Hey SB
Google prepaid legal, they may be able to provide you with a reasonably priced attorney.
I agree if the debt collector can't provide evidence they dont have much of a case. They may be harrasing you to get a settlement without court.
Need lawyer or legal advice
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Google prepaid legal, they may be able to provide you with a reasonably priced attorney.
I agree if the debt collector can't provide evidence they dont have much of a case. They may be harrasing you to get a settlement without court.
Companies buy debt from other companies. This is a real cash cow for Wall Street. The lender package the debt into tranches & sells it. In the case of mortgages, your actual mortgage may have changed
hands several times.
Don't acknowledge the debt, or agree to a partial payment. These can dilute your rights. You said you repaid the debt.
Don't talk to the 'collectors' without talking to someone at your county or state who works in this area.
Philbert
Don't talk to the 'collectors' without talking to someone at your county or state who works in this area.
Philbert
blacklocst
ArboristSite Guru
I have called the Texas bar, Lone star legal aid, Houston volintear lawyers ass, Houston lawyer referral services, the Texas attorney generals office, The university of Houston law offices, cathedral justice project, as well as many others.
No one seem to want to help.
It probably doesn't fit in a neat enough box for them so they won't take it.
I don't have anything they can come get. But I am concerned that if I loose.......then there will be a judgment on record.
They will tack on there lawyers fees and interest until the debt is paid.
In my case is not a big problem right now.
But my mother is 81 years old and will, will the property over to me at some point.
When that happens this will show up and I will be forced to pay a snowballed amount sometime in the future.
They will tack on there lawyers fees and interest until the debt is paid.
In my case is not a big problem right now.
But my mother is 81 years old and will, will the property over to me at some point.
When that happens this will show up and I will be forced to pay a snowballed amount sometime in the future.
There are dozens of finance companies that are all guilty of usury violations. Some continue to collect payments from desperate borrowers for up to 14% annually or more, and the loans were granted some 15 years ago or more. This piracy will continue until someone figures out how to end the nonsense. Many borrowers have paid out on the loan over three times as much money as their financed property could ever be sold for today and they still owe more than they could sell it for today. It sickens me. 
Um.........Just because it is OLD CREDIT CARD debt you don't think you have to pay it. The way I was raised if you owed it you paid it. Here is a crazy thought go out and get a second job and pay it off. I am guessing you didn't give it much thought when you were out running up your credit cards. As for the 30% rate on the cards I would be hard pressed to think of ANYTHING that I would need to pay that kind of rate. You spent the money and ran up the debt no one else, man up and meet you obligations.
Big_Al
ArboristSite Guru
There should be some consumer rights lawyers in the yellow pages. I went thru a similar deal a few years ago, got sued by a collection company. I went to court to ask for an extension to do more research on the supposed credit card debt. (It was paid off) Before court started there was at least 4 pro bono lawyers asking if anyone needed help. I talked to one, he read thru their paperwork & said not to worry. Guy spent a couple minutes speaking to judge & other party on speakerphone. Case ended up being dismissed. Anyway, there should be some legal aid type lawyers available, did you try the court house? Ours has a list in the clerks office.
First Post!!
I read that as he would just pay off the collectors to get rid of them, even though he does not owe anything.
Either way, he has legal rights, and he should not ignore them.
Philbert
You must not be understanding what happend.
I had debt that was bought out by another creditor and was paid off through the other creditor.
The creditor that bought that debt, can not or will not recover or provide me with the original account numbers on the accounts they took over and I paid off. I keep pretty good records but I could be guilty of over looking something. In none of my records do I show any of the numbers of the accounts they are sueing for. Without any of that information I can not be sure this is my dept.
I always pay my debt, always have, always will, but they have to prove to me I owe them a debt.
That's the only reason I made the offer for a pay off. Just to get rid of it and make it go away. It was not an admission of guilt.
The time I have spent working on this issue is worth more the the debt there after.
I'll try to give some guidance. Your facts are a little muddled but it appears that you are not "judgment proof" because you ask whether the creditor can take your house and personal property. Yes, probably, at least there will be a lien on your house. They can garnish your wages, if you work, and your bank account. Whether they go to the trouble is another question.
But you profess you have no liability because you've paid off the debt and you are in the middle of a pending lawsuit. It also sounds like you've been before the judge at least once. My guess is that would have been the "answer date" where you had to admit or deny the debt, and you denied it. If you are in a lawsuit, tell the creditor's rep you will only talk to their lawyer. I assume you know the restrictions under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
You say you are in the discovery phase, of the case so that means you've got a trial coming up at some point. You need to serve "interrogatories" on the plaintiff's lawyer. The internet is full of self-help sites that can make a lawyer out of almost anyone--just google what you need ("interrogatories in a collection case") and see what pops up. You also want to serve a "request for production of documents" asking for all relevant documents that the Plaintiff has that shows you owe the debt.
