Hi all... I've been posting about this problem for the past few months. It all began with a summons... then my answer... then a letter from the court sent to myself as well as W&A(lawyers for CA) explaining that if an answer wasn't received within 15 days, saying that W&A dropped the suit, or a settlement was reached between us, then an arbitraition would automatically be set up by the courts. This was back in December...haven't heard anything since, but the courts here in NY are backed up...so I was still holding my breath... okay, since then, I have disputed those accounts of W&A's on my CRs, and they have all been deleted by all three CBs... That made me feel pretty confident... Well, today, I received a letter from W&A saying that they would accept a settlement for about 75% of the bill due to avoid further litigation. They said I have until March 2nd to accept this offer.... So my question is... What do I do now? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Just guessing but if it were me I think I would settle. I'm thinking that a withdrawl of the pending complaint, enjoin from pursuing further collection activities, restrict any additional reporting to the credit bureaus, would all have to be part of the settlement agreement. But I'm just being hopeful as I am preparing my answer to a complaint right now.
W&A more than likely didn't respond in time to the CB's so it was deleted, dont be suprised if it shows back up. Its unlikely that they are going to drop the lawsuit after spending the money to file it. They are probably trying to give you the option to settle it so they dont have to wait for their money in a judgment or garnishment. Remember if they obtain judgment all those fees more than likely will be added on top of your bill, including all future costs of garnishments. And after judgment they will probably never settle for anything less than the full balance including all fees.
Are they talking about filing for an arbitration award with NAF or have they already got an arbitration award or are they just filing for judgment without taking it to NAF? All of that makes a huge difference in making a decision about how to proceed.
hmmmm does NAF acutally go through the courts? I've only dealt with them one time for a friend and they communicated through mail only and then dismissed the claim without prejudice. It's easy easy to convert an arbitration award to a judgment.
What is NAF? I don't know if they would proceed with the litigation, I mean the bill is only $538. They offered to settle for like $380. Should I do it? Think they will actually take the settlement if I pay, and NOT put it back on my credit report?
We have not gone to arbitration yet of course. I have heard nothing back from the courts, which said that W&A had 15 days to respond, stating wether they wanted to drop or had reached a settlement with me. If they didn't respond, arbitration would be set up for us by the courts...that was in December.
No, NAF never goes through the courts. The attorneys do that for the plaintiff, not NAF. NAF gets about $250 to $300 per award. The arbitrators themselves get around $125 per each award they grant to the plaintiff but only if they give out a minimum of 6 awards per hour of time spent. Yes, it is very easy to get a judgment based on an award by NAF or other forum. The lawyers simply argue it as a Res Judicata matter and the judgment is automatic. If the lawyer don't file Res Judicata on the award but rather file it as a regular demand for judment it can be a different game entirely if the defendant knows what he is doing and how to argue his position. That seldom happens either. Either way getting a judgment is normally a pretty simple matter.
so can everyone thinks i should just settle with them? I recently left my job of 15 years, and I work as a temp right now so believe it or not a lump sum of $350 is hard for me to get together. and even if i do settle with them how do i know it wont show up anyway on my credit report later as a "paid for less than balance" on my CR?
