Spiraled out of control

Anybody? I am new to this particular forum, perhaps someone will put up a link to an existing topic that may be of help. I have a feeling you all see these posts from noobs and it grows tiresome; I can understand that. But this is a vast website, and it's a bit daunting. I'm seeing new terms like CV Letter.

I've had my head in the ground for too long. I just don't know how to begin digging out of this mess. One of my creditors is using allied interstate (who get high marks here for being awful) and another has sent what I think is a "dunning" letter from a lawyer.

Please, can someone tell me what I have to do, or point me to the proper area in the forum?

Thanks

After many sleepless nights, I found that getting an attorney was my best bet. It certainly saved my brains. LOL! It was all consuming, and wasn't worth my sanity to go it on my own. I'm glad to see some here have had the intestinal fortitude to go it on their own, though.

Go to the NACA site and see if there are any consumer attorney's in your area/state.

I borrowed the money for my atty. from a friend, and am happy to report...I'm waiting on a check for the reimbursement of my atty. fees.

Has Capital One sold the acct. to the lawyer that contacted you?

I don't know. I will send out the CV letter I found here. I am just so broke, and no one in my family can help me afford a lawyer. At this point, is it too late to use the services of Debt Consolidation care?

Who, exactly, is listed as the Plaintiff?

Ya gotta be careful with some of the debt consolidators.

We haven't been sued yet. It is, I think, a "dunning" letter, addressed to my wife, giving us 30 days to contact them or they may litigate.

Starting to lose sleep... This is the beginning of the deluge.

"We haven't been sued yet." LOL, (though far from funny), but...you sound pretty confident that you WILL be.

ANYWAY, is the letter directly from Capital One, or is it from a debt buyer?

Have you checked your credit report, lately?

"Starting to lose sleep... This is the beginning of the deluge." BELIEVE me...I know what you mean. {HUGS} to you's

You have yourself in a real mess, this is understandable. Your wife's health has to come first hands down. Still, your creditors won't overly care. How old are these debts? It is important to know if they are still owned by the Original creditors or if they have been sold off. If they are newer, chances are they are still with the originating company.

I don't know what assets you have that they could go for in court. The debt you listed is very high and I can imagine they will be gunning for you with everything they have.

You could try setting up payment arrangements with your creditors. Start protecting yourself now in case they come to sue you later.

If you are getting letters or calls from companies that are NOT the original Creditor, then send them a debt validation letter, this is your right and with such high debt you want to be doubly sure of who you are supposed to pay. Then you can start sending our letters offering to set up payment arrangements of what you can afford. You want to send these letters certified mail, return reciept so you have proof you sent them. That way, if they do sue, you can show the judge that you were making every effort to do the right thing and pay your debts, but what they were asking for you just don't have.

Alot of people don't like this, but with that kind of debt and no foreseeable way out...have you considered bankruptcy? I have never gone through it so don't have much to offer in that area, but I have heard it is a last ditch effort to get you out of a hole too deep for you to climb out on your own. Something you may want to consider.

And last but definitely not least, I truely hope your wife is feeling better. I can't imagine going through soemthing like that....focus on each other, do what you can. that is all anyone can really ask of you, right?

While I don't have any good advice for you, I just wanted to say that I sympathize whole-heartedly. I go to court tomorrow for the first of 7 cc that I haven't been able to pay on. We only had about 7000 total on them, but it has grown to incredible proportions.

Hang in there! If you're like us, it CAN'T get much worse! :)

How's it goin'?

Try not to let it consume you's.

Know this is a place where you can come and find encouragment, it all may sound daunting but that is what the debt collectors want you to feel-- that is their method of operation, make debtors feel bad (or worse) than they already do about their mistakes or bad fortunes or whatever.

Interestingly enough, I have two LOC for $25K each that went into default (bad business decisions, etc...) and the lenders haven't batted an eye at it yet, they are suing me for $3000 cc. I don't get these debt collectors and their approach. What one collector does, another one doesn't do and vice versa. There is a lot of factors that determine how hard they will try to go after you. If they think you are "judgment proof", they will likely not waste their time, same if they think or you tell them you are considering bankruptcy. If you aren't looking to get a loan or credit anytime soon, who cares if your credit is bad. Hell, you're a day late on one payment and suddenly your credit score goes down, too. I get so angry at creditors who make their borrowers feel bad. Isn't it enough that you already feel badly for not making payments?

