Norfolk Financial Corp suing again

Was this dismissed w/o prejudice?

yes

OK so after reviewing all my old paperwork, glad I saved it, I find that in February they say it's an Emerge/compucredit account with 18% interest. Now they are saying it is a Providian account with 29,99 % interest with $29 late fees. Well all the late fees are $35. Plus the charge off date is, if I remember, 228 days which it should be 180 days, FDIC. They gave me a copy of a Providian credit card agreement but no signature it's only partial.

Now my question...I looked over the judgment of dismissal. From what I understand they had no right to sue me AGAIN without proper notice first and giving me the chance to contest it, Am I right?????


Rule 8
RELIEF FROM JUDGMENT OR ORDER

Within one year of the date of judgment the court may, upon a party's application and after notice to the other party in such form as the court deems appropriate, vacate or grant relief from any judgment or order, including an order of dismissal under Rule 7(b), entered under these Rules for want of actual notice to a party, for error or for any other cause that the court may deem sufficient, and may supersede execution. The court may also order the repayment of any amount collected under such judgment or order, and any action by the court may be made conditional upon the performance of any reasonable condition, including any reasonable expenses incurred by the other party.

Commentary to 2001 Amendment

These amendments clarify two ambiguities in the text of Rule 8. The first makes clear that relief from judgment may not be granted on ex parte application. The form, but not the obligation, of giving notice to the other parties is meant to be discretionary with the court. The second makes clear that the court, in vacating an order of dismissal or a default judgement, may, in appropriate circumstances, award reasonable expenses such as lost wages to the other party if the party was present on the day the case was dismissed or the defendant defaulted.

Anyone?

Quote:

Yes I was properly served. I am in Massachusetts. I had a Providian card before 2002 with a different account number than the one they provided me and I paid that one off in 2002, it even shows on my credit report that account was in good standing.It is the same law suit, same debt collector and same attorney office only the attorney office is owned by a different person now.

I told them the last time they must have gotten my information mixed up with someone else and they fail to listen to me. I did call the court house today and they said they can sue me again Which after reviewing the laws I find hard to believe, it was dismissed by the court not the plaintiff. I will have to get to work so I can file an answer.

OK I just finished typing up my answer and it was 3 1/2 pages worth. I am going to try and get down to the court house by the end of the week and get all documentation I sent in for the small claims suit so I can use it in this suit.

Also should I tell them that I am disabled and that I am income exempt and judgment proof or is that a waste of time? Can they still get a judgment against me if the judge does not believe what I say and sides with the debt collector without proof the account is mine? I know for a fact that this is not my account but I don't trust them, they could make up fake documents just to get paid.

Oh yeah when they first contacted me earlier this year they sent me a printed out credit card statement, but has a lot of errors in it like it was made up. The cover letter said it was verification of the debt.

The letter DID NOT have the 30 day disclosure giving me the right to dispute the debt. Is that illegal and if so should I counter sue them? I also have about 4 other violations under the fdcpa.

You should countersue them. I would challenge the so called 'validation' pointing out all the errors and suspicious data. Also, one statement isn't enough, unless it was a closing statement (some judges will accept the very last statement since they show the ending balance) but still, just a single statement proves nothing at all, especially if it seems to be bogus.

Thanks, I revised my complaint and counterclaim, 4 pages worth of all the errors and everything else. I am going to mail it out tomorrow along with a request for production of documents.

Now I play the waiting game on this. I found out at the post office that if I bring in the slip, seeing as the green card got lost in the mail, they can tell me who signed for the DV letter I sent them over 7 months ago. That would really go up their a$$ seeing as she told me she never got a letter,lol.

ok, this time, you need to make motion for dismissal "with prejudice" to the court during the hearing. This is VERY important--last time you were able to show that they could not prove the account as yours. You were also able to show that the only providian account you ever had was paid off in full years ago. Take this same information to the hearing again, and present it to the judge--state that you have repeatedly asked for proof of the debt and they have consistently failed to provide it. Thats why you won a dismissal last time. The "with prejudice" is very important-it would deny them the ability to sue you again over the same debt.

At the same time, stipulate to the court that you request that the court forbid the plaintiff from selling the debt to some other junk debt buyer--that way, you wont end up getting sued again in two more years from some other collector on the same debt.

