Opened an account with Citibank back in 1996.Lost employment in which I missed payments on the credit card.I stopped paying the card on 8/98.The account was sold to a couple of ca's.I sent the latest ca a couple of validation letters which they could not prove the account was mine,so it came off on all 3 Cra.Now the other day I receive a certified letter claiming that I'm being sued in small claims court for the original amount of $6,000.00 plus interest of $4,000.00 plus attorney fees and court cost.My question to whoever has or had experienced the same type of problem whats my first move I should make.I tried talking to a few attorney by me in NJ but it seem that they dont have much experience with the FCRA or FDCPA.Maybe someone knows a good attorney in NJ that i could be referred to .Please your advice will be appreciated.
You can try this link, http://www.creditreportlawyers.com/ Krohn & Moss, Ltd. and Francis & Mailman, PC are Illinois and Pennsylvania law firms who offer a free case review to consumers submitting their information via their site, or calling their toll free numbers. They do not charge the client attorney's fees, but work on a contingency basis. Goodluck Kinetix
firstly when was the account charged off and secondly you need to find out the statue of limitations in your state. http://www.edebtnetwork.com/content/collection_laws.asp
Was the "certified letter" a letter, or a summons? Did it tell you when and where to appear in court??
I owed citi 1500 and they garnished the wages and then after it was paid in full they placed it as closed and paid in full with a positive rating
SOL in New Jersey: Open Acct.: 6 Sale of Goods: 4 Written Contract: 6 Which one applies? And, will it be from delinquency in 1996 or 8/98? Anyone know? Dancer
6 years applies, "open accounts" and I think it starts from the last payment date, 8/1998. You said you asked for validation and they didn't respond?? Is it Citi or the CA that is suing you? If it is the CA, I seriously doubt that any court will grant a judgement if the can't validate.
I checked the SOL and they just sued me in time it expires in August.On the other hand its the ca suing me not citi.I hope the judge knows something about the fcra,if they cant validate I think it should be trown out of court.
FYI: SOL starts the first time you were late, not the last time you made a payment. Check your dates again. Dancer
Did you receive a "summons and complaint" or a "letter" (or a letter with a summons & complaint). If you received *ANY* written commmunication at all, whether a letter or a postcard or an anything, in lieu of or in addition to the summons and complaint check to see if it contains the miranda. If, for eg, you got a cover letter "here's the s & c" and the cover letter doesn't have the statutory language you've got an fdcpa violation.
I laugh at all this phony advice being given out here with regards to 'validation.' I don't follow these threads because all of the people involved in promoting 'validation' for credit repair are in my ignore list. If you have a real debt you either have to pay it or put your head in the sand for the duration of the SOL. In the present situation you are probably on the hook for the whole amount and have no defense whatsoever. Good luck.
Huh?? What do you "promote"? So I guess I can send you a bill with your name on it and you will pay me??
Dancer, While the lawyer will have to show how the interest was tabulated, usuury is not an issue. Banks that regularly take in deposits and make loans are exempt from state usury laws. There is an interstate compact that allows them to "export" {the industry term} interest rates across state lines even if they are higher than state usury law allows. That's why Providian can charge that 29% stuff.
Keepmine, I would bow to your superior knowledge on this one too, but for the fact that it's the CA and not the OC charging all that interest. True? I would think that changes the equation a great deal. Dancer
Pure nonsense and absolutely not true. Proper VALIDATION will get rid of these. Are you not aware that validation is a given right per the FDCPA?
Dancer, 2 things. First of all, the OC either sold the debt or assigned the debt to a CA and the terms and conditions will still apply. Just a little quick math. A $6000 debt that has been in default since 1998 will add a pile of interest. A rate of just 16% a year will add $960 simple interest to the bill. Do that times 4 years and you can see how $6000 becomes $10000.
LMAO. The phony methods seem to be working pretty good for me. I don't have a problem paying bills, I do however have a problem with dipstick CAs that think they can screw you for 7 years. 10 deletions for me so far. Gib