Hello-- First time poster here and I am hoping for some help and pointers in the right direction. This month I received a Request for Hearing for an outstanding debt. What was forwarded to the court from the plaintiff Law offices was a copy of an "Application for Confirmation of Award and Registry as Judgement" and One copy of "Request for hearing. " The lawyers for the plaintiff state the matters to be heard will be "confirmation of award and registry of Judgemet with telephonic appearance by plaintiff's attorney" Length of hearing is given as 15 minutes. Back in Jan I receivied notification from Forum Arbitrator that it was being judged. I did respond with a statement that I wished to make payments and sent a check for $100. The check was returned to me with the same paperwork that they sent me originally. I am in NM have no assets--an old junker car and am a full time student. Summer provides some work, but not enough to satify the debt . The debt stands at $8,000. My questions are: 1. Should I call the legal firm to see if they will be willing to accept payments? 2. Should I (and how do I) respond to the notice of trial? Is there specific language I should use to respond to this? Is there a website that might help with language for me to respond to this? I should say tht I have no money to offer a settlement and probably won't have any until I start working full time. Also, I cannot afford a lawyer--so this will all be pro se. Is all lost? Anything I can do?
Did this go to NAF? Do you have a paper trail on all of this from the beginning. You should ALWAYS appear in court as you have nothing to lose and if you do not go you will be in default. Who was the OC and who is the JDB? Woofer
Hi Woofer-- Yes-- this went through the National Arbitration Forum. I only wrote to them to say that I wanted to make payments with the $100 check. I do have a paper trail. That is, the copy of their original paperwork and the second copy they sent to me with the check attched, but not cashed. The original credit card is FIA (BOA) and the court paperwork reads FIA Card Services, NA -Plaintiff vs. Me. Sorry I don't know what JDB is.
Read through the Creditnet glossry again and I couldn't find JDB--my guess Junk Debt Buyers? Or maybe something like that. If it is something like that--how would I know who bought the debt?
Bump-- Can I write a letter to the court or do I use the same format the lawyers used? Do I file a paper/ response with the court? Woofer-- You asked several questions when I first posted--did you have any thoughts concerning my answers to those questions? Can the answers to these questions help me in any way? You asked about a paper trail--can you say more? Thanks.
You are in a tight fix. NAF awarded to plaintiff who is a JUNK DEBT BUYER, and BTW WHO is it? They will try to get the award confirmed to a judgement and then seize your bank account put a lien on your home,garnish your pay check,whatever. YOu mentioned a date of May 13, and what is the time you have to file your answer? If you do not a judgement by default will be awarded. As for your paper trail, I meant your first dunning letter, all communication with JDB ,phone calls etc. All that said you probably are not going to win against a confirmation of judgement as you are too much of a novice, and even the most experienced have a problem winning. What was the original charge off and again who was it? Now what was the amount of the award? What can you afford to pay in a lump sum to get rid of this around your neck? Woofer
Thanks Woofer for the very honest answer. I don't know who the JDB is-- would it be the law firm out of GA? The actual Application to the courts for award and registry as judgemet is filed on behalf of FIA Services,NA, fka Bank of America. It looks as if the hearing was filed and "endorsed" by the court clerk on May xx. I had planned on answering it in June, believing (rightly or wrongly) that I would have 30 days from date of notification to respond. What can I afford---I could probably get $2,000 together from family and friends--maybe a little bit more. Amount of the award is close to $9000. Original charge off was for $7622. Original debt to BOA CC. Any thoughts on how I approch this as I will be calling them tomorrow to see is they would be willing to settle. I can't tell you how much a ray of light your answers have been. I really want to know the best way to deal with this even if it's not pretty. In a lot of the reading I've done so far, it doesn't seem likely that I would win a judgement, but I will try of course. The best thing is if they could take a few payments. What do think?
Woofer-- Just looked up the details: close to $8K debt due, $113 interest from the date of the filing, Atty fees in the mid 700's .
You're welcome. It is very stressful dealing with this type of suit, as NAF does not play fair whatsoever. The law firm (CA) could also own the debt as well. Such JDB's like CACV or W & A have lawyers that exclusively work as DEBT COLLECTORS. So tell the name of the lawyer and there MUST be somewhere on there who the plaintiff is. If plaintiff is OC then fine, If plaintiff is naming OC and debt was charged off transferred or sold, the OC cannot be the plaintiff. This is why it is so important to see your credit reports and what it actually reads. Okay so this would seem like it is the OC that took you to NAF. Was this the case? Did you have a BoA CC? When was it defaulted? This is important as sometimes you are out of SOL and can get the judgement vacated. : ) YOu got the letter on the 13TH right? Please scan anything you have . Each state has different time frames . What was your time to file an answer? You need to know this as well. There HAD to be a time on the notice. Call the clerk and find out what is going on. Better yet if you can go to the courthouse do so. They may take pity on you : ) Again I really need to know EXACTLY WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED and what you say and what may actually have been worded could be different and this makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE if you win or lose. If a judgement has not happened as of yet, I am pretty sure they will take what you offer, but you would need to have some good negotiating skills. Thing is you have to weigh in on everything and decide what they can and cannot do to you. Do you have credit cards? Do you already own a home? Vehicle? Are you married? All of these things weigh in on what to do. If you have not called them already ,I will be around all day so I will try to help you as much as I can. Woofer.
