Another Lowery Law Group Problem

No one can be criminally prosecuted for a debt. Verbal contracts are not law binding. Have you gone through the pdf letter? Does it look legal?

It looked legal enough for me... I took the PDF converted ot a text file and to out Account numbers, names ect ect...

Here it is below:
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[COLOR=black]Anyone? I was hoping for an opinion or 2? [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]How can I slow this guy down, or make different payment arrangements? [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]I can't another $200.coming out of my checking account next month.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]Heck with the price of gas these days I will not be able to get to work, to pay the bill?[/COLOR]

With the FDCPA violations I would not have paid them a dime!! Personally I would recommend sending them an ACH cancellation via CMRRR and then close your checking account. Then contact an NACA attorney at http://www.naca.net/ It will not cost you a dime up front....they work on contingency. Let them pay you. Did they send you a first notice? The threats of criminal procecution is a big enough violation.
This law firm has a history of these threats....just by searching this board you can read about this pattern.

****Sorry about the length of the post??? I wanted to have a record of the conversation I just had with Lowery Law Group****

So I have been talking with my wife and discussing our next steps. I think she is still very upset with this situation. She is now telling me that they never said that they were going to prosecute her??? I don???t get it, because that is not what she said to me??? If she wants to go down that road and let them get away with it, I can???t do anything about it, I was not on the call so personally I did not hear it? Since the Credit card was in her name only she had to call Lowery and authorize them to talk to me about this situation.
I called Lowery Law group yesterday and talked to her ???Account Rep???. Even with the 200 dollar payments, it is too much to cover in one month. Our water was turned off, I was able to make payment arrangements and it was turned on same day??? electricity was on a 24 hour notice, I was able to make arrangements on that too and so on. I was able to get the payment lowered to 100 per month. It is still not great, for right now I am willing to tighten the belt some more to squeeze it in for this month. I do want to pay the bills, but we are living paycheck to paycheck.
In the mean time I have been researching what a debt collector can do and not do??? There is a few things that really stood out to me. Again I am willing to pay the debt, but I want to make sure that they are going to play by the rules. This is what stood out:
From the beginning of the situation and they told me yesterday that if I could make a payment for half the debt that would settle the account and there would be no further action; Which I cannot do, so that is not an option. On the other hand I could not get him to put that in writing, so that is not a valid offer.
I told him that I wanted a Debt Validation. He was willing to send me what he had on hand. He started to list off a bunch of documents. They were public documents; In my line of work I get the same documents off the internet??? it is all out there you just need to know where to look and be willing to pay a small price for them. I told him that I had a list of documents that I would send to him, that I wanted to see. He did not like that at all. Telling me that ???if I asked for the documents that all deals would be off???. IE Payment Arrangements, settlement amounts and we would be responsible for the full amount immediately. On top of that he told me that there would be penalty, interest (I asked what the interest rate was, he told me he was not 100%, sure, but he thought that it was 29.99%) and lawyer fees attached to debt. I was also told if I stopped making payments they would be forced to take legal action? On the other hand I had read in the California State ???Summary of Fair Debt Collection and Practice???s Statutes??? that a debt collector could not add on, Interest, Penalties, legal fees and so on, unless it was stated in the original contract. Which If I read it correctly, that is not common. He mentioned that he was in Denver and those laws don???t apply, the laws that apply are where the debt was created, and that is California??? man he was not happy with me.
We went back and forth for about 45 min. I was very polite throughout the whole conversation, thanking for what he has done already, he wanted off the phone with me, telling me that there was other clients that he had to deal with that was willing to pay their bills??? That pissed me off, I told him that was demeaning and to imply that my situation is less important than others just because I had questions??? bottom line is I still kept my cool even though I wanted to let him have it.
So as of right now I am waiting for the new ???Promissory note??? which I said I would let that slide for this month only and just as a good faith measure. I don???t think that he understood what I was saying, but I told him anyway. I wanted to see if the reduced payoff amount is in the new letter, which I am sure it is not, but I wanted to see it in there anyway.
So that is where I stand right now
Do I send the DV letter and make them play by the rules?
Have they violated any rules?
Have I gone too far?
Any suggestions
As of right now the only thing that I can lose is the payment plan and the verbal promise of a lower payoff amount. Other than that I figure we change all of our account numbers and we are back where we first started, playing the cat and mouse game.