Hi, I am dealing with an attorney office now who is representing Capital One. I had two small cards $520.00 each roughly that have ballooned to over a thousand each. (Their fees etc...) I see people getting sued by Captial One in our local paper all the time so I guess they are not fooling around. I have not heard from this attorney office in awhile, but I am sure they will be contacting me soon. We were trying to cash out an annuity in order to just pay these clowns and get them out of our hair but having a hard time tracking down the money. You should talk to the attorneys suing you or find a good consumer debt attorney that can help because more than likely they are legit and will surely take you to court.

I was able to work out arrangements for two more cards. Once they go into collection it gets a lot tougher. I am sending a CV request to the Cap One Lawyer, even though I know we owe on that account. Mostly I hope to see how much they've jacked up the amount we owe. I did include a paragraph explaining our health issues, which have affected our finances. I indicated that once I understood their relation to the debt I would be willing to work out a payment arrangement. I mentioned that one of our other cards had forgiven some of the debt.

I'm not mailing it till tomorrow, so stop me if this is a mistake! Here is the letter:

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is being sent to you in response to a alleged debt. Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.

This is NOT a request for verification or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you
.
What I need you to provide as the debt validation is as follows:
1. What the money you say I owe is for;
2. Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
3. Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;
4. Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
5. Identify the original creditor;
6. Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account
7. Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state
8. Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent
9. Proof that the collection company owns the debt/or has been assigned the debt. (You are legally entitled to collect this particular debt from me.) This is basic contract law.
10. Complete payment history, starting with the original creditor. (I need to have proof of my payment history with original Creditor, what the amount of the debt was when the creditor assigned the debt to your company, and what fees/interest has been tacked on to this debt and how you/they determined these fees.) This requirement was established by the case Fields v. Wilber Law Firm, Donald L. Wilber and Kenneth Wilber, USCA-02-C-0072, 7th Circuit Court, Sept 2004..
11. Copy of the original signed loan agreement or credit card application. (My contract with the original creditor establishing the debt between us.) This is also basic contract law.


If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following declaration, I will require at least 30 days investigating this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist.

If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion shall be sent to me immediately.

Please know that we are going through a period of financial hardship. For the past two years I have been fighting breast cancer. While my health prognosis is looking good, our financial situation has suffered. Once I understand your relation to this debt, I hope to work out a payment plan with you that I can afford. Other cards have been kind, some even forgiving a large portion of the debt.


Best Regards,

Wife's signature


Please let me know if this needs more work!!!

That is the standard DV letter on this site. The fdcpa does not require that they provide most of the information requested but if they ever sue you then you could request all of the above again and they would have to provide it.

Looking at your first post you said you have 22K over 7 cards which is roughly 3K per card. That really is not a very high balance per card. Probably only 1 or 2 of the 7 would ever consider suing for 3K. If you don't have the money then do not agree to payment plans you can not afford. Take care of necessities first and apply any extra to unsecured debt. Personally I don't like setting on payment plans. I prefer to settle in lump sum payments for lesser than owed as settled in full. I would shoot for 50% of the amount owed to each which would be around $1500 per card. You would have to save up $1500 then settle one. Rinse and repeat. If you are sure that one is on the verge of suing i.e. they have sent a summons then put it at the top of the list. Otherwise settle with the one that is giving the best deal.

I doubt any of them would sue in the first 6 months of delinquency. As an example, I have 2 cards that were opened in my name that are over 6K each. They have been delinquent for almost 2 years and neither has sued. I DV'd them along time ago and attached a CD letter limiting all communication to mail. After that they called me two times and I reminded them that they had not properly validated per my request and they were sent a CD letter which means they are violating the FDCPA by contacting me via phone. The point is many companies will just leave the debt in collections hands for months and or years and never sue. They will try to make it look urgent and make it look like they will sue after being late a couple months but in reality they typically will not.

Glad to see your post.

If it were me, I'd make sure that the word alleged is in front of every word of debt. Alleged, alleged, alleged.

"6. Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account."
I was told that should never be brought up, until the finale'.

