Being Sued by Ford Motor Credit

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by parent, Apr 14, 2004.

  1. parent

    parent Well-Known Member

    Received a summons today, Iâ??m being sued for a car by Ford Motor credit in 6 days. The total they are suing for is 9719.63 and costs. I am at my wits end. I am the only one working right now. My husband had a major medical problem a year and a half ago. He is not working, has no money coming in, and probably will not be back to work anytime soon. I owe the money but there is no way I can afford to repay that right now and if my wages are garnished I donâ??t know how we would live. A couple of months ago they offered to settle for $5000 dollars which was a good offer but they wanted the money then and I just didnâ??t have it. Any chance I can make a deal with the lawyer handling this? If they garnished my wages it would take forever to pay this off. Can anyone offer any advice?
     
  2. fun4u2

    fun4u2 Well-Known Member

    in order to garnish your wages a judgement or court order must be obtained.

    go to court and explain your position and tell the judge you can make minimual payments , if the attorney refuses that state you have no assets to attach or put a lien on.

    if the attorney is granted a judgment and files for a wage garnishment there is a form you can file with the court that is called a claim of exemption, but you must prove you have no ability to pay and more than 1/2 your income in needed to support yourself which in your case sounds like it.
     
  3. parent

    parent Well-Known Member

    Thanks

    I'm sure they will probably win. I did buy the car and financed it through them, they included copies of the contract on thee summons. I couldn't afford an attorney and the court I have to go to is over 40 miles away.

    I have never heard of a claim of exemption. Is that something in all states? I live in Illinois and I always understood that when they garnish your wages there is not much you can do about it. Between house payments, lights, gas, and food we need more than 1/2 of my income.

    Something I didn't understand. On the summons near the top it says

    "This is an Arbitration Case"

    What exactly does that mean?
     
  4. goldhummin

    goldhummin Well-Known Member

    No clue whether this applies here....but ... I recall reading somewhere here that you could offer them what I think was called a "settlement conference". Then if they refuse your settlement offer, when you go to court you can at least show the judge that you were making every effort to settle. During the settlement conference (if it happens) you could let them know the amount (even tiny) that you'd have available to pay them given your finances.

    You can also state that you are really NOT interested in filing a BK, though you may be forced to do so if the judgment was successful and they forced a garnishment on you.

    I'm not SAYING to file, but I'm hoping that hinting will make them realize you're a the end of your financial rope? I don't know, but between that and your hubby's situation you might be able to work something out amicably. If nothing else you'll have the sympathy of the judge that you did you level best to make this work out.

    Best of luck, and please write to let us all know the progress. We're here for ya.
     
  5. fun4u2

    fun4u2 Well-Known Member

    arbitration case means you agreed to settle this matter outside of court.

    there are free legal aid or help clinics you can also go to a site called lawguru.com and ask a lawyer from your state a question.

    you may need help as far as the claim of exemption goes im not sure if its different in other states it might be called something different.

    sorry
     
  6. parent

    parent Well-Known Member

    Thanks gold.

    Are you saying I should contact their lawyer before I go to court and try to reach a settlement?
     
  7. goldhummin

    goldhummin Well-Known Member

    Oh yeah. And WHATEVER you do be sure to ANSWER THE SUMMONS. In my state I just ran down to the court clerk's office and was very nice to her, since they can't give legal advice. She handed me a form that had a few blanks to write down the court numbers and the names involved and then write down which parts of the summons I admitted to (like name, and fact that I live in the state, etc.) and then the parts I denied. I denied everything financial, since they have not provided me a validation and I don't agree with the legal fees and interest added. You can deny the whole debt, even if you just think a bit of it is incorrect as the burden of proof is on them. BE SURE you do this right away!

    Then in my state I had to "serve" a copy of the answer form to their lawyer. I read on the web that I could pay a server $$, or send it CRRR or have anyone 18 years old and not involved with the case, so my daughter ran it over to their office. Then she filled out a form and had it notarized that she'd "served" them the form. Then I filed the notice of service with the court.

    None of this cost me one red dime, and everything I did was handwritten. No bother to even type it out. Just used the form with a couple blanks to handwrite info. VERY EASY!

    If you do not answer, they can get a default judgment and you do not want to go down without a fight.
     
  8. goldhummin

    goldhummin Well-Known Member

    Yes, I'm saying that we know you can't afford a lump sum like $5K, but at least you can offer small payments.

    I guess the main point is that you are showing EFFORT in settling this to the best of your ability.

    Hey, it all helps when you're standing in front of the judge and you have to tell your side.

    "Your honor, I made every attempt to settle (in writing, and here's the proof). They refused me."

    This is my thought. It's better than doing NOTHING. You're empowered now that you have CNET on your side.

    Years ago I actually did the "DO NOTHING" route, and it's truly not emotionally easier than fighting back (like we're taught to do here.)

    Now, I'm guessing that you don't have the car and that you can attempt to refinance it or anything... right? Can anything be done that way??? Good to consider all options.
     
  9. parent

    parent Well-Known Member

    On the summons I have it says I am required to appear at the courthouse or a judgement by default may be taken.
     
  10. parent

    parent Well-Known Member

    Thanks gold. No I don't have the car any longer so no good that way.
     
  11. dixidriftr

    dixidriftr Well-Known Member

    First off, you can fight it.

    You need to file an answer to the court asap if you are already not past the time limit to file your answer.

    Motion for a continuance.

    Proceed with discovery.

    Its entirely possible that you are past the time for being sued, or ford did not conduct the repo properly according to uniform commmercial code... thus forfieting the right to collect.
     
  12. goldhummin

    goldhummin Well-Known Member

    I don't live in your state, but something is not adding up.

    You received the summons today.

    In my state the summons stated that I had 20 days to respond, or a default judgment may be given.

