Law firm threaten to sue over credit card debt.
Date: Sat, 08/11/2007 - 18:08
I have recently paid-off all my credit cards most of them were less than a thousand here, two or five hundreds there. There was one that had a high balance of about five thousands two hundreds dollars that I seemed to have paid on for six years without the balance moving down more than eighty dollars or so, ( I really don't recall well the facts.) In April of 2005, I called Sears and told them that I would like to pay off the account at fifty cents to a dollar. Naturally they refused and I told them I will stop making payments. And ever since that date I never paid them. This week I received a call at work from an attorney that is asking me to pay off the amount, now at five thousands seven hundreds dollars, and they say they will accept seventy cents to a dollar for a settlement amount of four thousands. Once again I offered twenty five hundreds to settle the account and they refused and threatened to sue me and to garnish my wages. I have until the twenty seventh of August to come up with the money or I will be sued. Now I noticed that some say that I have to write to them and ask them to verify the debt, but that was when individuals were dealing with a collection agency. Does that work the same now that it is in the hands of an attorney. I checked them and it seems that they buy old debts and try to collect on them. I know in Louisiana the statue of Limitation is three years and we are about two years and four months into that period. So the debt is till valid. Is there anything I can do? Will there really be a law sue or this is just a tactic to scare me, (keeping in mind that I am dealing with an attorney now.) Also, is there room for me to negotiate now that they know my place of employment. That's what they keep telling me, " why should we settle for anything less when we know your place of employment now". I am finally working for an employer that has given me the best job I have ever ever had, and I don't want to lose my job over a stupid credit card issue. I know my employer is kind of strict on credit history and its employees characters. once last question, will I need to hire a lawyer to counter offer and lower the settelment amount to my match my offer to them?
Please advise. Thanks in advance.
Since the debt is within the SOL period, there are possibilities
Since the debt is within the SOL period, there are possibilities of taking you to the court. In most cases, the creditors go to the court only if the balance is a huge amount. There are huge court costs and attorney fees subjected to filing of the case.
You need to call the original company and inquire about the latest status of your account. You must be sure that the previous payments were posted on your account. If your payments have not been posted, you can consult an attorney and file a legal case against that company who collected the previous payments from you.
Send a debt validation letter to this attorney who is attempting to collect on your account. It is under your rights to confirm that the attorney has your details. They cannot sue you unless they have responded to your DV letter. If they use scare tactics, record their phone calls and report to your state AG. You must check the laws on recording collection calls because in some states, you have to notify the other party before recording the conversation.
It will be illegal for the attorney to contact your place of employment without validating the debt. Send a cease and desist letter to their mailing address and force the federal laws as mentioned in the FDCPA.
They cant call your employer and discuss about your debt it is a
They cant call your employer and discuss about your debt it is a sheer violation of fdcpa. Wait...but it is not the first violation, they have even threatened to sue you and garnish you wages ( do you really know whether they can do such stuffs or not?). In my opinion you should send them a DV letter asking them to validate the account. If possible try to contact the original creditor and inquire whether the accounts has been sold or not. To get rid of the harassing calls you can send a cease and desist letter and notify them that you have no intentions to deal with them, you will deal with the original lender.
Do not get intimidated by such calls. Just be aware of your rights.
It's never a good idea to call your creditor and tell them you a
It's never a good idea to call your creditor and tell them you aren't going to pay them unless they give in to your demands.
collection agencies are not required to settle debts. They don't have to negotiate with you. If you find a collector that does then count youself lucky.
They can't discuss your debt with any third party without your permission. They can validate your employment. They can say they are validating it for a collection agency but they can't say it is for a debt.
A collection agency can't threaten you with any action unless they intend to take such action. I do know that Sears debts usualy get sued if they are over a certain amount. I used to collect on those before they charged off. I've had many a people call me back because they got a judgement and wanting to make arrangements.
I would like to know can you be sued for a credit card that has
I would like to know can you be sued for a credit card that has been taking off your credit report more than 6 months ago.
What state do you live in? When was the last time you made a pa
What state do you live in? When was the last time you made a payment on the account? Reporting time limits and SOL are completely different so just because it is gone from your reports does not mean that SOL has expired.
Even if it did pass the SOL period, they can still technically s
Even if it did pass the SOL period, they can still technically sue you, but the case will be Dismissed - IF you show up and defend yourself (otherwise they will get a default judgment).
