No Judgment On Student Loan!

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by kimd9760, Mar 14, 2002.

  1. kimd9760

    kimd9760 Member

    My husband defaulted on his student loan. ISAC sent it to a law firm Wexler and Wexler for collection. They served papers to get a judgment. Didn't make the court date, first day of my husbands new job and court was 300 miles away in Chicago. Set up payment plan with Wexler after court date. Asked about rehabbing loan. Wexler said no, didn't have to rehab after judgment and our payments of $80 a month were to low. Payments for rehabbing were hundreds of dollars a month. Called DOE they said after a judgment they don't have to rehab. They took our tax refund. Received our statement from Wexler yesterday and they still weren't showing credit for the tax refund. On the CR they are showing a balance $1500 more than what we have actually paid. They are not showing we are making payments at all. Called ISAC today to ask if they knew where the tax refund is because Wexler did not credit it. They said they had it and their legal department would send Wexler a letter. I said something about the judgment and she said there is no judgment on this account. I told her that Wexler had served us with papers to obtain one and that they said we couldn't rehab the loan because of it. She stated again there is no judgment and she passed me to the rehab department. I talked to a very nice man there, Ira Kessler, who again checked and said there is no judgment and to make 12 on time payments, contact them and they would rehab it! My question is, what happened to the judgment? Do I have Wexler on any violations for lying to me? For not updating our credit report? The judgment never did show up on the credit reports but I was happy about that so I didn't push it. It never dawned on me that there might not be a judgment in the first place. Any help or advise would be great.
    Thanks!
     
  2. whyspers

    whyspers Well-Known Member

    Call the clerk's office or better yet, go down there and check to see if a judgment was ever entered. You should have some information from the papers they sent you. Actually, check those papers and see if they included a timestamped copy of the petition. Could be they never even began an action and if that is truly the case and you can prove it, you can and should contact the bar association and file a complaint on these guys.


    L
     
  3. mysmys

    mysmys Active Member

    Did Wexler and Wexler actually send you letterhead with their legal affiliation on it?

    They contacted me with no reference to being lawyers except that they "intend to file suit" (over a 48 buck bounced check -- and I think they're in Illinois while the original co I owe money to is in Virginia, with me..and this check bounced over a year ago.)

    They seem sleazy, either way.. Maybe we can dig up some dirt on them.
     
  4. kimd9760

    kimd9760 Member

    The letter is on Wexler and Wexler letterhead.
    It states the following:

    In response to your letter regarding rehabilitation. I wish to inform you that because you have a judgment against you, you do not qualify for rehabilitation.

    While it is true that under "rehab" you must make 12 consecutive monthly payments, those payments are substantially higher than normal and far in excess of the $80.00 payments we have you set up for.

    I believe that you are confusing rehab and repayment of your loan. And as your loans have been reduced to judgment, it is moot at this time.

    Therefore, please continue to make your monthly installments as agreed. Should you refuse to do so, additional legal action may be taken against you.

    Very truly yours,

    Mitchell H. Wexler

    This letter is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained shall be used for that purpose.

    The date of the letter is February 1, 2002
     
  5. whyspers

    whyspers Well-Known Member

    I don't think that's true about the rehab being higher, but I could be wrong. I don't recall my payments being any higher when I rehabbed the loan. They are right around $60 or so and always were as far as I know. Wow!!! I'd certainly be finding out whether or not they obtained a judgment!!!


    L
     
  6. EdG

    EdG Well-Known Member

    The first thing I would do is see if they actually have a judgement against you. Go to court (or try calling). One thing I found out with my student loans was that although I originally had the loans with two guaranteeors somehow once they reached the default stage they ended up with four or five differnet collection agencies. The only way to know for sure where your loans are is calling the department of education. They knew where all my loans were and the status of them as well. BTW if they don't have a judgement against you I would try and screw them to the wall. That's just my opinion though. Best of luck.

    EdG
    Go SOX.....
     
