The problem is that if you are sued by the sorts of people that seem to be involved in this instance, the so-called "Junk Debt Buyer", these people do this all the time. This isn't taking time out from doing something else, this is what they do. So even if it doesn't seem to make sense, they might still keep at it. Another thing to consider, this isn't even past summary judgment. They figure that some people will appear and it will have to go to summary judgment. Since most people who get that far don't show up for the summary judgment, it's not that different, really, from a default. Just a bit more time. So if the defendant chooses to fight them, he should expect that they won't be that impressed by just the fact he worked up an appearance and answer. Wouldn't this mean that Joe's Dentist would have to essentially himself become a lawyer to get people who got fillings to pay him his silver? Assignment is vital to a credit economy. The problem is the basic unfairness when only one side has a lawyer and the system doesn't care about providing any help to the side that needs it most. Well, there are several problems, but let's leave it there for right now. But presumably if you took out the loan, you got use of those dollars. No one forced you to borrow.
Dumb bob your right no one forced me to borrow the money and no one forced the bank to loan it to me.The bank took a chance on me and lost.Had the bank won and i paid the loan back the bank would of made a nice profit for taking that chance on me.Since the ca's do not get any of the banks profits when the banks take a chance on me and i pay the loan back why should the ca's make a profit when the banks take a chance on me and i default on the loan? If i default on a loan the banks can claim their loss as a tax deduction and send me a 1099 form and i then would claim my unpaid loan as earned income and pay the irs the taxes due.So why do the ca's,lawyers, or even the courts need to get involved in this.
Because the banks sold the debt to mitigate their loss. So your argument is that you can default on loans and there is nothing that anyone should be able to do, or just not anyone but the original lender? The problem is that assignment is a vital part of a credit economy. You won't get anywhere arguing against the idea of assignment. I don't mean with me, I mean with entities that actually matter. Now if you want to argument that currently assignment is being done in a manner that isn't fair, I'd be much more open to that. I don't know about the entities that actually matter though.
I went to the court house and got the form to file the response. But after I file it should I call the lawyer and try to make a settlement (with no admission that the debt is mine of course)? Or get into the process of making them cough the specifics of the account (any paperwork I may have signed, specifics of when the default date)?
There's a form? Is this small claims? You should explain what your goals are. The contract that they will claim you agreed to will include attorneys' fees. This means if you fight, the ultimate cost to you if you lose is only going to increase. That's also true given the fact that interest is continuing to get tacked on. Litigation is a war. In a war, you have to accept that you might die. If you don't want to run that risk, you should try to find a way to settle. if you are willing to go to the wall over this, then you can decide to fight like hell. But make no mistake, alone this can be difficult. Of course some CAs will seek the next and likely easier victim if you even appear and answer, but some will take you all the way up the river to meet a sunflower seed popping Marlin Brando. You were warned.
Credit Credit I received a summons from a lawyer representig a collection agency. I answered the summons (with a validation letter), filed it with my county clerk's office - mailed the copy to the attorney. However 5 days letter the attorney sends me a "settlement offer" letter. What do I do now?
If you are "answering" a summons, it often requires an "appearance" and "answer". If they'll count your "letter" as that, I do not know. You want an appearance because you want to know what is going on. Is this settlement offer a delaying tactic so that the lawyer can file for a default? You said you put something into the court so they might just feel they need to go to summary judgment. They might want to settle. What should you do? I don't know, I'm Dumb Bob.
It is filed in Limited Civil at Los Angeles County Superior Court. The form is an Answer to Contract. I think I said earlier that from what I've been able to ascertain in California credit card accounts are considered signed contracts. Here is a link to a PDF of the form: calcourtforms.com/forms/ca/jc/pldc010.pdf My goal is to settle this. I am not looking to go to court on this. I am looking to settle but I want to answer this filing so I don't get hit with a Default Judgment. Remember that I called them to get the info on the account and they said they were going to send me the info. Instead they went right out and filed the suit. I intend to use the verbage that Rocket suggested just to answer the complaint.
That's kind of cool that they have that. You still have to think what affirmative defenses you might have, etc. Which might be a violation of the FDCPA. But without a lawyer, the threat of your counterclaim is rather toothless. Since you obviously want to know facts about what is going on and what you owe, you might consider using the tools of discovery if they are available to you. Obviously you'd want to check and see what the rules were, if there were limitations because you are pro se that would change if you started discovery, etc.
My plan was just use the verbage that Rocket suggested that I generally deny the allegations and my affirmative defense is there is not enough info to justify a reasonable belief of their claims. I called them after i got the papers and one of their options was to press 4 if you received a summons. They were actually closed but it seems that they do this kind of thing often (file suit right away). I called a different law firm that had an account of mine from CACH and they had no such option. In fact they were straight up with me and we worked out a deal for little over 50 cents on the dollar. The amount owed was about 3 times what these yaps are suing me for and it was defaulted on at about the same time.
That might buy you some time, but I've not seen an unsworn general denial survive summary judgment. Misrepresenting should be a violation of the FDCPA. The trouble is, when going pro se, you don't have teeth. Most "creditors rights" operators aren't afraid of being gummed to death. If you have a lawyer and he says that it's a valid claim, you can be very scary since those operators then risk attorney's fees. Of course a debt owner isn't required to settle for less than is owed. And since when that other company took 50 cents on the dollar, you also had this current debt over you, it stands to reason you had some greater leverage. Now you might be down to the last issue. You might look like a better, fatter, more meaty target of opportunity.