It also would be a good idea to bring documentation that you paid off your providian account--if you could get a letter from them stating that you paid your account in full, that would be a huge boost to your case. If you can get them to send you a letter like this, also ask them to state in there that this was the only providian account you had. That way, the CA wont have a chance.

golden mentioned countersuing--I would definitely do this. But I did find a Norfolk Financial Copr. listed in the Mass. corporations database, and they have been registered there for some years now it seems. I found two addresses in Boston for the company:

30 Rowes Wharf, Boston MA
600 Atlantic Ave. Boston, MA

is the address you have the same as one of those? Now, I dont know all the laws up there, this is only the secretary of state's corporations database. Your state may have an additional requirement that any debt collectors be registered with the banking commission or some other financial agency in order to operate in MA.....you'll have to check on that one. But they are at least registered to conduct general business in MA, unless this is a different company. That is something you need to look into before you head to court. If you find that they are still not legally operating there, you need to throw the book at them. fdcpa offenses carry a total penalty of up to $1000 in statutory damages, no matter if they break the FDCPA one time or a hundred. But I would still go after them for that. I would state the following in a countersuit:


1--list FDCPA violations in detail, including the portion of the FDCPA that addresses what they did.

2--state that they are not legally operating in MA, and were told to stop conducting business, but have ignored that and have continued to illegally operate there--state this ONLY if the company I mentioned isnt the same one as the collector thats suing you.

3--state that you are seeking actual damages due to harassment and stress--for example:

--they sued you once, and their lawsuit was frivolous, it was dismissed because they could not prove anything about their claims.
--they have repeatedly changed their story, claiming different original creditors and different amounts allegedly owed.
--they now have brought a second suit against you on the same exact debt that they have refused to provide proper validation for. This constitutes yet another frivolous lawsuit.

Also, to make sure that these guys really get a wake-up call, I would contact the bar association in your state, and file a formal complaint against this attorney's office. Bar associations tend to look kinda seriously at lawyers who make a habit of filing frivolous lawsuits and you now have this same one doing it twice to you on the same BS case. Repeated behavior like this can eventually get a lawyer disbarred. Its often taken that seriously.

Be very thorough, get everything together that you possibly can and take it all to the hearing, and prepare to slam-dunk them.

Thanks skydivr,,,,,and yes that is the company. The owner of the company Daniel W. Goldstone was an attorney at one time and got disbarred plus his name is dirt with most of the state. Do a Google search on his name. Also search "norfolk financial corp unlicensed" and it will be the story from 2006 when they where told to shut down.

He is listing about 5 different addresses but the 2 main ones are

20 McKenna Terrace, West Roxbury, MA 02132 and 1208 VFW ParkWay suite 201 Boston MA 02132 and both are less than a mile from each other. The law firm he uses, Forsyth Law Offices, is at both of them addresses also.

I posted in my answer and counterclaim that he is unlicensed in MA to collect debt and that is is a fine of, I believe $500 or 6 months in prison or both. Maby they will see this and the court will punish him for it.

I GO IN CONTACT WITH THEM ONCE,I ASKED THEM WHAT WAS THIS ABOUT,THEY WOULD NOT TELL ME .AFTER CALLING THEM FIVE TIMES THEY NEVER CALLED ME BACK,I RECIEVED A LETTER FROM THEM TELLING ME OF A REMINDER OF A COURT DATE,PROBLEM THEY DID NOT TELL ME WHAT COURT,ANY FEEDBACK? THANKS

Thomas check with your county clerk to see if there is a court date and to find out when and where you were served.

OK I filed my answer and now I guess I have to wait. I got the letter from the court for the case management conference and it isn't till March of next year, WTF!!!!

Should I send them a request for production of documents and also should I send them interrogatories OR should I wait for them to send to me first?

I'd go ahead and get the jump on them. Hit them with the Request for POD and Interrogatories. If they don't respond w/in the timeframe outlined in your states RCP, then hit them with a Motion to Compel

I have been in a battle with this ass and his "lawyer" for a while now, but sadly, even the courts seem to be on their side, at least at the district court I went to. Even after well presented evidence that Norfolk was still unlawfully running a collection business through Forsyth Law (which is just a collection agency with a law degree) the "couldn't be bothered-what time is lunch" judge denied my motion.

I want to start a class action against this creep. Who's in?

I heard there is a group of people who are in fact going after him but there is not enough people yet. I am one of them people. I have been in contact with a person who started it all and I guess it's a wait and see.

OK I got the Interrogatories, request for admissions and request for production of documents today. They want my Social Security number, every credit card and bank account I have or had including the account numbers. Do I have to give them this information?

Also in the interrogatories they say it's an Compucredit/Emerge credit card but in the summons they put a credit card agreement for Providian. What kind of morons are they?

They also say I have no valid defenses to any action and any answer filed in this case was alleged in bad faith and was for the purpose of interposing delay.

They also say I am liable for amounts set forth in this complaint plus all costs for collection, including attorney fees.

WTF!!!!!!!!!! IT IS NOT MY BILL!!!!!!!!!

anyone???

Ehh I just answered that giving my SS # is an invasion of my privacy rights along with all my credit card numbers I have now and all the bank accounts I have or had since 2000.