  7. mysmys

    mysmys Active Member

    Just my opinion, but you might want to send them a dispute/request for proof of verification. (if you haven't already) It will stall them on collecting and they'll be required to send you proof of judgement.
     
  8. keepmine

    keepmine Well-Known Member

    Wow!!!! I read your letter from Wexler 3 times and, I gotta say if there is no judgement against you, this law firm has any number of body parts in a wringer. Find out for sure and if there is no judgement, see your own lawyer.
     
  9. kimd9760

    kimd9760 Member

    Talked to the courthouse. There is a judgment entered on 8/15/01. Why it hasn't entered on the credit reports I have no idea. Also why ISAC doesn't know about it I have no idea. I am just going to keep paying my payment on time to Wexler and after 12 payments try to get ISAC to rehab it. Any other suggestions?
     
  10. lbrown59

    lbrown59 Well-Known Member

    Were you ever cited into court if not how did they get the judgment?
    Did they ever serve you on this ?
     
  11. kimd9760

    kimd9760 Member

    Yes, as explained in my first post they did serve us and we couldn't make it, first day of husband's new job and court was 300 miles away.
     
  12. ingenue

    ingenue Well-Known Member

    This sounds pretty fishy, to me.

    Serving a summons (real or even fake) to a debtor that is 300 miles away is a pretty good way to be sure that they won't be able to show up for their court date (real or fake). Maybe they set up a scam along these lines.

    See if you can check on the docket number on your original summons to make sure it is even a real summons.

    Did you ever receive any notification of the judgment? If there is one, I'm sure Walker & Stalker would be *sure* to include it in their correspondence.

    Is there any restriction about what jurisdiction they must file in? Are you 300 miles away and still in the same jurisdiction they filed in?
    ---
    From: http://www.weblocator.com/attorney/il/law/commcollect.html#100

    Under the Illinois Collection Agency Act, a person who is collecting debts may not:

    Use or threaten to use violence
    Threaten criminal prosecution or other judicial action without basis
    Communicate or threaten to communicate with a debtor's employer unless the debtor has been in default for over 30 days and has been given notice of the intention to communicate with the employer
    Harass the debtor or the debtor's family with frequent communication
    Communicate with a debtor between the hours of 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.
    Publish a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts
    Unjustifiably disclose to a person other than the debtor information relating to the debtor's indebtedness
    Disclose information about a debt that is reasonably disputed without also disclosing the existence of the dispute
    Communicate with a debtor in a form that simulates legal or judicial process or that appears to be authorized by a government agency or official
    Misrepresent the amount of the debt or the amount of additional charges when such charges may not be legally added to the existing debt
    Engage in dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional conduct likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the public
    The Act provides other restrictions on debt collectors, as well. However, the Act does not restrict anyone in the business of collecting child support debts from contacting a debtor or the debtor's employer frequently, or from publishing a list of child support debtors who are in arrears. Other conduct that would otherwise be prohibited is allowed in connection with collecting child support debts.

    The Illinois Department of Professional Regulation is responsible for investigating complaints. The Department is authorized to take appropriate disciplinary action against a collection agency that violates the law. It can place the agency on probationary status, suspend or revoke the agency's license, or impose a fine of up to $1000 per complaint.

    ---
    End quote. Red emphasis mine.

    I would definitely pursue this.

    -ingenue
     
  13. ingenue

    ingenue Well-Known Member

    If they don't really intend to file suit, then they've already broken the law in their initial correspondence. Send a validation. :)

    -ingenue
     
  14. mysmys

    mysmys Active Member

    Careful with these guys -- there are several class action suits against them. (They justr called my house so I looked them up on the internet!) They have even lost cases under the Fair Debt Collections Act. You might even be eligbble to be involved with one of these class actions -- go to google.com and type in "Wexler & wexler" and see what comes up!

    http://www.edcombs.com/FSL5CS/notices/notices33.asp
    http://www.edcombs.com/FSL5CS/opinions/opinions77.asp

    This is a case they lost!
    http://www.kentlaw.edu/7circuit/1997/may/96-2620.html
     

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