Hi Guys, I am sorry if this question is redundant, but I have searched the board and can't quite find the answer for my situation. I currently live in VA, and this is in regards to a CA in WI for a paid collection. It is the only thing left on my TU report (thanks to CNet, of course). I went through the validation process....no responses ever from CA & no "in dispute" notation on my reports. Recently I sent an ITS letter....again no response. I was really hoping that would be enough to make them delete the account, but looks like they're calling my bluff. I am serious about filing the lawsuit, but the prospect is intimidating, and I'm not quite sure how to begin. I am thinking of small claims court, because I would rather not get attorneys involved. But I have heard that small claims sometimes gets dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction. Is there any way to determine beforehand if this is the proper jurisdiction? Also, am I even correct in filing a lawsuit in VA, since the CA is in WI? I was afraid I had incurred no "damages" in my state, so I recently applied for a prime cc, knowing I would get rejected due to this collection on my report, and sure enough I was. Based on this info, should I file in small claims? Or should I consider another court and hire a lawyer on contingency? I want to follow through with my threat to file, so I really need some advice! Thanks so much!
Have you disputed the CA notation with the CRAs? If so, did the CA verfiy the account with the CRAs during the same time you had requested validation? This would be another violation on their part. As for proper venue, everything I've read indicates that you can file in your county's small claims court. The FDCPA violations happened to you in your home, kwim?
I would suggest that you visit my message board at http://pub50.ezboard.com/bcreditwrench and you will find just about anything you need to file a lawsuit. Most of it is in the resources forum. You will find model law suits as well as those filed by professionals, links to law libraries, links to attorneys who may be interested in helping you and plenty of reference material so that you can file pro se (without attorneys)
Thanks, I guess I'll have to do a lot more investigation and research. Though, I was hoping to file sooner than later to at least get the ball rolling. I found a small claims example on creditwrench--I'll try to dissect some of the convoluted legal vernacular. It's just that it's rather daunting for a layperson like me with no experience in this. And yes, I disputed the account with TU twice, both times it came back verified. The CA has probably racked up about 4-5 violations. Small claims limit here in VA is $2000, but if the CA has to potentially pay travel expenses from WI, that might be enough to make them settle. Who knows. <sigh>
I must agree that it is a daunting task indeed. You do need to read and understand the Rules of Civil Proceedure and the Rules of Evidence and links to those for every state in the U.S. as well as federal are on my message board as well as a link to the Lawyer's manual for Federal Courts which gives a lot of help and sample forms for you to use to go by. It is downloadable for your district from the federal courts website and is free. The problem is that finding a good attorney willing to take a debtor or consumer's case is very difficult to do even though many of them advertise that they are consumer advocate attorneys. The only one I have run into is David Szwak and he has referred me to one in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area that turned out to be dumber than a box of rocks. Even so I still have a lot of respect for Mr. Szwak. As far as I have been able to determine good consumer advocate attorneys are about as difficult to find these days as Osami or Saddam.
here is a website that may help you to find an attorney http://www.worldjustice.com/debt/collection.html
Thanks a lot, Bill. I'll do my homework. I also contacted David Szwak about a referral for another potential lawsuit (against Equifax for my pesky dismissed bk13), and he referred me to an attorney in VA Beach. So far, I've only sent this guy information & we've exchanged a couple emails, so it's hard to tell yet if it's going to go anywhere (or if he's remotely competent). I suppose I could ask him also about this case against the CA. This case against the CA is probably a slam dunk, due to their blatant violations; but there's the matter of the $165 filing fee for his services. I'm kinda cheap, so I wanted to try to do it myself if possible. I'd be willing to go it alone against Mom & Pop Collection Agency (but not Equifax!)
