dealing with a local "law firm" now

You can file complaint against them if they fail to meet the standards of collection procedures set by FTC. You can record the conversation and use it as evidence. Check your state law regarding conversation recording. If it allows one-party consent, go and get them, otherwise you have to declare that the conversation is going to be recorded.

You can record the conversation using the service developed by this site too.

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/phone/index.html

BTW, if you find the amount to be high to pay in one installment, negotiate with them and offer a payment plan.

additionally file a complaint with your state ag. Also the next time they threaten a lawsuit ask to speak to the attorney handling your case.. when they stall, you will know they are lying and you will have cught them behaving illegally.

You said "old credit card debt", have you checked to see if maybe it is out of the SOL in your state?

Please -- do not forget to file with the ABA and that lawyer's State Bar...they do not play nice with you, so do not show them any mercy. :twisted:

Ok so these guys mean business. I just received some court documents earlier tonight, via a courier, saying for me to appear next month in court. Thing is, there is no case number and these idiots know that I am working with them.

I will be calling this collection company/law firm tomorrow to really work something out but since there is no case number and nothing "official" from the county, are these legit?

Also, I am on vacation in that so called "court date" so they're SOL there.

Any ideas on how to handle this besides calling them to set up payment arrangements?

If it is an actual legit court date, do not go on vacation and miss the court date, unless you don't care. If you do not appear in court, they will win a default judgement against you. If you set up arrangements with them, make sure you get everything in writing, and that they still do not expect you in court. You can contact your local courthouse or county clerk to see if the papers are legit.

well I'm going on vacation, regardless. I need this and everything is completely booked.

These papers look so generic, almost like a Word template. I could do something like this!

As I said, I'm calling the collection company tomorrow to work something out again.

I would not let them know you are going on vacation...they can use that against you in court, then the judge will really show no mercy. CA's will use anything against you, the fact that you can afford a cell phone, cable tv, vacation, etc...it all looks bad in court when you are not using that money to pay them. Just an FYI.

Hi d-townmike

The guest has given a very natural way of handling this situation.

A copy of this court paper will be available with your local county if it is a genuine one. Check with them or if you can ask someone to look it for you. In any case, if the court papers are genuine, you must plan your return.

shouldn't the papers have been served by someone? As john suggested, I would call your local clerk of court to make sure they are an actual summons.

Legal proceedings require someone from the court to come and serve the papers. It can also come in the mail but the most important part is that the records should be available with the local county.