For starters, it would help if you told use who the original creditor is. Has the account been sold or has it been assigned to Lowery.

DV's must be done IN WRITING per the FDCPA.

No CA is going to negotiate thru the mail. Settlments are done on the phone with the CA mailing/faxing you a settlement offer. Talking settlement unless you have the cash in hand is pretty well a waste of time.

wow....

Did anyone else notice what I noticed about their arrangement letter??

To the original poster--STOP making payments to them RIGHT NOW. You cannot compromise your basic needs at home to pay off a credit card bill. The debt collectors dont care if your water gets shut off but I do!!!

anyways, back to that "arrangement letter".....did you notice what is missing from it?? how about the fact that they chopped a $5500 debt down to $2600 on the phone, but in the "arrangement letter" they make no mention of this new balance??? Notice how they want you to make payments for a few months, then "contact this office to make further arrangements....."?? Here's what they do--they lie to you up front, offer you a settlement at a lower amount just to get you to start paying....and then, in six months, when you "call this office to make further arrangements", they suddenly know nothing about the $2600 offer....and they are telling you that you owe the full $5500! This is common with bottom feeders like these guys.

When they make an arrangement with you, in writing, why would they not include that information?? Simple--if they include that $2600 deal in the letter, then they have to honor it. If dont....well...then it becomes a matter of "I dont know who told you that but we cannot accept that kind of a settlement...."

These guys are crooked all day long. Stop paying them ASAP, send them the ACH cancellation, and close the account. Take care of your family FIRST---when money is that tight you need to keep the lights on and keep the water on before you worry about paying off something like this.

He has told me that the account has been sold from CHASE to CACH LLC. I would like to see that contract along with the original Credit Card Contract that my wife singed when she opened the account.

I figured that if the negotiated payoff amount was not in the arrangement letter??? it is not valid. It is like dangling a carrot out in front of the horse, it keeps them moving. I realize that my family comes first, but I also want to be able to answer my phone, without screening the caller ID.

When it comes down to it??? I guess nothing has really changed. Unfortunately or fortunately these guys got through to us, by accident. They started a dialog and got our account number, but that is it. If I cancel the ACH payment, they stop getting the payments and we go back to the cat and mouse game. I realize they will give me any hollow promises they make are to keep us talking. The fortunate side is now I am a little more informed and I do realize that they have their own agenda. That agenda does not have my best interest in mind.
Here is my bottom line, these guys don???t intimidate me and I can go back and forth with them all day long. As implied before right now there is no money to back up paying off the debt, if there was I would have paid them off and tell them to go pound sand. I have gotten advice from other sources too, and they have told me that it is good to have an open line of communication with these people.
So to try to keep some line of open communication and arrangement has to be made and I want my agenda to make that arrangement or at this point is it really best to cut all ties. I realize now that I am NOT at their complete mercy, but they want me to believe that.
So I am getting two different lines of advice and I guess my question now is:
Change my account number and cut off all communications?
Keep them talking and try to stall them out for as long as I possibly can? If I stall them out, what is the best way to accomplish that task?
IMO they both look like valid options??? I am not sure which path would have my family best interest in mind?
Any thoughts?
BTW??? THANK YOU for all the advice up to this point??? I am becoming more educated on this topic and everyone has been very helpful!!

so you mean to say that you haven't closed that checking account,or sent the ACH revocation right?DO IT!now you need to do a couple of things.first look up your court rules for service as some bottomfeeding slime will threaten court if they can serve you indirectly.by that i mean either by mail,proxy,or even publication.that way they can get a default by you not showing up to court.now the reason i bring this up is because since you posted that some or all of your utilities were shut off.you really can't afford 200.00 a month,and if you go to court armed with your financials no judge would even authorize half of that in a judgement.some are gonna ask why i bring this up.again because if utilities were shut off(and i'm guessing this place knows it)they want to threaten and harrass.not sue because again they would be lucky to get half of the 200.00 a month and knowing not just p.scott,but all CACH LLC'S they want maximum $$$$ asap.bottomline cutoff their access to your money until they can send something in writing so you can DV.

