SRS call - suing - next steps?
Date: Fri, 01/28/2011 - 03:14
All of my husbands and my credit cards are charged off, about a year or so from falling off from the statue of limitations. No pay day loans or store-cards. One school loan that is currently in deferment.
I listened to my husband's voicemail messages while we were out, during the first week in January. There was a msg from "Legal Support Services," saying that my husband was named as a Defendant in a civil case and that he needs to contact him to arrange to be served. They said that they would try 3 times between certain hours. :( We have not received anything in the mail or in person.
I saved the msg on the phone and let my husband know to listen to it later. However, something happened and we needed to get new phones, so the msg was lost (that I know of). But then they called and left the same message with my husband's dad! I called the company's number just now (when they're closed). Instead of it being "Legal Support Services" it was SRS and Associates (Superior Recovery Services & Associates).
There are only a few places that have been sending us stuff (especially for me, as my name changed). Only one company has sent my husband anything recently, and it was from Midland, not SRS.
I looked our names up at the local court website and there is no case against either of us. I then looked them up and they seem to be in the habit of scamming people, asking for access to their accounts, not giving out their address, etc etc. And they have an "F" with the Better Business Bureau
"http://www.bbb.org/new-jersey/business-reviews/collection-agencies/superior-recovery-services-and-associates-in-vineland-nj-30000320"
Our current situation: We are both private contractors who's jobs/gigs have dropped off. We've currently no day jobs (although we are both looking) so no cash beyond living expenses to settle anything with.
:confused: QUESTIONS :confused:
1) Am I right in thinking that if they can't properly serve us, they can't actually sue us?
2) Were they allowed to call my husband's Dad? (They didn't say what the case was for)
3) Were they allowed to say that he's a "defendant" in a "Civil case"?
4) Are they allowed to say that he is a defendant, if they have not yet legally sued him (that we know of)
5) Should my husband, or I, or my lawyer friend call them back? ...or just let it go?
THANK YOU!!!
If the collection agency has filed a lawsuit against you, then y
If the collection agency has filed a lawsuit against you, then you will receive a summons from them. Once you receive the summons, it means that there is a case filed against you in the court house.
The collection agency can only contact your husband. Contacting friends and relatives in order to collect dues is against the FDCPA rules. If a case has not been filed against your husband, then they cannot claim that he's a "defendant" in a "Civil case". If your husband receives any further calls from them, then you can take the help of an attorney to deal with them.
Hi. sorry to hear that SRS has started this game with you. i dea
Hi. sorry to hear that SRS has started this game with you. i dealt with them off and on for the last six months or so. james andrews would call and give his little speech about how i need to "quit stalling" and about how asking for validation of debt is known to be a stall tactic in the debt collection industry. he refused to send anything via usps, although in the beginning he swears that he did. he didnt. after awhile he would leave messages on my cell stating that if i didnt get back to them by the following monday he was going to have his legal deptartment "move forward", whatever that means. after the fifth or sixth time he left me that same exact message, i finally told him to do just that: move forward. take me to court. please mr andrews, lets go hash this out in front of judge.
this was about a month or so ago that i told him to take me to court. he got flustered and i was pretty angry so i just hung up on him. i havent heard from them since.
i think that once they know for sure you arent going to fall for their crap theyll back off. ive also done this with some of the boiler room call centers that call claiming to be from the us dept of crime prevention ro whatever, and they never call me back.
stand your ground. demand verification. if they dont give it up, tell them nothing and ignore their calls. or you can do what i did and just tell them to take you to court (im still not sure if that was the smartest move on my part, but so far its seemed to work). either way, give them nothing until they do what they have to do under the law.