I told them I am disabled and I am Judgment proof 2 times already what a bunch of morons. They can't even use spell check, a lot of misspelling in the interrogatories. Plus I compared his signature on the court documents to signatures he has on the secretary of state website and they are not even close, I think they are forged and I think he never even reviewed the case and the debt collector is the one filing everything under his name.

Let them waste their money cause they can't get a dime out of me.

Guest, someone will be along to assist you with this matter.

Well, you could answer that since it is not, nor ever has been your debt, they are not entitled to such personal information. With any question about the debt itself, answer: Without sufficient documentation to render an answer.

As for them trying to say you are just stalling..I would slap a big fat DISAGREE on that. :) As a matter of fact, when you send yours, you should put the same exact thing..only they are delaying with producing documentation because they don't have any because none exist because it is not your bill. :)

Are you countersuing for violations?

I already denied all allegations in my answer to the summons so I should probably stick with that. If I start saying I can't answer without proof they will think I am lying,right?

I plan on calling the attorney general tomorrow along with the Boston Globe, they did a number of stories on Norfolk Financial Corp. in the past so maby they will do it again and hopefully get more people to act on a class action lawsuit. He is not a licensed debt collector so anyone that was forced to pay him are entitled to get their money back.

I was going to countersue but I made a note of the violations in my answer but never said I was countersuing. It might be too late now.

I got all my stuff together and was up till 2 in the AM. 19 pages typed.

I answered the interrogatories, request for docs, admissions.

I am also serving them a Request for production of documents and first set of interrogatories. I put about 7 items I want for documents, and I also have about 16 interrogatories i am sending them. They want to play hardball I can do the same.

Now the waiting game, papers served and accepted.

Guest, GOOD LUCK...

OK so I filed my interrogatories and request for production of documents. With the questions I want them to answer, which I know all are true, how do you think I will fare with them responding? For the request of production of documents I pretty much put everything that you would ask for in a debt validation letter.

For the interrogatories I asked pretty much everything that the owner of Norfolk Financial corp has done. Research his name Daniel W. Goldstone and you will see what I mean,lol.

Another thing I did was went to the BBB website and looked up Norfolk Financial Corp.. The address they use in the summons the BBB cannot contact them at, mail was returned as undelivered no address available. The other 2 addresses, one a Boston P.O. box which is the same as above has a D+ rating and the other is a RI address and that has a F rating,lol. So I plan on bringing all this information to the hearing to show the guy has a poor reputation in the business he conducts.


Anyone else have some tips for me that will help me win this case easier?

Oh and I just sent a nice letter to the Division Of Banks. I told them I am fed up with this illegal company and I want something done or I am going to the attorney general, the governor the senate and whoever else I have to contact to put a stop to this.

I really am FUC*ING PISSED RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just noticed another thing. Norfolk Financial Corp. has a registered agent in Massachusetts. It is Peabody & Arnold LLP, one of Bostons oldest law firms. I looked up Peabody & Arnold LLP and noticed they have 6 attorney's who deal with fdcpa and FCRA violations.

Do you think I should give them a call and tell them the person who they are a registered agent for is an unlicensed debt collector and is suing me on a debt that is not mine? Plus should I tell them all the other corrupt things they are doing?

I don't think they will care over much..all a registered agent does is accept legal documents and makes sure the company gets them..they don't have anything to do with the company besides that.

OK I just think I figured something out. I have been reading up on Massachusetts laws. The first time they sued me I had a Judgment of dismissal from the court. It states

" Neither the plaintiff nor the defendant has any right of appeal from this judgment of dismissal. For good reason any party may file a motion within one year of this judgment, with notice to the other parties, requesting to vacate this judgment of dismissal"

Now I went on the Consumer Affairs site and found this, Read the last paragraph.

If you are unable to resolve your complaint through self-help or local consumer group mediation, you may wish to use the Small Claims Court. Known popularly as the people's court, this informal and inexpensive forum is designed to help you settle disputes of $2000 or less without the aid of an attorney.

An exception to the $2,000 maximum is made for property damage caused by a motor vehicle. If an action is one for which double or treble (triple) damages are per-mitted by law, the limit may be increased to $4,000 for double damages and $6,000 for treble (triple) damages. The law also provides for double or treble damages plus costs and attorney fees in certain landlord/tenant situations and actions brought under Chapter 93A.

If your claim is only slightly in excess of $2,000, you may still decide to sue for the $2,000 in Small Claims Court to avoid the costly and lengthy court battle in a higher court. If your claim is greatly in excess of $2,000 you may wish to retain the services of an attorney and sue in another court.

Note: Should you decide to use Small Claims Court, you will be precluded from bringing the same claim to any other court.

Does this mean that they had no right to file in district court this time? Does this mean they had to first have the judgment of dismissal vacated and then either continue in small claims or have it transferred to a civil docket?