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so you mean to say that you haven't closed that checking account,or sent the ACH revocation right?DO IT!now you need to do a couple of things.first look up your court rules for service as some bottomfeeding slime will threaten court if they can serve you indirectly.by that i mean either by mail,proxy,or even publication.that way they can get a default by you not showing up to court.now the reason i bring this up is because since you posted that some or all of your utilities were shut off.you really can't afford 200.00 a month,and if you go to court armed with your financials no judge would even authorize half of that in a judgement.some are gonna ask why i bring this up.again because if utilities were shut off(and i'm guessing this place knows it)they want to threaten and harrass.not sue because again they would be lucky to get half of the 200.00 a month and knowing not just p.scott,but all CACH LLC'S they want maximum $$$$ asap.bottomline cutoff their access to your money until they can send something in writing so you can DV.
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No I have not closed the account just yet??? Again it is like the carrot dangling in front of the horse, it is that little glimmer of hope. I got them to knock that original payment plan from 200.00 to 100.00 per month. That is better but it is still going to hurt badly, I have cut all the bills I can and it is still close every month??? When you say serve me indirectly by mail, proxy or even publication. What do you mean by proxy? I think I have to be served in person.
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You are not entitled to a copy of the contract between Chase and Cach. However you are entitled to proof of the debt.

Send them a letter CMRRR...demand proof of the debt, card holder agreement and any charges they have applied to the balance since they purchased it. (You are not entitled to a payment history with any payment you made PRIOR to them purchasing it) If you are unclear of how they come to the current balance dispute it.
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Why would I not be entitled to the contract between Chase and CACH. That contract is governing my life. Shouldn???t I be entitled to see that?

When I talked to him last week I still have not received the ???promissory note??? He said he sent the original letter, with the 200.00 payment amount. I did not receive that, so I am not surprised that I have not seen this one.
So basically you are both saying cut all ties and let them do what they are going to do, Right? According to them by cutting off the ACH payment and sending a proof of Debt or DV letter is going to many different actions on their part. I want to be 100% sure that is the right course of action. Sorry I need a little hand holding, but I guess I would be back at square one. Them trying to chase me down, and me avoiding them???

Really what would have changed?

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some states like WI allow someone of age to sign and accept a summons.that is what i mean by proxy service.of age is 16 or older.so best to check on that.

Since this is a law office if your going to file a complaint with the SAG, for violations of FCRP act, I would also recommend filling the complaint with the state bar assoc. for the law office letting their people violated federal law You read all the time comments, we didn't know what our employees were doing, as they ride into the sunset in their Rolls.

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some states like WI allow someone of age to sign and accept a summons.that is what i mean by proxy service.of age is 16 or older.so best to check on that.
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The only ???person of age??? is my wife, so that should not be an issue.

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Since this is a law office if your going to file a complaint with the SAG, for violations of FCRP act, I would also recommend filling the complaint with the state bar assoc. for the law office letting their people violated federal law You read all the time comments, we didn't know what our employees were doing, as they ride into the sunset in their Rolls
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What is the ???SAG???? In this thread I have pretty much laid everything out on the table. I know they have not contacted my employer because that would have through me?

Oh yeah there still is no ???Promissory Note??? but that does not surprise me, I know he is going to tell me that he sent it???

Unfortunately I do not have a bunch of time to deal with this during the day or let me be specific I don???t have the time during their business hours. By the time I get off work my ???Account Rep??? is gone for the day. I need to get his email address. That probably will never happen too.

SAG=state attorney general,but how would that apply here,and if they bought a legit debt how are they violating the FCRA?i just think you should recoup whatever money you gavr them thus far and DV their sorry a$$.if their are complaints it's should be with the bar association.again try to get some money back as you have gotten nothing from them but calls.then DV them with a actual letter.

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SAG=state attorney general,but how would that apply here,and if they bought a legit debt how are they violating the FCRA?i just think you should recoup whatever money you gavr them thus far and DV their sorry a$$.if their are complaints it's should be with the bar association.again try to get some money back as you have gotten nothing from them but calls.then DV them with a actual letter.
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You know what you are right??? I have never actually seen a hard copy of any document; I have a promissory note via email, but nothing with an original signature.
Alright, I am comfortable with the next step. I will put the DV letter together and send it off.
Sometimes it takes me a little longer to fully wrap my head around a situation???
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