How to find a lawyer? I myself am now at the point where many postings on this (great) board recommend finding a local attorney. My question is: How do you suggest finding a reliable one? Yellow pages? Do I look for a general practice, or a bankruptcy lawyer? What I DO NOT want is a bk lawyer who is going to steer me into bankruptcy when that's not where I want (or need) to go. I need advice on how to delay and settle, and I may need representation in court (although the debts are valid, so I am in a holding action to try to settle at this point.) Any advice?
I found this on the California Attorney General website (ag.ca.gov/consumers/general/collection_agencies10.php): Notification. The creditor is not required to let you know it is referring your account to a collection agency. An exception is health spas, which must give you advance notice that the debt is being assigned for collection (CC Section 1812.88). Either in its first contact with you regarding an unpaid bill or in writing within five days after that contact, the collection agency must provide the following information to you: * Amount you owe; * Name of the creditor; and * Process to follow if you dispute the bill. The five-day notification period applies whether the collection agency's first contact with you is by telephone or in writing, but many agencies include that information on their initial written notice, whether or not they have telephoned first. Each notice demanding payment for a bill must contain the following information: * Creditor's name (on the first notice); * Name, address and telephone number of the collection agency; * Date the notice was mailed; * Amount due. If, after the first notice, the total amount due changes, the change must be explained on the next notice (15 USC Section 1692g; CCR Section 620). * Employer Contact. This law firm did none of that/I got none of this information before they sued. I made original contact with them asking for the information on the account on 3/11/08 and on 3/13/08 they filed the lawsuit. After not receiving the info I called back around 3/18/08 asking for the info again and they told me they had definitely sent it. I called them yesterday about this and I believe the girl is lying to me about it all. She says they sent the info, etc. They knew they had an incorrect address before I called (she said as much) and knew that I had never received any demand letters prior to my call on 3/11 (She asked my if I had and I told her no). She said they filed the suit because I didn't respond to the letters they sent after that call on the 11th. To this day I still have not received anything from them other than the complaint. How does can/does this play into my dealings with them if it does at all?
File a countersuit for their violation of the FDCPA. Since they failed to notify you of how to dispute the debt, they now owe you $1,000.
I called them again today and the girl told me that they mailed me 5 notices between the time I contacted them and the time they served me the papers. That would mean they sent me five notices in the span of 7 weeks (3/11 - 5/1). I highly doubt that. I asked the girl if the notices were returned and she said no. Convenient, no? Its amazing that those 5 never got through to me but the summons the process server mailed to me, after leaving the summons on my doorknob, got here ok. Another funny thing I realized today is they have never even asked me for my phone number. If they had that they could have called me to ask me if I was going to pay, etc. I was going to try to handle this on my own but now that I feel they are being underhanded and not playing above board I am going to have to talk to a lawyer next week about this.
They actually sent you fifty notices but before they got to you they were all eaten by Grendel's mother. It happens all the time. Perhaps you could use this to rebut the presumption of mailing if it comes to that. This sort of thing isn't exactly unusual.
You're funny Bob. I contacted a lawyer today and sent him the paperwork, etc. I also realized something about the complaint they wrote up. It is amazing that it is dated March 8th which just happens to be 3 days before I called and they even knew where the heck I was. So they were sitting around with nothing else to do and decided to write up a complaint on someone they had no clue how to get in touch with? For a measly 3G? Business must be slow. I hate these SOBs. Even though I am going to have to pay them I just want to be as much of a headache as I can to them because they seem like real jerks. If I can counter sue them for not following FDCP that would be so sweet. *bows head in small gesture of prayer*
That's good. You should listen to him. You should get a second opinion if he seems only interested in a direction you aren't interested in. For example, you might watch out for the BK obsessed lawyer. I've seen a debt collecting lawyer go to trial over $47, I think it was, OK, granted it was part of another case for a few hundred or something. They will sue for ANYTHING. Why? Because they can add on whatever their fees are. Let me point out that they don't really care. Remember the childrem who used to pick on the weak kid, spit on him, kick him, call him names? Those children are now debt collecting lawyers! I've said this a lot, they aren't going to fear you pro se because of the limits that you can get from a FDCPA judgment, basically $1000 unless you can prove they caused your dog to keel over. Of course if you've got a lawyer, he can charge his fees, and that's usually hundreds of dollars an hour. It adds up rapidly. They don't like paying that.
I don't think the lawyer will be BK crazy and I would never go for that anyway. Why start the clock on a BK from today when I can pay this and have it fall off in less years anyway? But I hear what you are saying Bob. I have totally come to realize that this particular bunch aren't interested in dealing with this straight up. They are looking for fees and not really looking to collect this debt from me in an equitable way. I made a settlement offer and they won't even take it to the client. They are telling me that the client (CACH, LLC) won't accept a settlement the way I want to pay it. But I know for a fact they will because I am paying a settlement for a larger amount to CACH with the same terms I offered through a different firm. Did I mention these guys are SOBs?
