The debt was 900 bucks. It was sold off back in 2003. The debt collector WW&R eis have alredy put a civil judgment (?) on my credit report and just yesterday i was "served" by the sheriffs dept. They want to come in and do an inventory on my stuff and then have an auction. My wife is freaking out. I don't know what to do. They say the debt is up to 3000 now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I don't have anything in my name except for car but since i got married last year will my wifes property be at stake? Thanks in advance. BB
have they had any other type of collection efforts with phone calls or letters? I think you need to do a cease and diseast letter with a debt validation. Make sure they account for every dollar they say you owe including everything added on top of the original debt. How long ago did the debt go to collections and whats the SOL in your state?
I'm in PA. I think the SOL is 7 years. The debt went into collection in 2003. It's been sold off to a couple of different collection agencies over the years. Is it possible to delay the sale. the sheriff said he has to come to the house to do an inventory but he said I could also DENY him from coming to the house. Should I do that? I used to be on this forum back when this first went into collection and now it's back to haunt me. I wouldn't mind settling and getting it off my credit. But just wonder if that's even possible now. Would I be able to find the Cease and diseast letter and debt validation letters on here? Also, The sheriff said it was from Capital One and there didn't seem to be any "collectors" information on the summons. (I talked to him on the phone)
Umm, no to all of the above. They have a civil judgment. A court has awarded somce creditor a dollar amount. The CA did not put it on your report - its a matter of public record. They sued you and won in a court of law, and now that court has authorized the sheriff to come and take your things away. They don't have to validate before they can do it, and they do not have to cease and desist from it because you say so. OP - you need an attorney, yesterday, in your state, to protect your items that are exempt (if any) from attachment. This is not a letter writing campaign now - otherwise you may find yourself sitting on the floor with nothing but a pen and a piece of paper to write with. Don't take legal advice from the sheriff! He isn't an attorney! Maybe you can deny him entry, but by doing that are you violating a court order? Who knows...only an attorney can answer that question. Oh, and the debt may have been for $900, but how much is the judgment for. It likely includes attorney's fees, and it will contain interest from the date of judgment at the very least.
Sh!t jlynn way to scare the crap out of me. So I have a civil Judgment and now a "sheriff sale" .. is there anyway to negotiate a payoff? Do i need to talk to the weltman reis people who appear to "own" the debt? the sheriff said it was $3000 or so... can they take more?
Good. You need a reality check of just what is going on here. Not to be mean... This is dependent on state law. I'm not an attorney! But if they take your stuff, and it doesn't satisfy the judgment completely, it is possible they can get more. Please tell me you have no money in your bank accounts right now. Please tell me your paychecks are not direct deposited. Cause this stuff could be next. I'm surprised it wasn't first. but then, I don't know PA law. What can they take? Who knows... You can always try to negotiate a payoff. This is where we revert back to the tried and true. Get it in writing! You need to go to the court and get a copy of all the paperwork in your file so you are negotiating with the right person. Were you not served with a summons? Did you not know you were sued?
Posters like flyingifr have spoken of simply having the wife claim the entire contents of the residence as hers. Other posters have spoken of repeatedly denying the sheriff entry without any consequences (apparently the next step in that jurisdiction would be the issuance of a break and enter order, and courts are loathe to give them). In a community property state the wife's property would be just as at-risk as the husband's. In PA, who knows ... PA is not a great place to be a debtor. Unless you have original Picassos and Faberge eggs lying around, it's more a scare tactic than anything. No attorney wants to try to hawk a used couch. Nobody here can decide exactly what's right for you. I don't recommend that people play chicken with attorneys, but the truth is that a lot of the time they don't really hold cards that are as good as they say, or the pot isn't worth taking.
The financial world is changing right in front of our eyes - who knows what creditors are really going to do these days. I wouldn't tell anyone these days to play chicken or ostrich.
jlynn aint that the truth! i think i might deny the sheriff then get the court papers from the civil judgment. Is there anyone in PA who has any advice or knowledge of what can be done in PA? What do you mean that PA is not a good state to be a debtor?
Creditors' remedies in PA frequently overwhelm debtors' protections. The original 13 have some of the most creditor-friendly vestiges of colonial laws and puritan attitudes. Things get easier as you shift your focus south and west (with certain notable exceptions such as Ohio and Kentucky).
FlaCorps Why do you think Ohio is an exception? We have some great consumer protection laws in place......
The 15 year SOL is a killer, plus Ohioans have an almost teutonic allegiance to authority, which means that judges are very likely to take a dim view of technical arguments and defenses interposed by the debtor.
I just found that PA isn't a community property state. Is that good in this situation? What exactly is that? sorry to be a newbie on the marriage law stuff ... the house is in her name, her car is in her name.. the only thing i own in my name is my Xbox and my 05 nissan sentra. Question about the bank account. Can they just go into my aco**** without notice? here is what i found 39. Pennsylvania Wage Garnishment No wage attachment in this state except for taxes and child support. The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue is authorized to garnish wages without obtaining a court order for collection of unpaid state taxes. The Department will first notify taxpayers of its intent to contact their employers to begin withholding. If a taxpayer fails to resolve the tax liability, the taxpayer's employer will be ordered to begin garnishing wages and make payments to the Commonwealth. Employers may retain up to 2% of the amount collected to compensate for costs of additional bookkeeping.
The Xbox goes to the plaintiff. You should bank nearby in Delaware from now on. Don't know what to tell you about the car. Community property means that husband and wife don't have separate claims to their separate property. It complicates life for married debtors.
well it's the old xbox.. so you're telling me they can get into my bank account in PA? and they cant touch stuff in the wifes name?
Separate is good in this case. If its only in your wife's name then, she owns everything but the Xbox and the Nissan in the eyes of the law, and her stuff can't be attached. Now if both your name's are on the checking account its again another attorney question. I bet they can get it, but once she has proven certain monies are hers, she could get it back, but goodness only knows how long that will take. Well, at least they can't garnish your wages at your employment - but there is nothing here that says they can't grab your paycheck once it lands in your bank account. No, they won't tell you first so you have time to run down and withdraw it. I think that was why Flacorps said to bank in Delaware. I believe I have read that you can't attach bank accounts in that state.
Its four years in PA , what are they taking, are they taking your house or your items. Do you own or rent.
They can take any bank account as long as they can find it. If your name is on the account anywhere they can take it.
