of thses cases that you describe above. And sure, the creditor can "choose" to work with the settlement company and wait for $, but they dont have to. The settlement company wont be on the hook for the lawsuit, but the consumer will with no recourse to the settlement company.
I too agree. I was one of those people that went with a settlem
I too agree. I was one of those people that went with a settlement company. Fortunatley, when I was served a summons, I knew it was time to take matters into my own hands and was able to avoid going to court. But one very important point is this:
The settlement companies will tell you that a summons is just a scare tactic that is used to get you to pay. This will give the debtor a sense that the collection agency/creditor is not serious.
What I believe is that times are getting very tough foro everyone and the creditors want their money. Hence, we are seeing more and more lawsuits. Frogpatch is totally right: they are not going to wait around if they think you have several accounts out.
If you want to go with a settlement company - Do your homework and understand everything about it before getting into it. These companies will be no help to you if you end up in court.
My dad almost went with one of those companies. And when they to
My dad almost went with one of those companies. And when they told me that all his money would go into an account till there was enough money in ther to settle on a account then they would send out an offer, I thought why can't I do this for him for free. I told my ddad not to do this because it would be bad. So he listened. But things got worse for him so he filed BK instead.
But the settlement companies to me are bad news. They tell you not to pay your bills for months to maybe a year and then try to settle, I don't think so.
Some of them are lots worse than others. There have been several
Some of them are lots worse than others. There have been several posts recently where clients were advised to ignore the creditors nad got slapped with a lawsuit. The website of one that both Volley and I checked out said in there that "you could be sued."
This group came across to the client as a law firm but in actuality just took on a name like Dewey, Burnham and Howe to look like lawyers.
info
The true moral of this story is----debt settlement will only work if you have the money upfront to take the settlements when they are offered. Creditors are not going to wait in line for 2 or 3 years to accept a settlement on your terms. Most will offer a settlement and if you don;t have the cash they will then sue.