    You are saying that you have only 6 days?

    I would definately plan to walk into the court house tomorrow and start asking questions. Ask lots of questions, and be very, very nice to the court clerk. Don't go during thier lunch time, which is what I did because it was my lunch time too. :)
    I've seen others here write to say that you can ask to see samples of other cases. I guess they must be public records, so ask to see something that will help you.

    Fight this. You'll come out ahead. We're here for ya!

    ;-)
     
  13. parent

    parent Well-Known Member

    ok here is some info from the summons.

    The first page says that I am required to appear before the court to answer this complaint or a judgement in default may be taken. The date is 6 days from now. It also says that this summons may not be served later than 3 days before the date of appearance. It also says on this first sheet that

    "This is an Arbitration Case"

    This court is not in the county I live in, it's about 40 miles away but is the county where I purchased the car. I also noticed that the plaintiff's attorney is from a town about 70 miles away.

    The next page contains a Contract Complaint
    The third page contains an Affidavit from someone who apparently is an "Attorney Agency Account Representative for the creditor.
    The forth page is the retail installment contract I signed when I bought the car.
    The fifth page appears to be part of the same contract and says Additional agreements but no signitures.
    The fifth and 6th pages are transaction details listing all the payments I have made and other information that I don't understand.

    Do I understand correctly. The appearance in court in 6 days will just set a date if I want to fight this thing but I just don't know how I could.
     
  14. goldhummin

    goldhummin Well-Known Member

    I'm just guessing at this point, but this is what I think.

    I believe that when it says you need to "appear" in court that it does not mean what it sounds like. It does not mean that you have to stand in court in front of a judge. It is my belief that to "appear" means that you write down your answer.

    For example. I walked into the court house and the the nice clerk handed me a form titled:
    Pro Se Appearance and Answer

    Pro Se means that I don't have a lawyer, so I am handling this myself.

    Appearance means something like that I showed up and didn't ignore this. It's just writing something down on a piece of paper. So they call it "appearing".

    The Answer means that I wrote down that I deny the amount of their claim.

    it could be completely different in your state, but this is how it is here in Washington.

    Also, in my state they must sue me in the county that I *live* in. The first few lines of my summons claim that I live in a certain county (true). yours likely says the same thing. If they are forcing you to drive to another county there is a good possibility (in my mind) that you can get this all moved to YOUR county.

    Now, you really should talk to an attorney but they've left you only 6 days to answer. At work is there a human resources department? Can you ask if they offer a free legal aid referral service? If not, look in the phone book, as there is help out there. Call a law school nearby if you have one.

    Just don't let those 6 days go by without responding, that'll be the worst mistake possible. Do something right away. That's the important part.

    Any legal eagles out there that can help? Please??
     
  15. parent

    parent Well-Known Member

    Mine does not say anything about the county I live in but it does say serve at this address which is my home.

    We have no legal aid where I work but I will check out the links I have found on here lawguru and see if I can find anything out. I'll call the courthouse tomorrow and see if I can appear through wriiting and that will say me a trip there and maybe buy me a little time.

    Is there anyway I can fight this? I mean I do owe the money thought they have about gotten the principal back. I would have delt with them before but they wanted it in one payment right away and I just couldn't do that.
     
  16. goldhummin

    goldhummin Well-Known Member

    Ms. Parent: I went to send you some encouragement and friendly advice.

    Keep your chin up, girlfriend!

    Now, when you say "if I want to fight this thing" it makes me nervous. It really does. There really is no "if" now that you've joined us here at CNet. You are spending your valuable time reading and posting and learning and educating yourself. You are becoming empowered here! You are no longer a victim. The OC has rights, sure, but YOU have rights too!!!

    I'm just guessing here, so correct me if I'm wrong or out-of-line but you feel bad because you owe a debt and are under pressure financially lately, with little light at the end of the tunnel. It's just SO EASY to put this legal paper in a stack of papers in the corner, and turn your attention to something else. DON'T DO IT!!

    When you say you don't know "how" you can fight it I want you to think about something. We both know you owe some money. That truly is not in question here. What's in question is how MUCH you owe and on what terms you will or will not make payments. We are down to technicalities and legalities and mis-steps now. Don't beat yourself up and play the victim (I'm writing all of this to myself, BTW, in case this isn't self-evident.) Get in there and plead your case. All the better if you can get a lawyer to go with you, but if not at least research on the web and fill out forms and get this thing delayed and make them validate every penny and make the payment on YOUR terms, not theirs!

    Ask lots of questions. Above all don't look at the debt and knowing that you owe them SOME money, just leave the full amount of the debt undisputed. Do you clip coupons? I do. I always tell myself that if I can save $5 here or there or $100 here or there that it's money in my pocket and this case has the potential to either add up to alot more money, or if you defend yourself it can be kept to a smaller amount.

    I hope that something I've said resonates.

    Remember to breath.

    This too shall pass (warm smile)
     
  17. parent

    parent Well-Known Member

    Thank you gold you have made me feel much better. Yes I do feel bad because I finainced this car in good faith. I have to fight them on this somehow because if my wages are garnished I don't know how we would get by. Thanks to everyone who has offered advice and if you have anymore I'd sure like to hear it.
     
  18. parent

    parent Well-Known Member

    and no I don't think you are out-of-line at all. I'm grateful for the help and advice.
     
  19. jlynn

    jlynn Well-Known Member

    Listen to Dixie, and check on the repo laws. I've seen a few here from Illinois, and they seem to have some very stringent processes the OC must follow in order to be able to collect deficiencies.
     
  20. lbrown59

    lbrown59 Well-Known Member

    This court is not in the county I live in,
    it's about 40 miles away but is the county where I purchased the car.
    ====================================================
    Which court has jurisdiction here?

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