APRIL 1996 - I am financed through Consumer Portfolio Services to buy a car. (I am living in Kansas) MAY 1997 - my husband becomes disabled. We can't make the payments. I send the car back. AUGUST 1998 - they get a judgement against me for $7818. Whether or not I was served, I don't know. We were in the process of relocating to California. AUG 98-FEB01 - I live in California. FEB 01 - I move to MO MAY 2003 - My wages are garnished. I find out when I get my check. Two weeks later, I get a letter from a Missouri attorney saying they are the ones garnishing my wages. They say I now owe over $22000.!!!! SEPT 03 - I sent a letter to this attorney, disputing/requesting validation according to Spears v. Brennan. (I want all the acct. info), as well as per FRCP, the original contract within 15 days, as well as proff the I am obligated to deal with them and not the OC. Today, I get from them a letter stating: DEBT VALIDATION Original Creditors Name: Consumer Portfolio MY SSN Original Acct. No. Charge Off Balance of Account: $1230.97 Interest Rate through today's date: 18.00% Date Debt was purchased: 08-27-96 WTF? They purchased the debt a month after I bought the car? The charge off balance means what? This is not validation per Spears v. Brennan. This is an attorney I am dealing with. Any help on my next move would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!
A judgment is a factual matter. They don't have to validate. You need to go to the courthouse where the judgment was returned and pull your file and see if there are any grounds to vacate the judgment.
I understand that a judgement is a factual matter. But how do I know that I have to deal with him, and what about the inaccuracies in the letter I got back from him? Are you saying that just because he says I owe this much means I do?
If he garnished your wages, that's who you have to deal with. You really need to do some work yourself. Get your file and see what the judge awarded.
I was able to get online and get the information. What I got says that a summons was sent certified mail delivered, signee unknown - as to (my name). Plaintiff awarded judgment $7818.03. Attorney fees are undecided. Court Costs. PRejudgment inerest at 18%, and postjudgment interest @ 12% until paid. He is not the attorney who sued me, although I understand from his letter he says he bought the debt, BUT, the letter says he bought the debt 2 years before it was ever even filed in court! The letter also says he is charging me interest at 18%, but the court ordered it at 12%. There are inconsistencies, which is why I am questioning the legalities.
You need to see a lawyer. At the moment, this lawyer holds all of the cards. This is an old judgment and he has an order to garnish. You need a Mo. lawyer to look at the file and make a recommendation.
First off, the interest he is trying to collect on is usury. The court set the interest at 12% per law. Second, Kansas judgments expire after 5 years unless they are renewed (assuming you were served there, call the courthouse and see what the status of your case is.) If its expired, keep quiet till after the time to renew. I'm not sure whether the original judgment once expired is enforcable in Missouri.
What do you mean by "keep quiet until after the time to renew"? Is there a time limit on how long they can take to renew?
http://www.kslegislature.org/cgi-bin/statutes/index.cgi/60-2403.html If I'm understandign the court system correctly, the Missouri courts are executing a foreign judgment from Kansas. Now then, if I'm reading the statutes correctly a renewal affidavit must be filed with the Kansas Courts to keep the judgement from going dormant. Once 2 years has gone past since a judgment went dormant, it can be released by sending a request to the clerk otherwise it runs a full 10 years. Call the courthouse and find out what's up. One other thing, I don't know exactly what happens to a judgment creditor if the judgment is sold to another individual. I thought I seen somthing in Kansas Rules of Civil Procedure that says if a judgment is sold, the new party cannot benifit from the use of garnishment. Perhaps Missouri has a similar statute. I wasn't able to find a working copy of the Missouri ROCP to check it out. That would stop that attorney cold if it worked that way. If that angle doesn't play out, I'm afraid the only way to get this attorney off your back for now is to make some tough decisions. First, you can try to frustrate the judgment and wait it out. This involves changing jobs to keep from getting garnishments, and hiding your bank accounts. I recommend that you immediatly close your checking account that the attorney found. Secondly, find and move to another State where the SOL has passed for executing a foreign judgment. Third, file BK. Lastly, pay off the judgment as outlined by the order of the court. Then if the judgment creditor fails to release the judgment, sue his butt off.
