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Being used by Unifund Partners

Submitted by sw4383 on Mon, 05/12/2008 - 17:36
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Total amount is $5,222.74 + costs

Card was taken out with Chase Manhattan about five years ago [right around the time my daughter was born]

In the summons, they include an exhibit that they call an "affidavit of indebtedness" but it doesn't show anything more than their company supposedly picking up the debt from Chase. No start or end dates with Chase are indicated - so no real proof that there is a card out there with my wife's information out there somewhere.

Yes, she had the card taken out - and yes it did get behind. Now, though, this company has assumed the debt [purchased for "pennies on the dollar"] and they are attempting to collect on the debt plus interest and now court fees.

I did some searching on the company and I keep hearing such "lovely" things about them.

I live in Illinois, and the SoL is five years, but I do not know exactly when the credit card was taken out. Could have been five years ago back in February, or March, but I was SERVED the summons in May. Did she manage to escape the SoL and can't be sued?

Who should I contact for legal advice? I'm having a hard time finding legal help in this matter. The summons date is this coming May 28th @ 9:00am. I can choose to enter a default judgment [which I won't] or deny the amount claimed. It's stated my wife would not have to appear in court on that day.

Any help that can be offered would be greatly appreciated.


I am pretty sure that Illinois is 10 years for a written contract. It is 5 years for an oral agreement. You can try to go to the NACA.net site and find a lawyer there. It might be hard now as they already filed a lawsuit against you.

Did you call the court house to make sure there was a real case against you? Who served the summons?

Also if you could tell us who the debt collector and their attorney is, people here will know who your dealing with and the best way to deal with them.

You will have to answer the summons or they can get a default judgment against you if it is in fact a real case.


Submitted by pokertramp on Tue, 05/13/2008 - 03:41

pokertramp

( Posts: 512 | Credits: )


The firm is in Illinois - Barnett something. The paperwork is at home. The summons was delivered by local law enforcement. I have requested additional paperwork as my research into the firm has indicated that they try to dupe you. I got that from Bill Hibbs based on a copy of the same affidavit from two years ago for someone else. I do not think they have all the documentation they need.


Submitted by on Tue, 05/13/2008 - 04:14

( Posts: 202330 | Credits: )


Um that toilet paper is hearsay because it was not created by original creditor.First contact Chase to find out your date of first delinquency. You will either have to go to court on your own or hire lawyer. Answer lawsuit and also make out a notarized sworn denial. Next request a trial and challenge their toilet paper affidavit as hearsay evidence and request it be barred from trial.If they rule against you,demand that the author of this document be added as a witness to call at trial.


Submitted by cajunbulldog on Tue, 05/13/2008 - 05:02

cajunbulldog

( Posts: 4850 | Credits: )


The firm is Blatt, Hasenmiller, Leibsker & Moore. I had to use my Google web history to pull that up. Everything I read just scares me.

If you want to know what they included in evidence, here is a link:

budhibbs.com/
debtcollectorpages/
unifund.gif

Obviously this document is two years old now, but it remains relatively unchanged. Furthermore, it doesn't appear like they changed who is drafting the signatures, either. [I'm willing to blank out my personal info and share my own document as proof]

Good times.

Our church offers legal assistance so I'm going to contact people there as well to see if I can get reduced cost or sliding scale representation.


Submitted by on Tue, 05/13/2008 - 05:19

( Posts: 202330 | Credits: )


Guess I'm just updating this as I go:

I called the Circuit Clerk's office to check and see if any additional documentation was submitted with the application. When I spoke with the clerk, they had nothing. The only information was a notarized "affidavit of indebtedness" from February 2008.

Did they really need to include anything else with the filing?

If so - are people really that dense?


Submitted by on Tue, 05/13/2008 - 08:18

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Removed !!


Submitted by on Tue, 05/13/2008 - 09:17

( Posts: 202330 | Credits: )


Thank you for removing Collection Dog's dribble and nonsense.


Submitted by on Tue, 05/13/2008 - 09:36

( Posts: 202330 | Credits: )


OK, I am starting to get more advice in from other sites.

It looks like the last activity on the account took place as follows:

The account was opened in March 2003.

The account was closed in February 2006.

An amount was paid in June 2005.

[Presumably by another collector]

The record was updated back in Sept. 2007 - when the file was transferred over to Unifund!

They closed the file on 10/2007, and updated it again in March of this year. [2008]

The original card limit was $2,500, and the high balance [after fees and interest] was $4,779.

When Unifund took it, they state the original balance, but then it jumped to $5,281. I'm being sued for $5,222.74 + costs.

Shouldn't there be some consistency here?


Submitted by on Tue, 05/13/2008 - 10:14

( Posts: 202330 | Credits: )


I didn't realize creditors couldn't tack on fees and interest like that without a judgment in place. I'm sorry - this is all so very new [and cruel] to me. What got me were the different amounts - neither of which we can honestly afford at this point.

I can't afford legal counsel - which was made evident after attempting to get a family friend to represent us. [Public Defenders don't get involved in civil cases] But I guess that is how all these default judgments get issued in their favor and people get garnished wages and the like.

I appreciate any and all help in this matter. It seems as the more information I get, the less of a sting that my wife and I feel. We are still smarting from the initial summons [delivered right before Mother's Day] and all that jazz, but we'll make it through.

And I want to also state that we do want to pay something on this debt and make good on it - but obviously no more than what is legally collect-able by law.


Submitted by sw4383 on Tue, 05/13/2008 - 10:48

sw4383

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Hello,

I am in a similar situation, also a debt from chase, opened in 2001, when I was 19 and too dumb to understand the consequences of not paying. The original credit limit was $1000, and unfortunately I let it get behind, and stopped paying in 2004 with a debt with a debt of $1800. the debt was charged off by Chase in May of 2006 with a debt of $2700. I stopped receiving letters from Chase, and believed the matter to be closed, as Chase had legally written off the debt. About a month ago I received a letter from unifund attempting to collect a debt. I sent Validation letter and they replied within 30 days. They sent copies of two statements from Chase (which I don't remember ever receiving from chase in the first place). I was under the impression that they needed to send a copy of the agreement to repay debt from original creditor. They state in their cover letter that the account has been accruing interest since the time of charge off and I now owe them just over $3000. So, My questions are: Guest - has there ever been any resolution to your situation? Also, can my account continue to accrue interest after it's been charged off; what specifically do they need to send me as validation, and does anyone see any way out of this? I would love to honor the my commitment, but I simply don't have the money to pay this debt. I don't make a lot of money. I still haven't admitted any responsibility for the debt, would it be worth a try to send a pay for removal letter, for $500 dollars? Any advice would be much appreciated, Thanks.


Submitted by on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 22:09

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