Canceled?
Date: Fri, 07/10/2009 - 06:12
We show up at court today and the clerk told us the case was canceled. I didn't expect that, so I asked "Is it continued to another date?" and she said "It's canceled." And looked at me as if to say "It's over".
Is it?
You need to contact the clerk at the courthouse to ask if it was
You need to contact the clerk at the courthouse to ask if it was dismissed with or without prejudice. If it was with prejudice you are ok and it is over as far as courts are concerned. If it was without prejudice then it's a different story as a dirty CA can turn around and file another suit during while the SOL has not run out yet.
Thanks for that reply! Guess I should have asked that before I
Thanks for that reply! Guess I should have asked that before I left the courthouse but I didn't know.
Just called the courthouse for clarification - they said the cas
Just called the courthouse for clarification - they said the case was dismissed by Midland Funding, the people who purchased the debt. Yaay :-) I asked if it was with prejudice and she said "It was just dismissed by Midland Funding, did she pay the credit card off?" and I said "She never took out the credit card so we were asking them for proof" and she said "Ohh well you're ok then, it's over"
OK, here's the thing about Midland--they are among the worst in
OK, here's the thing about Midland--they are among the worst in the country. Dont breathe too easy over them dismissing this case just yet--you should be on guard for Midland's activities too. And they are well known for their own violations of federal laws. If you live in a one-party state, you MUST record every phone call you get from Midland over this debt, without exception. if Midland owns the debt, I would expect FDCPA violations by the truckload. I have personally dealt with them before and they are scum.
While it is dismissed, get out a debt validation letter to them
While it is dismissed, get out a debt validation letter to them immediately. If this account is showing on the credit report then you can aggressively go after THEM since it sounds like they have no proof it is your family member's debt. If they can't provide validation and it remains on the family member's credit report, then turn the tables on THEM and take them to court. Not only do they seem to have no evidence, but they also dismissed a court case...yet why would it still remain on the credit report?
If it isn't reporting..well, I would send the DV anyhow just to protect your family member...it would look very bad for them if they sued you a second time and without properly validating the account.
Thanks to everyone for the fantastic advice! So during the wh
Thanks to everyone for the fantastic advice!
So during the whole court process, the firm representing Midland was asked to produce documentation with my family member's signature, proof of payment, etc (standard stuff you ask for). They must not have any of that because they provided none and then dismissed the case. Found out it was dismissed WITHOUT prejudice, however, and the court can't dismiss a case with prejudice that never happened in court (they canceled the day before the telephone conference).
Well today, Midland Credit Management, aka Midland Funding, sends a letter to my relative agreeing to collect on this debt they can't prove for $1000 less than the "balance". I'm like... wow this place is super shady!
So I'm going to send a copy of the fraud papers she filed with Midland to Experian (I'm guessing that's the right thing to do), and I don't know if they've been calling or not, but no one answers the phone if the number is not recognized, so there's been no phone harassment that I know of.
I appreciate the advice here very much, thank you!