A sheriff came to my house and served court papers. He also handed me court papers for my husband who was not home at that time. Was that correct for the officer to do?. I did not sign anything either. I will try and make this as short as possible. We bought a 84 300zx Nissan back in 5/98 from a buy here pay here dealer. It didn't past inspection so we took it back to the dealership and told them that we wanted our money back if it didn't past inspection. The dealer poured some type of liquid in the tank and husband was told to go for a long drive, then get it inspected ..which it past. Anyway, we were making good payments. Unfortunately, my husband got in an accident, and the car didn't have full coverage, is not drive-able at this time. My husband contacted the dealer to arrage lower payments for a few months, to resume it again, but was told the contract was sold to Northwest Financial because of good credit. I think we made some good payments to Northern Financial at the beginning, but cannot recall the amount or for how long, but I remember that they called us every day, several times a day, stating that the payments where unacceptable, I had caller id. On 11/98, I sent Northern Financial a register mail with signature required, and got back the green slip. In the letter, I asked not to be contacted at work nor at home. Explained that my husband had called them several times to arrange smaller payment but was told it was unacceptable, and that they will reposes the car if we don't make full payments. Explained we didn't return their calls because every time my husband called them, he got yell at, called names and told that they will sue us if we don't pay it according to the contract. I informed them that if the car was reposes then we no longer owe the bill, since they didn't want to work with us. I said that we do want to pay but were unable to make the regular payments at this time, and to please let me know what can be worked out. Well, we never heard from Northern Financial, nor the Nissan repo We had to moved from Memphis in the beginning of 99 to Georgia and was unable to find any paper work to write back to, since it was packed away. I do not see a charge-off, but it says sold by dealer. I dont know if the dealer is suing or if another collection agency is the one suing. Is their anything that can be done? Is it save to contact the lawyer via register mail to work some kind of payment arrangement instead of going to court?. What will the car be worth?. We go to court the second week of August, in Memphis. Someone I know mentioned that our wages can end up being garnished or we can end up in jail. I don't have money to pay this debt off, I am worried. I read somewhere that when served with court papers that one has to answer the complain and dont have to give explanations, just yes or no, so that they dont win by a default. I am confused, plz plz help.
YOu should know who is suing you and how to contact them it will be on there civil warrant you were served. Once you have that. YOu can proceed with validation etc. Especially if its from a collection agency.
According to the papers, the following list: J&D Quality cars then list the atty's name, address and phone number, if I want to make payment. hmm it seems that it is the dealer that adquired an atty. The amount they are asking is 4,188 plus ofcourse court cause it we go to court. I dont think that I owe that kind of money, since I did make some payments, and have no idea how they came up with this amount. Should I send some type of letter to try an settle this out of court? What type of a letter should I write and amount I should settle for?. Should I ask to validate it? cash price: 4.995 amount financed: 3995.70. Thank you for your input, Kiyi.
Well, if the OC is has sued, they are not required to validate. What you need to do is answer the summons. I would contact the court clerk's office and ask for a 30 day continuance. This will give you time to contact the lawyer and feel them out about a settlement amount or, get a lawyer of your own to handle the matter. The court is going to make the lawyer for the auto company prove the amount of damages. If you disagree with that figure you will have to show the judge your reasoning and proof that the plantiff is incorrect. Just saying I disagree is not enough to get any relief.
I think you should check the motor vehicle laws for your state and see if this dealer/lender has complied. Repo's are in a class by themselves.
Ok, I will contact the court clerk's office and ask for that 30 days continuance. What will be a good letter of settlement to write, to send to this atty?. I really can't afford an attorney, but if worse comes to worse I might just have to somehow. I am sorry to ask all these questions. Can I request the atty how did they came up with that amount?. Don't I have the right to request and be provided with the amount owed prior to the sale of the contract, and when Northwest Financial got the contract, and back again when the dealer got it, Or is that something that I have to bring it up in court or request it prior to court from the atty, Or will I have to get this myself? Does'nt it help to have a letter that you did try to work a payment arrangement with both, but where denied. I also have a letter of Amortization Schedule Payments which show dates, payments and balance, from the dealer. Should I mentioned this to the atty when trying to reach a settlement? Thank you for the advice keepmine.
breeze, where do I go or how can I check the motor vehicle laws for my state and see if this dealer/lender has complied?. Is their a fee for this? This was in Tennessee, back in 98. Oh.. Repo's are in a class by themselves, even though they didnt repo it?.
Please, does anyone else know where I go, or how can I check the motor vehicle laws for Tenneessee/Georgia state to see if this dealer/lender - J&D Quality Cars or Northwest Financial has complied?. Is their a fee for this? This was in Tennessee, back in 98. Where can I find more inf for Repo's?. Advice would be appreciated.
I called a number listed in my court papers but is from the atty who is suing. He stated that we have to have a lawyer to do a 30 days continuance. We cannot do this ourself. Any advice to this?.