"10. Complete payment history, starting with the original creditor. (I need to have proof of my payment history with original Creditor, what the amount of the debt was when the creditor assigned the debt to your company, and what fees/interest has been tacked on to this debt and how you/they determined these fees.)"
I'd reword that to include the word alleged, where appropriate.

"Once I understand your relation to this debt, I hope to work out a payment plan with you that I can afford. Other cards have been kind, some even forgiving a large portion of the debt."
Personally, I'd leave that off/out. Believe me, they know everything they need to know. IMO, that's just giving them ammo.

Good LUCK!

Are you absolutely sure it is the lawyer from Cap. One, or is it a Collection Agengy attorney? I'd think if it's the Cap. One atty., they'd have every piece of proof you've asked for.

I'm pretty sure it is the Cap One attourney, but they are pretty serious these days from what I read on this forum. Do you think I should drop the CV and just try to negotiate a settlement deal?

Have you mailed the letter?

If not...How long has the Cap. One been in default?

When did you make your last payment?

If you are 100% sure it is from Cap. One's atty., and you try to cut a deal with them...make SURE you don't make a statement you can't stand behind. Don't say you'll pay 'em a certain amount each month, unless you KNOW you can afford it and pay it.

An aside: If Cap. One is willing to forgive that debt and issue a 1099c, that isn't as frightening as it sounds. If you can prove your assets are almost nil, you won't have to pay the taxes on it.

Let us know what goes on, and GOOD LUCK to you's.

I haven't mailed the letter yet. I haven't made a payment for about 90 days. Are you suggesting I hold off on the letter and contact them? Please reply quickly as time is ticking away.

I owe this account $1160 (it says, which must include a lot of interest). The lawyer's letter says "This communication is from a debt collector". It's the offices of James West, and from what I see on this site he is affiliated with Cap One and is legit, and tough. Please advise ASAP.

If it were me...I'd call 'em and tell 'em your circumstances, and ask what's the least they'll accept..

a 1099c is, IMO, better than a lawsuit....if they'll Fogive the debt.

Good luck

OK, I will do that. Thanks for the advice.

Let us know what happens, ok?

Good luck to you's.

The Cap One Lawyer worked out a payment plan with me. So that scare ended. But then I got a letter from Creditors Interchange out of Buffalo for another Cap One account. They were not so forgiving. Playing the hardest of hardball, they forced me into making a payment. Our balance was about $1250. They demanded $1000 or I would be in court and spending a lot more. I explained to them that my wife had been ill, that I had been messed up with payday loans, and that it wasn't because I didn't want to pay them, I was just broke.
Fortunately I had an income tax refund so I could swing it, but I just feel awful about it. Credit is the slipperiest of slopes, and we fell hard. I still have accounts unresolved, and I am really struggling. On the other hand, I have a lot of accounts accounted for and in repayment. A mixed blessing...

The collector out of Buffalo was probably just very good and making you think the pressure was high. If they sued the judgment would have been for no more than the current balance at best which is $1250. I would have held out for at least a 50% settlement which would have been $625. Anyway, at least it is out of your life.

If only I'd known. Meanwhile, my wife just made a settlement with HSBC for about $468 on a $1250 balance. There goes the tax refund!

Thanks for the update! I was wondering how things are goin' for ya's.

Times are tuff all over, but...like you said...a mixed blessing.

If you have anymore court threats from original creditors, remember...they can't sue for more than the balance. Rather than spend their time & money, 99% of the time, they'll make a deal with ya.

Hope things turn around for ya's.

I've been working out deals left and right with my creditors, when out of the blue we got mail today from a local lawyer that we are being sued by Capital One for $2993.78 plus $300 in fees. The letter said we were served on the 13th. My other 2 Cap One accounts are in payment plans, and we never got any letters before this one for this account.

I will call the lawyers and see if there's a way to make a deal. Some warning would have been nice.

Please, can someone here point me to information on how to handle this? Do I need to obtain a lawyer? I don't have a lot of cash flow right now, as I've made a ton of arrangements. My wife is distraught, as am I.

Thanks for any help.

I called the lawyers, who turned out to be a debt collection agency, and they offered a deal of $150 a month. Naturally, I took it, so that's over. They wouldn't freeze the interest and they said I might still get a judgement, which they wouldn't enforce unless I failed to make a payment. Cap One plays rough. My poor wife almost had a heart attack from the stress.

