Zwicker and Associates

Hi!
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You are truly going through a difficult time. Sad to know that you have been scammed. You have taken the right steps by reporting the matter to FTC. I hope they will take the necessary steps to recover your money. But it may take some time.

You'll have to pay off the judgment. I won't suggest you to withdraw money from your 401(k) account. But, you may take out a short term loan from your friends or relatives to pay off the judgment.

Hi,

Yes, I too agree. During such a situation, you must not withdraw money from the 401(k) account as this may penalize you with taxes and often with a penalty rate of 10%. Though you may feel that there are hardship clauses, but always think about your retirement years. You can instead take out a personal loan with low interest rates and work on managing your finances while repaying it. Make you don't default on it as this will add on to your financial woes.

Try contacting a Consumer lawyer specializing in collections cases in your area for a free first consultation.

Some of these Consumer lawyers are very good and can get cases dismissed or set aside if you were served improperly or if the collection firm broke any rules or regulations in trying to collect the debt, including improper pleadings or improper notice (service) or improper collection practices

Quote:

So sorry to hear about your situation, and I'm glad that the FTC now has laws in place to protect consumers from the business model that requires up front fees. A little late for you, but...

First - did you file an answer to this lawsuit? If not, please be sure you do so within the specified time to avoid a default judgment.

Second - I'm surprised you're having such a difficult time with Zwicker. I believe you said this is for an Amex account, and they're usually pretty decent to work with on Amex accounts. Sounds like you ended up with an aggressive bill collector, and you'll need to call during this person's off-hours to try and get someone else.

Depending on the stage of delinquency, Zwicker should accept right around 40% of the balance as settlement in full. Of course, this will require you to borrow the funds from a relative, but as you mentioned, you really just want this behind you.

Also, please keep in mind that if you're still considering bankruptcy, a judgment is not the end of the world, as this debt can be included in the bankruptcy. But, I'm just not sure how long it will take you to commence the bankruptcy process, since you faced some challenges when you attempted to do so in the past.

Yours is a complicated situation, and I apologize if I'm going off in different directions; just trying to address every issue you mentioned in your original post. Best of luck to you!

From reading the first post, it appears the judgment is already in place.

Zwicker can be more difficult with judgment accounts since they have the power of the courts behind them. Yet they will often settle very reasonably if documented hardship can be shown.

i have dealt with zwicker in the past and they are bullies !
it turns out we have to deal with them again, as 2 of my hubbies accounts were just sent to them last week and they are already ringing the phones off the hook.. somehow they got my hubbies cell number and called him the other day.
when he answered the guy asked for (hubby's name), and he said this is he. then the guy said who he is from zwicker & assoc. my hubby did not know who that is, as i am dealing with the cc issues. the guy immediately asked him for his ss #. hubby replied, "i don t know who the heck you are, and you want my ss #? give me YOUR ss # and i will give you mine".. then guy asked for our address, hubby replied "give me your address and i will give you mine"... then hubby hung up on the guy.. i was laughing my butt off when hubby told me this... toooooo funny....
until i called one creditor that we have 4 accounts with (total of the 4 is just over $8000), i did not know why z&a was calling, as we have been dealing with everyone but the one creditor, they are the only one we have not heard from via mail so far this month... z& a is going to have to send us something by mail before we talk to them about the accounts.. the creditor did tell me that they still own the accounts, but we will have to work with z&a in re of payments or settlements...
well, i know from past experience with them, it is not going to be fun, and it may get ugly... but as i said, i will answer the phone when they call again, but i am demanding something in writing, i am not discussing any sort of payment or settlement until they provide written proof..