Get a lawyer!! If not you may be taken advantage of in this matter. I'm sorry to tell you but you are under obligation to pay them by signing this contract. No matter what the case may be. Obviously they aren't willing to work it out with you because they already would have done so and accepted a payment plan. Nope...These guys want the judgement. It will be their burden to prove to the court and you the money they claim you owe. Now what will happen next is they will most likely get a judgement of some sort against you for this money. They will most likely attach both of your wages if you and your husband are on this contract. It all depends on your state. In my state of PA we are exempt from wage garnishment except for child support and taxes. You will need to check if your state has a wage garnishment statute and see how much % they allow. If you are truly broke they really can't take much can they. I wish I could offer you more advice but I think right now you need to get at least a consultation with an attorney so he can go over your rights in this matter. BTW, You can request a continuance with the clerk of courts where the suit is filed. You do not need an attorney to do this for you. Tell them at this point you are representing yourself and need more time to prepare. They won't have a problem giving it to you. You cannot go to jail over a civil lawsuit, so don't be worried about that. There is no such thing as a debtor's jail. Good Luck! Tac
Tennessee has some rules that must be followed during and following a repossession. You would probably need an attorney to take them on in this situation, because it involves more than one state, but the gist of it is, if they did not do everything they are supposed to do by law (these places hardly ever do)then they cannot collect the deficiency judgment from you. I really can 't see you doing this yourself in court against their attorney. I am the one that told you before, with the complexity of having two states and two sets of laws, and the fact that you can't even find the laws on the internet (no insult intended), you better get a lawyer.
Hi MM, First, welcome to the board. Your situation has many layers of complexity. Now, because of the suit, there's a stiff time frame. You just can't jump into all this stuff and be "up to speed" within 20-30 days. Especially when faced with an intimidating judge and an enemy atty. who does this stuff for a living. Let's get YOU back in the drivers seat. Here's what we want you to do. Call the clerk of courts and request a 30 day continuance, as per Tac. He will give it to you. Just tell him you need the time to try and find an atty. of your own. Then, call the bar association for your state. Tell them you need legal aid and need the number because you cannot afford an atty. right now. Don't be afraid to explain your situation if they ask. They will give you the number. So call them right away and ask to make an appt. to go see somebody for a few minutes. They can help you tremendously. In the meantime don't worry, everything will work out ok. You will not go to jail. Try not to worry too much. There are people around you who can help, you just need to ask. But you need the help of some legal people in your area that you can talk to right away. So go do these 2 things. When you're done come back on here and let us know what happened.
I thank you all for your advice. I a glad to know their are people out their that care, and sites like this. Ok, .. so I should hold the letter I wrote?. It was to send to both; the atty and the dealer. I modified the letter to the atty & dealer. I wrote something like this, sorry a bit long, and please feel free to say something if you like. Dear Sir: This letter is being sent to you in response to letter to appear in court. This is not a refusal to pay, nor acknowledging the debt is mine, but a notice that your claim is disputed. Requesting verification of amount supposedly owed. From my understanding this account was sold to Northwest Financial, and then it returned to the original account owner/dealer. I do not believe that I owe what you claim I owe, and request that you please do the following: 1-Show me how you calculated what you say I owe. 2-Give me copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe. 3-Show me all papers that shows payments which I supposedly made and balances from each one that took ownership of this account, since errors to the account can be entered in the process of selling/transfer. If the information is valid, by providing with what is requested and is true, then I would like to propose a settlement. How about 30% to 50% from the amount you claim I owe, which is reasonable. After you speak with J & D, please contact me at home at xxxxx as soon as possible or by July 2nd, and advise me if this settlement is agreeable. I want to do everything I can to avoid court appearance, since I am trying to improve my credit, also this will benefit your client and I from further expenses. Request for a letter of acceptance, and stop court process for this account, please let me know. Furthermore, either show "Paid in full" with no negative listing, or delete my account and not show, in my credit report. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Forget the letter. That doesn't count as an answer to the summons. Once a lawsuit has been filed, the game changes dramatically. They really don't have to validate anything to you. What really matters is what they can prove to a judge. Get the continuance and then, get a lawyer.
Ok I will do as you advice keepmine, and you do have a point, thank you very much. Unfortunatly, the phone that was listed in the court papers was the atty and husband was told that he could not get a 30 days continuance, we must have a lawyer do that. I guess he wanted to put one over us. The court papers dont have an address nor a phone number to call to request the continuance. All it says is "Court of General Sessions State of Tennessee, County of Shelby." Chris Turner, clerk court of General Sessions. btw .. Can you refer me to an atty in Tenneessee that will not charge me an arm and a leg for this. We really cant afford a big expense at this time. Perhaps an atty here in Georgia Atlanta, that have a free first consulatation.
The dealer is in Memphis Tennessee. I now live in Georgia. bwt. I did a search in the BBB for this dealer: General Information Principal : Mr. Jackie Kenley Owner Customer Experience Based on BBB files this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau. Specifically, our files contain unanswered complaints alleging dissatisfaction with the company's service dissatisfaction with the performance of the product Company Management Additional company management personnel include: Mr. Don Grace, Owner Not a good reputation to say the least.