Regarding the still getting a judgment in spite of making arrangements - is there anything I should do with the court? Mt. Laurel is in another county than I am, too.

Home now and looking at the paperwork. The firm is Lyons, Doughty, and Veldhuis of Mt. Laurel. Documents appear to be legal, filed with the Superior Court of my county. As I mentioned, they have accepted the payment plan but said they just might go for a judgment anyway. I hope someone may advise me as to what I should do next.

did they ever validate the debt? Accepting a payment plan and then saying they may still get a judgment is BS. Fight them!

Make sure to get all validating documentation in discovery, make sure what they are collecting is correct. Show the judge the payment arrangement you made...don't let them get a default judgment.

Was the payment plan put in writing on their letterhead and signed by a manager and notarized? If not, DON'T SEND THEM A PENNY!

Wow, that's scary. When I spoke to them I authorized the withdrawal of the first $75. I know this is my debt but I suspect they've packed on a bit of interest. Should I call them back and ask for validation or send a letter, or is it too late as I authorized the first payment? I can't afford to have my wife riddled with anxiety; these people play rough. They did say they were going to send a coupon book. I didn't hear anything about getting a manager to sign and notarize until just now. Is it too late to ask for that, and if not, is a phone call OK or do I have to write?

This is all a bit overwhelming. Between the economy and my wife's cancer I did lose track of my finances. But every other lender save for Capital One was actually pretty cool about it. The last time this happened the company sent me a warning of intent to sue first. With this account they went ahead and filed with the clerk of the Superior Court of Camden County, NJ before even letting me know about it.

I assume I will have to get to the court and pick up the paperwork, fill it out, and pay the $15 fee to prevent summary judgment. Please advise if a simple call to Lyons et al will be enough for the rest of it.

The thing that got me off guard was the suddenness of it. I have one Cap One card paid off, another has been set up with a payment plan, but this third account just showed up in the mail as legal documents - first they filed suit, then the court mailed it to me. They were quick to accept a payment plan, but I don't get why they won't stop the judgment. And I'm a little bewildered over what to do next. I have to call or write the law firm and perhaps ask to verify the debt (even though I've already started paying?) and get a notarized approval of my repayment arrangement. And I expect I also have to go to the court and get the paperwork I need to answer their charges. Argh, this is so difficult.

As I have already made a payment, is it too late to ask Lyons for anything (like a notarized acceptance of terms)?

So I just called Lyons. They said they sent me a warning letter in December, which I did not receive. They are going to go ahead and get a judgment in spite of my making payment arrangements "to protect the client" (Capital One) in case I fail to make a payment.

I would prefer not to get a judgment. Do I have a chance? The form I have says I can go to the court and get an answer form that I can submit (with a $15 filing fee) which I must send a copy to Lyons within about a month's time from now.

Please, would someone here let me know if it's worth trying to fight the judgment or if I should surrender to the inevitable. Lyons promises not to pursue the judgment as long as I keep to the arrangement, but this is obviously something I'd prefer to avoid.

Any help?

By the way, Lyons will not notarize my payoff agreement. They say that the documents I will be receiving are legal.

I just called the court. They told me I should write a letter explaining the situation and send it in with the $15 fee. The letter itself will stop a default judgment.

Is there any sort of sample letter here at the site? My main concerns are that I did not receive a dunning letter (by which I mean warning of intent to sue by Lyons - please correct me if that's wrong) even though they claim to have sent one in December. I also wish to state that I do not know how they came up with the figure of $2993.78, even though I accept the debt as mine. I would like to explain that we lost our financial way while my wife was fighting stage three metastatic breast cancer but that we have made arrangements with or have paid off all our other credit cards and would not like to have a summary judgment levied against us.

Am I anywhere near the ball park?

Please, I hope someone can respond to this!

i cannot really offer advice as this is a bit over my head. but please stay strong, i do not trust lyons one bit and i know how tough they can be. as i said, please stay calm and strong. you will be okay.

Anyone? It appears I am unique among debtors...

well, for what it's worth, i have heard many times of companies (collectors, attorneys) putting a judgement against you, than lifting it once everything is paid and never actually acting on it. have you maybe contacted legal aide? i think people do not want to misguide you (in other words, your thread is not ignored, people are scared to give you the wrong advice).
i noticed the same with foreclosures, even if someone is making payments, the attorneys are likely to keep postponing the sale every time a payment is made, rather than cancell it.

