Credit Collector sent bill for a credit card balance, we followed advice and asked for confirmation which none was given. Collector filed with courts and we counter sued for improper collection practice (we did not use a attorney). Collector agreed to pay us amount we sued for with written agreement that we both drop court case with court Dismissing with Prejudice so case could not be re-filed. Today I received a "Settlement Opportunity" from same collection company requesting payment in full by September 10th despite our contract agreement that collector was to drop any and all collection for debt they state we owed. What is my recourse? Can I re-file for damages of contract default? Suggestions on how to handle this matter please.
They in violation of a court order you might try to reopen the case just call the court clerk and explain the problem.I don't know if they'll do it.
So they paid you and signed an agreement which was then filed properly with the court? What's to say that if you paid them now that they wouldn't come back in six months with another opportunity for you to settle again? I think you should get a lawyer who knows about the FDCPA, the FCRA, your state's laws, etc. The reason a lawyer is important here isn't just because of their knowledge, the violations of the various federal laws often don't have direct statutory penalties that are high enough to motivate debt collectors and their lawyers to follow the law. Lawyers fees, when they are fearful that they might have to pay them, can do that.
When I asked for verification/validation within the correct time frame, they did not respond to my phone calls and written letter requesting info. The collector then took me to court for the asserted debt. I still felt I did not owe debt and counter sued them for wrongful collection of debt and produced phone bill showing I called, produced letter requesting validation and when I received their bill of particulars, it did not prove that I owed a bill. First they offered if I drop my suit they would drop theirs, I stated I wanted money requested in counter suit, letter stating I was not responsible for account they were collecting and for collection company to retract the wrongful assertion to credit agencies that I owed debt. The collection company agreed to my terms and drafted the agreement that I do not owe the bill, not responsible for bill, cut me a check and they would retract all assertions. We both went back before the judge and had the cases Dismissed with Prejudice. One month has gone by and now they have sent letter as stated before trying to collect the same debt with the same account number. I feel that their total disregard for the law is intolerable and need to know what recourse I have. I have contacted several attorneys and they would not take the case without a large retainer. Weâ??re talking a few thousand dollars for a $1,800.00 debt that collection company had no evidence that I owed. Very hard to find a attorney that would take such a small case.
This is one of those irritating situations that you probably just have to rise above. Sure, it'd be nice if the Justice League would go down to their office and clean house, but that only happens in the comics. If it were me, I'd be just as p-o'd as you sound, but, after letting the smoke clear, I'd just send them their "request for settlement" back to them with a copy of the letter from them that says it's not your debt and you've handled the problem for $0.42 in postage. ...and then just wait for their next offer to show up in a month. Know when to say "when."
Did you cite how the fees are transfered by statute to the loser? Did you show with conclusive proof that you can't lose? I don't know, maybe you have to bake them a gooseberry pie. But you should get that the amount doesn't matter. No, wait, they should get that the amount doesn't matter. It might be $1800 that they lied and claimed you owed, but the legal fees could be $18,000.
