consent judgement

i will say one thing.if the 80.00 is not in writing.then basically they are trying to get you to sign your right to court away.in other words,sign that and your screwed.i would take my chances in court before signing that.

since this is my first time dealing with a collections attorney i am not sure how to prepare myself for a court hearing. Could you steer me in the right direction? Should I request originial documents and history from this attorney?

you were served and have a court date right?what if anything have you given to the court clerk?you should have been given a set of forms called interrogaties.if a summons was served how did you answer?

the documents they sent me in the packet was (1) a motion for judgement on the pleadings (2) superior and district court calendar request (3) notice of hearing (4) certificate of service and (4) the consent judgement. they are waiting to see if i sign the consent judgement before they file those documents above with the courts...that's just my guess, not sure.

were you served a summons?

yes i was served a court summons. i filed my letter of acknowlegement with the courts within the 30 days and i also called the attorney and tried to make payment arrangements but was told that i would have to wait until a judgement was served against me then payment arrangements could be made at that point...i am looking through all of my files as we speak...i am searching for the actual summons...i think i have misplaced it. shortly thereafter, i received another letter from the attorney giving me the option of paying the balance in full at a reduced amount or paying monthly payments at the full amount if i signed a consent judgement. I decided on the monthly payments. the attorney told me to send them a check/money order by the 30th of January along with the notarized consent judgement. i sent the check and requested an updated consent judgement form with the added monthly amount of $80.00. they told me in their letter yesterday that the check would not be processed until the consent judgemnt was signed.

i would ask the court clerk about if you refuse to sign it.i still wouldn't sign it.this sounds like they are trying to get you to sign your consent to get a judgement against you.the fact that they won't put the 80.00 in writing concerns me.

that's what concerns me too. thanks for the advice.

Savind, I had a consent judgment filed with the court. DON'T SIGN IT! If you do, as paul explained, you will be giving up your rights to be heard in court. Then the CA can legally place a garnishment against you and disregard any payment plan they may have verbally offerred. Get everything in writing. Just FYI, too, if they would actually file the consent judgment in court, even unsigned as mine was, they have 91 days to actually begin court proceedings. If they don't, it will be dismissed for no progress/non service, but it sounds like they've already started if you have received a summons. I would call their bluff and let them take you to court. Chances are you will be able to get the payments you want by court order. Then they won't be able to raise the payments on you later as long as you don't default.

what is an arbitration hearing? i just received one in the mail.

An arbitration hearing is when you go to court and both sides present their cases in front of an 'arbitrator' instead of the judge. An arbitrator is usually an attorney that has been appointed by the court. If you want to learn more, I checked for you...go to osbar.org/legal info and type in mandatory arbitration...this is a website for your state.

so this arbitration is a good thing for me as far as getting originial contracts and history and stating my case...right?

It could be possible for the arbitrator to have the monthly payments added in the consent judgement without furthe stipulations....am i right or wrong?

and thanks for the info addy.

Both sides bring all their info. The arbitrator, I believe, states what he/she thinks would be a fair settlement for both sides and tries to get both parties to agree. I'm not sure, but I think he/she enters a decision based on the evidence presented. If one party doesn't agree with the decision, they would have the right to appeal, but that can get expensive. There are legal fees involved too I think which are typically split between both parties. I'm not a lawyer, but I think that's basically how it works. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I guess if it were me, I would try to get them to agree to an 'Order for Installment Payments'. But you have to make sure you stick to the payment agreement religiously or they can go back to court and have the order overturned.

Don't agree to an arbitration hearing, the arbitrator works for the CA.

so i'm damned if i do and i'm damned if i don't. i may as well sign the consent judgement because the CA's main objective is to secure a judgement against me giving them greater latitude to collect this debt. not once was i ever late with my cc payments. not once in all those years until recently when their was cut backs on hours at my job and i almost lost my home. oh well, i just gotta believe that this one time, signing this consent judgement will not bite me in the azz.

thanks guys for all your input...i really appreciate it.

let me interject one more time.if you sign that you are giving them carte blanche.in other words,they can get a judgement for whatever they want.at least if you go to court the chances of you getting a payment that is something you can afford.a consent judgement they can get close to whatever they want and you have no say in it.go to court.you will most likely get the 80.00 per payment approved by the judge.

Hi savind,

I totally agree with Paul. I would let it go to the judgment. Go to court. Defend yourself. Signing a consent for an amount not stated could put you in a LOT of financial difficulty. People have reported on this board that they have agreed verbally to payment plans and have had their accounts debited numerous times. Don't hand over your rights to anyone!

What guest was saying was don't agree to arbitration, go to court! This creditor is hounding you.

Who is this collection agency? Search their name both in the search box on DebtCC, and also on Google.

Hope everything works out for you, good luck.

chrys

There are two types of arbitaration. One that the CA instigates and the other as part of the court system. In California a judge can order arbitration as a way of relieving court loads, if either party disagrees with the finding they are allowed to continue in the court. I have a lawsuit in progress over an accident and the judge just sent us to arbitration.

Don't send the agreement.