That's what they said they would do - obtain the judgment but not act on it. I want to write a reply to the court to avoid summary judgment and was looking for advice as to what I should say.

:( i really do not know how to help you with that.. maybe us bumping this up will bring the thread more attention?

do you know how soon you have to send this to the court?

Boy...How can they get a judgement w/o going to court? That doesn't make any sense, to me.

If you have a court date...SHOW UP!!! Take everything you have, in writing, with you.

Did they buy the debt, or are they collecting for (working for/hired by) Cap One?

You should have never given out your bank info. But... that's water under the bridge. (Personally, I'd close that account.)

Sorry you're goin' thru this & try to relax.

I'd ask them for a written agreement of what you agreed to & to validation of the debt.

If all else fails...try to find a consumer attorney.

Good luck & hug yer wife!

i belive they can judgements without the deft needing to go to court. it was my understanding that that happens all the time (at least it does with foreclosures).

They can not get a judgment w/o going to court..because if the person being sued showed up and motioned to dismiss, the judge would dismiss because the plaintiff never showed up.

Personally I would not trust this one little bit. They promise to not act on the judgment? yeah right. Good chance you will turn around and find yourself garnished and your bank account cleaned out.

The fact that they are accepting your payments but not willing to give you a arrangement in writing says to me that they plan on taking your money..then taking more after the judgment since they could say they never had any arrangement with you.

Also you mentioned that they are charging you more then they should. That is a big red flag. You need to have that account validated and them showing you how they calculated the costs.

You should close your bank account immediately and send a letter to them telling them that you have grown suspicious of the account authenticity due to the fact they would not send you any supporting documents and even when you began making payments, they would not put that arrangement down in writing.

You need to show up at court and explain this all to the judge, that you are suspicious of the account because of those things I mentioned above. There is a discovery part of the trial and you will want to ask them for all documentation to prove their claims. You can even tell the judge that at first when you thought it was a legitimate debt you had ever intention of paying it and in fact did start, that you only stopped those payments due to the suspicious actions of the company.

Even if this company fully validates the account in court, you will be able to set up a payment plan through the judge and there will not be any sudden garnishments or your bank drained.

Do not trust them. At all. They are not being square with you and you should be cautious.

thanks for the clarification golden :)
i was confused because in foreclosures, they get the writ and the judgement and than notified the deft.. how does that work or even make sense?
either way i have experience with lyons and do not trust them one bit.. they once had the wages garinished from someone i know on disabilty, how could that even happen? they are not allowed to garnish from disability checks!

I took about $17K from my 401k and I am in the process of paying down my debt. I couldn't get enough to pay it all off, but Lyons/Cap 1 is finished. I am having an interesting problem with Discover, which is being handled by First national Collection Bureau. Every other agency has agreed to settlements, usually 15 or 20 per cent knocked off the bill. Not these guys. they pulled my credit record and saw I was making payments to everyone so they declined a settlement offer. I owe about $2600 and hoped to get it to $2100, but no dice.

Might anyone have some ideas as to how to sway them?

Thanks for any help!

WOW! good to see you post.

Has the collection agengy provided you with proof that they actually own the alleged debt? Are you sure it's your debt? How long ago did you make your last payment on the Discover?

If they won't provide you with proof that they own the debt, Tell 'em you'll see 'em in court, unless they accept your offer. (If they can't provide proof, lower your offer.) Get everything in writing or tape the conversations.

Good luck!

The thing that bothers me most is that I took all this money from my retirement fund so I could pay down my debt. All the other living expenses plus all these arrangements were not leaving us with enough money to live. So far I've increased my usable income by $500 a month. I just want all these slow arrangements to be over.

I don't think they own the debt. The woman I spoke to said she needed to run it by her client, the credit card issuer (Merchants Direct Discover). She said that they were the ones who nixed it because I was doing so well (Ha!) and that they were FNCB's toughest client. She promised to try again but nothing yet.

This isn't easy!

Have you talked with Discover, directly? I surmise that once a debt goes to collection, the collection agency makes all the decisions. That's what they're for. Something doesn't sound right, to me.

Try talking to Discover, directly, & see what they have to say.