Look in your phone book for legal aid. They help people who cannot afford attorneys. Call them and tell them you are being sued by a shady automobile dealer for a deficiency balance and that it involves the states of Tennessee and Georgia. Write that down, and tell them exactly that. It is too late to be sending letters and using the techniques on this board. You need a lawyer fast, or these people will take your money.
Thank you breeze. Appreciate all the advice given. You are all terrific people. I will return back to this site and update you with the outcome of my case. Hopefully, its towards our benefit and not theirs.
btw .. I called the court office in Memphis. She said that I can fax a paper requesting a 30days continuance, explaining why I need one, but I will not know if it got accepted until the day of the court date. Its up to the judge to decide. She mentioned that sometimes a friend can appear but cannot guarantee if that would help. also mentioned that what is best to do is to get an atty to come in an request a 30days continuance, before or on the day of the court date.
I didn't know the answer to your question, but adding a comment, commonly referred to as a bump, means that your thread went back on the first page where it would get more visibility. I was hoping to get you more inputs to your thread. Maggie
Ops sorry Maggie75, I am new at this and didnt know what bump meant. I got court papers to appear in ourt. They are suing me for not paying a car. I dont agree with their amount and have no idea how they got to that amount. We didnt get anything from them via mail or phone prior to this lawsuit. Unfortunatly, since I moved a couple of years ago, I had everything pack and couldnt remember where those papers where. We had tried for several times to work with these people then but they never cared to work with us. They even threated to repo the car but never did. We really dont have money, but because I happen to work for a good company it is thought that I have money laying aroud everywhere. We would not be able to qualify for low income or assistance. Now I am faced with having to hire a laywer just to take care of this. Dont they realize that is more expensive to go to court then to work some type of payment arrangement or to settle it. I welcome all advice and thank everyone for their input.
Re: Got court papers ... I will try to make the update as short as possible. Hopefully it might help others too. My husband and I went to court, after calling an attorney for a free first time consultation, which wasnt of much help at all. Those atty just tell you general things. In the court corridor the attnt assistance spoke to us and started asking questions, and ofcourse we were careful how we answer and what not to answer. We wanted to do a settlement but we where told that they will have to ck with their cust for approval first and we would have to take a judment, plus they could only settle for 3500 plus atty fees, not 35% to 50% off the debt 4188. If we took continuance, we were going to be given 7days by the court only and would have to return the following week. Husband didnt want to do all that driving back and forth and didnt want to hire an atty to spend all kind of money, so he took the judment for repayment. We were given a card with a phone number to call and make payment arrangements or settlement. We spoke to the lady clerks at the court house, prior to returning back home, who gave us two papers to send back in 10days in case they didnt agree with the payment arrangements we would offer, the only drawback - returning back to court once again. Husband recently spoke to the collection agency-ARCO, that is who we will make payments to, who is now handling this account. He offer to settle. What is your suggestion to get this right, such as letter writting or what to say?. Should I go ahead and send the letter to the court letting them know that he offer to settle and we are awaiting for his paperwork, so that our paycheck dont get garnished?.
Re: Got court papers ... I want to give you some advice, but please keep in mind that I have no legal experience, but based on what a friend went through I hope I can offer the following: 1. Was your car repossessed? If it was, the creditor may have sold it and is therefore only entitled to the difference (note less what the car sold for). Also, if it was repossesed, the creditor should have contacted you and notified you that the car was to be sold, giving you the opportunity to "buy" the car. If they did not do that, then that is a reason to request vacating the judgment (according to Maryland law). If a repossession, all should have been included in the court papers you received. 2. You now live in Georgia. It seems to me that Tennessee does not have the jurisdiction over this case and should have been filed in Georgia. Not sure on this, but it is worth checking up on. 3. After a judgment is entered you normally have 30 days to file a motion to vacate the judgment. I would file a motion to vacate based on everything I could possibly think of to get the judge to favorably consider your motion. That is: TN Court not having jurisdiction; Plaintiff failing to provide you with a disclosure of how they arrived at the amount that is owed; Request info on car if repossessed and sold; Request that judge vacate judgment because your lawyer did not show up to represent you in this case and you feel that there is some irregularity in the plaintiff's motion for judgment. 4. You live in Georgia. You may have some kind of representation there for Pre-Paid Legal Services where you pay a monthly fee of $25 (may vary) to obtain expert advice. They will also represent you in court for traffic violations and credit issues. They should be able to advise you if TN has the jurisdiction to enforce any judgments. If available in your area, I would sign up immediately and contact them for information. Food for thought. I had to appear in court to defend against a judgment. Met with lawyer prior to judgment in which we came to an agreed monthly payment. We then went before the judge in which the plaintiff informed the judge that we had entered into a monthly payment agreement and also requested the judgment. The judge spoke up on my behalf and stated that the defendant does not want a judgment which is the reason why monthly payment was set up. I walked away with a monthly payment plan of $40 on a $1,500 debt, and no judgment. However, it was entered into the record if I defaulted on the payment plan as agreed, a judgment would then be automatically entered if a motion was filed by the plaintiff and I was found to be guilty. I paid the account in full with no judgment. Hope this helps. Again, I am not a legal mind. But from the little research I have done, you may be able to get this to work in your favor, such as it is. Good luck!
Re: Got court papers ... btw, I havent received a letter from them yet, but thought of writting back a letter to the credit agency ARCO confirming the settlement they offer and then requesting the negative marks be removed or account be removed from showing in my credit report. I just cked husband Equifax report. It list twice the ARCO account with remarks "Unpaid". It does not list a judment against him or in mine. It also shows another account for this same car, perhaps is the dealer, with remarks "PAID BY DEALER". This one is also showing in my Equifax report. Is this something that need to be fix with Equifax or the collection agency?. Husband is the original debtor but I am a co-signer.
Re: Got court papers ... Also, if you choose to settle remember to settle with the plaintiff agreeing that the plaintiff will file with the court voluntary dismissal of the judgment and request that the judgment be stricken from the record.
Re: Got court papers ... my2sentz, thank you for your response to this. I didnt have a lawyer to represent us in court, because husband didnt want one. We spoke to their attny's assistance to try to settle but he said we would have to take a judgement first then call their number to settle. Husband wanted to start making payments once again. The car was never reposes althought Northewest Financial threaten then if we didnt make the monthly payments. Another thing is that husband didnt want to ask for the 7 days continuance, because we would have to return back to Tennessee. The lady cleck told us if they dont agree with the payment arrangements when calling that phone number in the card then we would have to file some paper work prior to 10days. Which meant returning back to court. No court date was ever stablish in Georgia, it was to appear in Tennessee instead. I think Pre-Paid Legal Services sounds like a way to go without having to brake our pockets.
Re: Got court papers ... Again, it seems to me that the creditor should have filed this case in Georgia. Since this is where you are now living. If this is the case, based on this fact alone you can file a motion to vacate based on court not having proper jurisdiction to render a judgement. I may be wrong, BUT I would research it. I live in Maryland, approximately 20 minutes from the court house, and have filed motions via mail (sent via FEDEX) that were granted and never appeared in court. You don't have to appear in court, it is just to your advantage.
Re: Got court papers ... I have PPL, and I think it is the best purchase I have ever made. I get letters and phone calls for free, they review paperwork before I sign, and telephone advice is unlimited. They always get me an expert in whatever it is that I am dealing with - insurance, credit, you name it. The good thing about PPL is quality control - if an attorney doesn't do his job properly, he has someone crawling all over him, and he know he will lose their referral business.
Re: Got court papers ... I appreciate all the responses and help from each and everyone. breeze, which PPL should I go with, can you ref me to one plz?