Right. If the court assigns arbitration, that's a whole different ball game. It sounded to me as if the arbitration letter was sent by the CA, in which case NO NO NO!!

i received 2 letters concerning an arbitration hearing. both letters were from the district court judge's office. should i attend this arbitration hearing? the date is on february 27, 2009. if i should, what documents/info should i make sure that i have with me for this hearing?

i don't want to sign this consent judgement...i got frustrated there for a moment...i'm back on track now.

thanks everyone for all your advice. your help is greatly appreciated.

you know, when i first got the letter from the CA i contacted the cc company to see if they would work with me on a monthly payment basis. they told me that once it's turned over to their lawyers, its too late for them to do anything else.

if i need my history of payments from this cc company and a copy of my originial contract, how will i get that? or do i need that info at all?

you can request that from the lawyers.during the discovery phase.they should be able to provide that given they are supposedly working for the cc company.if not i would push for the 80.00 per month,but you will have to bring financial info such as income,expenditures to justify the monthly payment.

i have all my financial information ready...if you think of anything else you feel i need to know please drop me a line.

thanks for your help and input.

got summons no court date was told to avoid court make payments and sign consent to judgement form need help

Hi savind,

Good thing you chose not to sign that consent judgment. "I acknowledge my credit card debit and I want to pay it in monthly payments until it is paid in full" means that if you *did* sign it, there would be no settlement.

insectacila,

Please read this thread.

And, "no court date"? Call your County Civil Court and double-check to see if it is a real summons.

"Was told to avoid court"? By whom? The creditor? HAHAHA!! Tell *them* to avoid court by not filing the suit in the first place!

These "consent judgments" sound like the creditor has the guts to take you to court yet still believe that they will be forced to settle and so they are trying to trap/trick you into signing an agreement to pay the entire amount.

These creditors are getting dirtier and dirtier every day, it seems. :evil:

chrys

I signed a consent judgement, like a fool, before I found these boards...it was good in a way, b/c I finally decided to take responsibility and take care of my finances. Anyway, my question is, is there a way to have the judgement vacated? I signed the judgement back in July 08' and have not paid it yet. CA is CACH LLC, I'm wondering if I offer to take care of it, can they vacate the judgement so I can get it off my record? also, is there a chance they'd take a settlement on it? (I know that sounds like a stupid question, but I have to ask)

Thanks guys!!!

Well I went to court and was given a judgement. I waited to hear from the CA about our payment agreement but when I heard nothing, I sent my first payment in this month. Then I get a call from the Sherrif's Department telling me that they have a"Notice Of Right To Have Exemptions Designated" and I need to fill out these forms for exemption of property. What did I miss? I thought that making my payments would be the start of getting this thing settled.

Any input/advice will be greatly appreciated.

Contact the court (or the designated court liaison if there is one) and find out what is going on. Has your payment cleared?

From what I can tell about this form, apparently the creditor is attempting to seize some of your property for the debt.

Here is an example of the exemptions form.

Man, this creditor is rather pushy! Are the payments specifically designated on your judgment, or are the payments an agreement between you and the creditor?

The payment agreement was between me and the creditor. The lawyer representing the CA told me that the payment amount would be added to the judgement when I went to court but I never received an amended copy of the judgement with the payment amount on it.

I would like to know what they are trying to accomplish here.

The payment agreement was between me and the creditor. The lawyer representing the CA told me that the payment amount would be added to the judgement when I went to court but I never received an amended copy of the judgement with the payment amount on it.

I would like to know what they are trying to accomplish here.

they tricked you into default judgement.unless you got your agreement in writing.i would go before the court with proof of payment sent and look into having this vacated.

I have made 2 payments so far...one before I went to court in February and after I did not hear from them, I sent another payment in April because I did not want to wait any longer.

I called their office and left my name, number and my reason for calling and as of this moment, I have not heard from them.

My intentions from the beginning was to resolve this matter by making payments until paid in full. They're not even giving me a chance to do that.

no because they are a bottomfeeder that wants payments on there terms,not yours.it's called evil and greedy.

Yeah, they totally tricked you. They're mad because you didn't nail yourself with their consent judgment.

So what did the court say?

The judge signed the judgement which stated that my debt was to be paid in full @ 8% interest. The amount per month to be paid was never added to the judgement and if it was I never received that copy.

I finally heard from the CA yesterday afternoon. They are going to accept my payments for the next six months and at that time, they are going to re-evaluate my financial position for a possible increase in payments or a settlement agreement.

So it looks like they are going to jerk my chain until I get this debt paid.

i would wait and see.still be prepared to inform the court if needed.they are not allowed to jerk your chain if an agreement was reached,and you hold to it.

Hey everyone, can't Savind file a Motion for Installment Payments on the judgment? This would also lock in his payments as long as he does not default. It's my understanding that most courts will award this motion to the defendant if it is reasonable.

i thought about that too dutch.it would seem like the thing to do seeing as this CA might still contact and harass.

I got a summons in the mail too the creditor refused to agree to monthly instllments now i got a letter to sign a consent judgement in the mail the guy called and explained to me that i sign it then once the amount is agreed to then i file a motion for installment payments which is $20 is this true

Probably not. Unless it is specifically written out, it's not worth the air expended in saying it. Plus, consent judgements are a dirty trick to avoid the collector having to defend themselves and prove the debt.

In the court process, you will also have an opportunity to work out an equitable payment arrangement without getting a judgement (IF it's your debt). Avoid a judgement if at all possible, you may as well file for bankruptcy.

If I pay the balance owed to the collection attorney do I have to sign a consent judgement?

You don't have to sign anything.