Anyone?

Such BS. I called the court house today and they said it's legal for them to sue me again. First they say I owe then the judgment says I do not owe now they are suing me saying I owe again.

I would love to see what they come up with for validation, NOTHING, because it's not mine.

Well I got a phone call today from the division of banks, they license debt collectors. I had filed a complaint and they are investigating them now. Tomorrow they want me to fax over everything this company has sent me.

The lady told me the Attorney General told them to shut down and they did, but really didn't. She was shocked to hear they are back in business. Hopefully something will get done. As for me right now there is not much they can do because it is already in the courts.

Take that information with you to the courts! If they legally can't collect, you should be able to get is dismissed with prejudice! Call that lady back and ask her for a document from them stating all that, that the AG made them shut down and that they are not legally collecting. Hell, if the lady won't do this....supena her to the court. That is a major point right there, you should even coutnersue.

Sounds like good advice, thanks! The good thing is that I don't have to go till, i think, March 9th 2009 for the case management meeting. So hopefully I can get something in writing from the division of banks by then. She gave me her direct line if I need anything from her. I am typing up a letter to better help them investigate everything and then I am faxing it over in the AM.

They where under investigation by the Attorney General it was the DOB that told them to cease collections if not licensed. Massachusetts enacted the licensing in 2004 Norfolk was ordered to be licensed by September 30th 2006 and they claim they purchased my alleged debt May 16th 2006 so in my opinion they had no right to purchase debt in the first place.

They where also trying to make it a law that if someone was sued on a debt that the debt collector would have to provide proof such as a contract or full account history. Furthermore they tried to make it so they couldn't file a lawsuit unless they had this information. Also the SOL is 6 years in my state, they where also going to make it a state law saying that if the 6 years pass, they cannot collect at all and the consumer does not have to pay. All this was in 2006 and nothing has been done.

The only thing I can point out here is that even if they can't legally collect, they can still purchase the debt, just not collect upon it. You should check and see if they do carry a lisence now and if so, when did they get it.

No they never got a license, they claim they do not need one. If they where to apply for a license they would get denied.

The owner of Norfolk Financial corp. has had 2 rebukes from 2 federal judges, a monetary sanction for $2,000 For filing a frivolous lawsuit, he was an attorney but was disbarred in 2006 for a number of reasons, one being for not paying back Sears??????? the $945,430 he stole from them. He only made one payment after he found out he was going to be disbarred but it was too lat. that payment was around $89,000, and 5 years after the ruling to pay them back.

So because of his past, he can't get one.

Then you have them. Get that documentation and you will annihilate them in court.

Well I faxed everything over and now I wait. When I get a call back I will ask her if she can send me information regarding them to be licensed. Then I can file it with the court and motion to dismiss with prejudice.

I also sent a complaint to the FTC. The only place I didn't call was the Attorney General which the Division of Banks will probably do.

I found out what happened to the attorney who originally ran Forsyth Law Offices. maby she had felt guilty in her job OR maby her old boss set up a law firm without her knowing and forged documents in her name.


Maureen Forsyth, 34, who moved to the Washington area from Boston two weeks ago, was the top female finisher.

"I get up at 5 in the morning and see everybody running," she said. "It's great. In Boston I think everyone is still asleep at that hour."

She calls running her "true love," but excels at triathlons, having competed with the U.S. team in France last year.

11 days left and no response. Getting ready to file a motion to compel.

which district court is your matter in? in your production of documents did you get proof of the fact that your debt does exist and belongs to you or that it is a valid purchase of debt?

I have gotten nothing from them yet. The debt is not mine I told them about 50 times already. I requested validation in April and they still filed a lawsuit against me anyway. They never answered the validation and said I never sent the letter, morons. The only thing they ever sent me was a fake credit card statement in the past. I picked it apart for hours and found a load of errors on it. Now since they filed this lawsuit, I have found even more. A different attorney runs the office now and they sent me totally different information than last time.

They are so dumb, they couldn't even cover their own tracks and now they left a paper trail showing just how fraudulent they are.

I just noticed something else today. EVERY letter except one was mailed from zip code 02864 which is Cumberland Rhode Island. Norfolk Financial Corp. has an office in Cumberland RI. A total of 6 letters. The other letter was mailed from Boston MA.

The letter is an attorney letter and is also printed Forsyth Law Offices P.C. on the envelope. The only thing is there is no Forsyth Law Offices in RI.

Would that be considered fraud? The guy who owns the debt collection company appears to be using an attorney letterhead and sending it out in their name.

What do you think?

Anyone?

I also noticed that the interrogatories, request for admissions and request for production of documents where sent from Cumberland RI, but was from the attorney in Boston MA.

This also means that what was sent to me was sent from Norfolk Financial Corp. and NOT from the attorney.

Is this legal?