Woofer-- This is my first opportunity to get back to the computer today. Thanks for taking the time to respond. I went to the courthouse and found that I have until June 22 to file the paperwork. I decided not to call the law firm yet since I have no plan on how to tackle this. I thought that at this point, they have no reason to negotiate with me, as far as I can see. Also, I wanted to wait and see if you had anything to add. The court papers read: "The petitioner, FIA Card Services, NA, fka Bank of America Corporation, by and through its attorney ( a NM atty) would pray for an Order Confirming---" I take that to mean that FIA card services, the Petitioner is the plaintiff, therefore, it would seem that the plaintiff is the OC. Yes I did have a BOA card. I defaulted on the BoA card about 2 years ago. I don't believe that SOL can help here. A judgement has not occured yet and a hearing is scheduled for July . The atty representing FIA card services will be appearing via telephone. I will appear in person. Again I have until md June to write an answer to the courts. As to your other questions: I do have CC's--barely, am behind many are in default, I am paying one (low payment) but am not using it. I do not own a home I own two cars---one does not run and has severe transmission problems and will at some point try to give it away--1986. One car runs, 1984--barely, maybe it is worth $100. I wouldn't pay $100 for it though, really. It is my only means of transportation. Unmarried. I take it I should get a credit report quickly to see if the plaintiff (BOA) sold the debt or if they are the ones truely bringing this to court. From what you said, I gather the credit report will say who owns the debt? Seems odd that a CA would make this up--but who knows. I don't have a scanner--might be able to find one to use or can drive (65 miles) to a larger city to go to a Kinkos.
SO THE $7622 is the actual amount that was on the paperwork you received from NAF? ***$7622 is the actual amount listed by the NAF the difference to $8K plus is made up in legal fees and interest. You DID receive notice of award from them correct? ***Yes What did the affadavit say as to who now owns this debt? ***The only party mentioned is FIA (BoA)-- affadavit being the papers submitted to court by plaintiff? I will try to help you but remember this is just my opinion and I am not a lawyer. ***Got it. I understand that this is an opinion you are offering and that you are not a lawyer.
Woofer-- I will not be able to post again until tomorrow eve (Wed night) -please know that I will respond as soon as I can get to a computer in the eve.
Had a few minutes to post this am. The law firm is Farrell & Seldon. Google search shows them to be based in CO and they appear to specialize in credit collection.
Okay. Do not put any more personal info on here. Edit your posts - the date you were served and the amount. What I mean is just tweak it a bit so 7K is 8k May date is changed to June 14, whatever so if there were a search it would be a lot harder to know what the case was. When you give info, much better to just change a little of it so the other side if they are looking can't figure things out.; ) I am not paranoid but I am aware that this was someting that you were concerned about. : ) Woofer
Thanks Woofer-- I am just about to go online to get the CR's to see if that can tell me who owns the debt.
I'm not sure which one of these I want from creditreporting.com-- Would the 3-1 with credit scores also have creditor addresses? : "FREE 3-in-1 Credit Report with All 3 Credit Scores - Order this Free 3-in-1 Credit Report if you want a copy of your free credit reports from all three national credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion), together with credit scores based on the information at all 3 bureaus, and combined with a Free Trial Subscription to 3 bureau credit report monitoring. With your paid membership, your will also get unlimited access to your 3 credit reports and 3 scores, so you can check your credit anytime and often! If you are not satisfied, cancel the Free Trial Offer in the first seven days, and there is no charge. 3-in-1 Credit Report with 3 Credit Scores - Order this product if you want to check your credit report at all 3 national credit bureaus - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion - plus get your 3 credit scores but without the monthly credit monitoring charges. One time charge $39.85 3-in-1 Credit Report with an Experian Credit Score - Order this product if you want to check your credit report at all 3 national credit bureaus - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion - plus get your Experian credit score. One time charge $34.90. 3-in-1 Credit Report with Creditor Addresses - Order this product if you want to check your credit report at all 3 national credit bureaus - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Includes creditor addresses but does not include the credit score. One time charge $29.90. Credit Score Report: Select this option if just want to see your credit score. Your credit score report also shows those factors in your credit report that have the most negative influence on your credit score, which you need to know if you want to raise your score, right? Plus you'll get a credit report from Experian that includes creditor addresses just in case you need to contact them. One time charge $14.95."
There is a link on this board that gives you a better price. Also and someone please help, you can get one month free either privacy guard or true credit and you will only get one credit report but that may be enough to see if you are dealing with OC or JDB. I will also try to find a link for you. Back in a few. Woofer
This was the first time I have ever looked at my CR--it's as awful as I thought it would be. At this point it shows the account being charged off--as "bad debt placed for collection and skip." What is skip? I'm thinking that the OC still "owns" this debt. Will that make a difference when I try to negotiate with the law firm that is representing them-say if I try to settle before the hearing?
