LVNV reports false info

hiya--

first off, yes, this is illegal. But they do it because most people dont know what to do about it. Ok, so lets see if I have this right......they filed suit against you for $1340. Then they sent you a letter saying "pay us $1000 and we will drop the suit and this will all be over and done". So then, you paid the $1000 and they didnt honor the agreement they made with you. Is this about right so far?

Alright, first, what state do you live in? Also, did they actually file suit, or did they just talk about "the judgment would be pulled"? If you have not done so already, it is a good idea to check with your court clerk's office in your county to make sure that they actually did file a lawsuit against you. LVNV often lies about this kind of thing...

OK, so if they really did sue you, and you were served the summons properly, then you still have everything you need--they sent you a letter saying "pay us this settlement amount and it will be settled". Your next step would depend on exactly where in the court process you are. Did a judge ever enter a judgment against you? Please get back to us with more details so we can give you the best help on this one.

correct. Their lawyers they hire to work for them in my state are in Tuscon, Arizona. They actually served the papers to my parents, they didnt have a date but said show up to court 28 days from papers served. I sent a letter asking for a settlement and they would not respond to me. So I called and said no letter no money. their lawyers sent a letter saying that if I paid the judgemnt would stop but no where did it say LVNV it said capital one(orig creditor). So I called them refusing to pay because I have heard they try to trick you and they could come back saying I didnt pay them. the lawyer guy(who is prob not even a lawyer) said it didnt matter after I paid I would get a letter saying LVNV and Capital one on it saying it was settled. I asked about my CR and if I could get pay for delete, he said we have nothing to do with reporting to the bureau so I called LVNV and they said I have to deal with lawyers they hired and the Owner of LVNV does not negotiate pay for delete, at this point I cried because why do they care if my CR doesnt have their info on it. they prob bought my debt for a dollar and was getting 1000. anyway I sent the 1000 with a cashiers check issued to LVNV funding(only- that way I have a reciept) the lawyer sent me a letter saying they told the court to stop my judgement. and no other thing saying it was settled so I called both the lawyer and LVNV they said takes time and they will send it. well they reported it to my CR but only subtracted the 1000 not even showing payment in the history. the account says closed. amount 90 days passed due 340 . and still no letter. Should I call and call and call for the letter like they would do me for the money?

I know this was my mistake and so trying to take ownership I still was screwed.

hang on a second....let me ask you, did they ever actually file the complaint with the court? Does it show up on your credit report as a negative account, or does it show up as a court judgment?

You need to contact the court clerk's office IMMEDIATELY about this one. You said they served your parents--so you should have the "summons" that they delivered. Look at the summons, it will list the actual court where this case was supposedly filed. Call that court clerk's office, and ask them if there are any judgments against you or if there are any pending cases filed against you. If you find that LVNV never filed any case, get back to me ASAP on this. Its possible that they sent you a fake summons to try to scare you into paying, and that is illegal.

I have a funny feeling that they pulled a fast one on you. You mentioned that they served a summons on your parents, and that it said that you had to show up at court 28 days after service of the summons. I have a little problem with that one--I am guessing that you are in Pima county, correct? Well, if they went through the AZ Superior court in Pima, then the rules of civil procedure give you 20 days from date of service to file an answer, not 28. Also, Pima County has a Justice Court which is similar to small claims court. And the Justice Court uses the same exact rules of civil procedure down there--which means you also would have had 20 days to file an answer, not 28.