Get your records together. If you paid these debts, you can get your bank records to show the payments. The folks you paid can give you an "affidavit" stating what happened and they judge will probably let you present it in your defense.
There will be scheduled court dates. Do not blow those off... go. If you don't, the judge is not going to believe a word you say and if you jerk the court around you are good as dead. Also, you have to file an written answer unless the judge has already let you get by with just verbally saying "I don't owe it." I have seen letters that have been accepted as formal answers in pro se cases. In any event, the judge will give you time to speak if you show up at schedule hearings. Dress properly, speak politely. If you don't follow procedures and show up a default judgment will be entered and then thiat judgment will be a public record for a long time. If you ever go to refinance your house, or borrow money, finance a car, etc., you'll have to pay it off before anyone will deal with you.
At trial, the creditor has to prove its case. That might be more difficult to do if you show up with some evidence (paperwork) that this was paid off. But even if you don't, a lot of times the paperwork these outfits have just won't support a judgment. Computer print outs aren't real convincing sometimes and judges don't like these bloodsuckers anymore than the rest of us.
I assume the creditor is represented by a law firm. Check them out. If they are a reputable firm you will have a tougher time before the judge than if they only represent predatory lenders and creditors. Also, if this law firm has represented this client in the past, you can look up cases in the court's file (probably computerized) and take a look at the paperwork they've filed and what's happened in other cases. Maybe you'll get lucky and find someone that fought them and won and the file will help you.
On a final note--legal aid and pro bono lawyers don't usually take on these kind of cases because if they did that's all they'd have time to do.
Good luck.
Atticus Finch
But you profess you have no liability because you've paid off the debt and you are in the middle of a pending lawsuit. It also sounds like you've been before the judge at least once. My guess is that would have been the "answer date" where you had to admit or deny the debt, and you denied it. If you are in a lawsuit, tell the creditor's rep you will only talk to their lawyer. I assume you know the restrictions under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
You say you are in the discovery phase, of the case so that means you've got a trial coming up at some point. You need to serve "interrogatories" on the plaintiff's lawyer. The internet is full of self-help sites that can make a lawyer out of almost anyone--just google what you need ("interrogatories in a collection case") and see what pops up. You also want to serve a "request for production of documents" asking for all relevant documents that the Plaintiff has that shows you owe the debt.
Get your records together. If you paid these debts, you can get your bank records to show the payments. The folks you paid can give you an "affidavit" stating what happened and they judge will probably let you present it in your defense.
There will be scheduled court dates. Do not blow those off... go. If you don't, the judge is not going to believe a word you say and if you jerk the court around you are good as dead. Also, you have to file an written answer unless the judge has already let you get by with just verbally saying "I don't owe it." I have seen letters that have been accepted as formal answers in pro se cases. In any event, the judge will give you time to speak if you show up at schedule hearings. Dress properly, speak politely. If you don't follow procedures and show up a default judgment will be entered and then thiat judgment will be a public record for a long time. If you ever go to refinance your house, or borrow money, finance a car, etc., you'll have to pay it off before anyone will deal with you.
At trial, the creditor has to prove its case. That might be more difficult to do if you show up with some evidence (paperwork) that this was paid off. But even if you don't, a lot of times the paperwork these outfits have just won't support a judgment. Computer print outs aren't real convincing sometimes and judges don't like these bloodsuckers anymore than the rest of us.
I assume the creditor is represented by a law firm. Check them out. If they are a reputable firm you will have a tougher time before the judge than if they only represent predatory lenders and creditors. Also, if this law firm has represented this client in the past, you can look up cases in the court's file (probably computerized) and take a look at the paperwork they've filed and what's happened in other cases. Maybe you'll get lucky and find someone that fought them and won and the file will help you.
On a final note--legal aid and pro bono lawyers don't usually take on these kind of cases because if they did that's all they'd have time to do.
Good luck.
Atticus Finch
blackdogon57
Addicted to ArboristSite
Whoops, thought I logged on to arboristsite.com - I must be lost.
Hello there! Welcome to the site!
This is exactly why I offered the pay off. All the things you are saying sounds correct, but I don't have the knowledge or experience to deal with this issue. I'm researching as best I can but all these legal terms and codes are a bit overwhelming.
If I had the money to hire a lawyer, I could just pay the debt. I feel like I'm stuck behind a rock and a hard place.
Pruning@trunk
CO2 Lover
pay what you owe. you spent the money you owe it to them. yes they charge a lot but if you didnt want to pay the interest you shouldnt have used the card for your purchases.
AIM
Addicted to ArboristSite
There just has to be a better place to gain legal advice than here....
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