I had a Providian card in the amount of $11000. When I went default this was sold to Midland Credit Management. I tried to settle with Midland 09/03 and they refused to respond to me unless I was willing to pay the full amount (including all of their fees for a balance of $24299). I was layed off back in 08/03 and am still unemployed. Now I recd a court summons this morning with a payment arrangement agreement for $22000 from their attorneys. I am located in Florida and it appears that Midland is not authorized to collect in Florida. How do I respond and go forward? I'm doing some research but wanted any further suggestions. Thanks. Kim
Is the account still owed by Midland? (Are they the ones listed on the summons?) When was the DOLA of the account? The SOL appears to be 4 years for an open account/5 years for a written agreement from what I saw at http://www.carreonandassociates.com/statute.htm#Florida
Midland still owns the account. Hayt, Hayt and Landau attys are handling the collection. They don't want to settle for anything less than the full balance. I just don't know what to do. I'm at an impasse. I'm being told to file bk chp 13 because of my unemployment. Problem is I settled every other debt last fall and this is the last thing left. I'm now at a loss and just want to throw my hands up in the air. How do you work with someone that refuses to talk to you? And, I found out Midland is owned by Encore which is licensed in Florida.
-If the collection attorney is RETAINED by the collection agency and IS NOT AN EMPLOYEE of the agency, THEY ARE A NEW COLLECTOR AND NEED TO PROVIDE THE VALIDATION NOTICE REGARDLESS IF MIDLAND DID ALREADY-Kaplan FTC letter -Each collection agency must send a seperate validation notice for the debt, and a seperate validation notice for EACH debt. -If the summons and complaint was the "initial communication with the consumer" they are required to provide the validaiton notice "within 5 days" -Kroft & Berger FTC letters. -KEEP IN MIND THOUGH, the validation period IS SERPERATE than the court date. Dont fail to appear -So what does validation do at this point? Well, it is obvious to me, that it doesnt seem to be too clear how they arrived at the balance. FDCPA 809 (a) (1). -Depending on the court date and when you received the summons, if you sent a validation request to midland requesting an accounting to explain the "amount" of the debt, you may be able to catch them in a violation. -If they are in violation, and you sued them BEFORE THEIR court date against you, they might be more willing to "negotiate" -WITH THIS AMOUNT OF DEBT, I WOULD SUGGEST AT LEAST A CONSULTATION WITH A CONSUMER LAW ATTORNEY. -Here is a theory though..... If you sued them for "declaritory relief" (asking just for them to "releave you of the obligation"), they may just forget the whole thing. I have actually sued these guys, they are out of San Diego. This dude names Lylle Mathews showed up to represent them in court. Mr Mathews actually told the judge "your honor, with all due respect, you do not have the authority to hear this case as it is a federal statute that is alleged to be violated!" LOL I won LOL
Okay - I've been doing more research and have spoken with a few attorneys. Most have told me to file chapter 13 (this is my only debt so I really don't want to do this) and one said we could fight it if I want to spend the money. I was also told that once it went to court the judge would just send us out to settle. How true is that? It's in the circuit court due to the amount Also, I received the summons but there is no court date as of yet - just the 20 days to respond. And, a stipulation for settlement for me to fill in the blanks. I had sent a settlement offer back in Sept/Oct 2003 with no response. What would that do once I got to court? I had been willing to settle but have now been unemployed for 8 months so we had to dip into savings. Also, the only thing they sent with the court papers was a copy of the Providian Account Agreement from 1999. Would this mean they probably don't have anything else (they've never responded to DV) as proof of balance, etc.? Could it be they have nothing and just want me to fail to respond? If I have anything to countersue (still working on that) and file that as well as my response they might be more willing to just settle? Actually, the attorney's office told me they don't care if they ever get any money and to file bankruptcy. The collection agency is not licensed to collect per State of Florida but now they they have hired an attorney in the state that is exempt. Just want any other thoughts or ideas. Thanks in advance. Kim