Im not sure if they actually did file a judgment against me or not, I will have to call to find out and get back to you. I did try to look it up online and I didn't see my name listed for any cases against me. What could I do if they didn't really file and I already paid? My biggest concern is that I paid 1000 to them and all they did is subtract it and didn't report it as a settlement at least. I copied and pasted what it states on my CR. My CR doesn't have any thing at all about Judgments.
LVNV FUNDING LLC
Account TypeUnknown - Credit Extension, Review, Or Collection

Balance$340.00

Date Opened3/1/2009












Account StatusClosed



Mo. Payment



Close Account DetailsPast Due$340.00



Payment StatusSeriously past due date / assigned to attorney, collection agency, or credit grantor's internal collection department



High Balance




Limit




Terms1 Month



Comments

Ok I was able to find information on the Maricopa county court website that they did file a case but there is no information for disposition on the website.

is that the county you live in? If not, did you ever live there?

yes I live in Maricopa county. I have since I moved to arizona

When did they file the case? I would contact the court clerk's office by phone if there's no more info on the website. You are looking for any information pertaining to the summons--was it served, was it returned without being served, when did they serve it if they did? Those questions are big right now--you need to know what exactly they have done so far. If they sent you a regular mail copy and then claimed to the court that you were served through other means, you need to know because that is illegal. Also, you need to be on this like a hawk because these people love to act illegally--they will often collect a settlement under threat of lawsuit and then proceed with a lawsuit anyways. Or, in a case like this, CAs will often claim that they will stop the suit if you pay them a percentage, and then they continue it anyways without telling you....then they end up with a default judgment for the whole amount. This is why we're going to keep on this one, keep yourself in the loop by watching the court clerk's information.

well they did actually serve papers from the court. My parents signed for them. they do have it filed with the court and they also sent me a letter stating it was stopped.

OK, in this case, there are two ways you can go about this.

first, you can wait to see what they do next. If they continue with the lawsuit--if they do not actually go to the court and move for dismissal, then you will have the proof you need to shut them down. At that point, you will also have enough evidence to file a lawsuit of your own against them for violating the FDCPA and also the FCRA. When they tell you that something will be settled in full, or that paying X amount will close this debt, they do not have the legal right to report to credit bureaus that you still owe the remaining balance.

Second option is to make a motion to dismiss with prejudice to the court. This is what the plaintiff should have done already. for some reason, they dont seem to be willing to play fair. You would basically be, in this motion, informing the court that the plaintiff has made a settlement offer to you in which they agreed to close this matter if you paid the settlement amount to them. You would then state that you not only agreed to the settlement, but you have a written statement from them establishing the settlement offer, and you have proof that you paid them the agreed amount. I would also throw in for good measure that the plaintiff has chosen not only to go back on its word with regard to the settlement offer, but they have also acted in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by continuing the lawsuit, and by also reporting that you still owe a balance on an account that they agreed to close with a settlement.

if it were me, I would wait to see what they do. My reasons are simple--they are already breaking the law. So I would give them the chance to really dig themselves a hole. And then I would file suit against them for violating the FDCPA and the FCRA. You really cannot lose--even if they chose to try to continue the lawsuit, you would then motion to dismiss with prejudice at that point. And since you have their written statement proving that they agreed to drop the case, there isnt anything legal that they could do to get this case to continue. Here's the messed up part of it--you paid them $1000 to stop the court case. If you sue them for FDCPA and FCRA violations, you could easily make a case for more than that. FDCPA violations are up to $1000 total, no matter how many times they break the law. BUT--FCRA violations are $1000 per violation. So, if you check all three credit reports and they reported the $340 balance still owed on all three, then that is $3000--three violations of the FCRA right there.

Something else sticks out at me. You said earlier that when they made the settlement offer to you, that the letter said:


[QUOTE]So I called and said no letter no money. their lawyers sent a letter saying that if I paid the judgemnt would stop but no where did it say LVNV it said capital one(orig creditor).[/QUOTE]

This is very important.....if Capital One still owns this debt, then LVNV couldnt sue you anyways, not legally anyways. When you check with the court clerks office, who is the named plaintiff on the case? And how exactly does the letter mention Cap One? Could you please tell me word for word what this letter says? Its possible that they are only hired by Cap One to handle this account, and if they are, then they are REALLY breaking the law because they dont have the legal standing to file anything against you! Please get back to me

Jon