I was served a summons a couple of weeks ago by LBN in Oklahoma City. The suit is over a debt owed to Credit One, which I do not dispute. We're talking just under $1000. The account was closed 9/2010. I responded back to them with a list of my financial obligations. My wife is disabled on SSD. With my income, we net around $3300 a month. After bills we have roughly $1100 left over for living expenses, medications, gas, etc. We received a call yesterday about my payment options, which there are 2. Garnish my wages at 25%, which would be roughly $600 or acccept their payment option of $225 a month. I was told that they tried for 4 months to reach me by mail, to which I cry bull. My wife is home 24/7 and meets the mail carrier daily at the mail box. I certainly cannot afford garnishment and even the $225 a month will stretch us thin. We live in a small town. Is this worth at least taking to court or should I just accept the fact I screwed up and take the $225 a month payments? Seems they're doing a lot of barking over $1000 plus fees. Payoff will be in 8 months. Also, they want my bank account number, for which we are totally against. Thanks in advance.
They can't garnish your wages until they take you to court and secure a judgment. Do not give them your bank account number. If you don't dispute the debt and want to settle, is there any way you can come up with a lump sum payment instead? I would rather do that than agree to a payment plan that has you shelling out $2,000 for a debt under $1,000. You'll most likely be able to negotiate a better number as well. Also, have you responded to the summons yet?
Thank you sir for the reply. We have replied to the summons to their office. In that reply was the paperwork that I listed our monthly expenses that are there every month like utilities and rent. It was after that letter that we received the phone call giving me 2 options - garnishment or monthly payments. I have until the 25th of May to let them know what option I have chosen. I don't think I am able to come up with a lump sum payment, although that idea is enticing. Today we sent out a letter to them requesting the name and address of the original creditor, hoping that will also give me a breakdown of what the charges in the suit entail. The part that really irks me is that they say they sent out letters over a 4 month period. My wife is home and we don't take mail of that sort lightly. We would have replied to the first notice and any of our friends would stand up for her good character. It's just - how do you tell a collection agency that you are of good character?
Did you send your answer to the court as well? If not, make sure you file you answer with the court too. I'm not a lawyer, but like I said before, I don't see how they can garnish your wages until they secure a judgment against you. That basically leaves them with option #2 at this point, which is negotiating a payment plan with you. Do you have anything you could sell to raise some quick cash? Any expenses you could really cut back on for the next month or so? I would really push for a lump-sum payment instead of sticking with a payment plan drawn out over the next year.
We're going to the courthouse later this week to go over some similar cases and see what the outcome was and decide if it is worth arguing. It just seems like a paltry amount - not for us - but for them. I don't know, I think we'll just bite the bullet, pay for our mistake, live and learn. I think I can come up with an extra couple hundred a month but not lump sum all at once. Your help has been more than appreciated. I WILL NOT give them my bank acct number, that IS for sure!
Yes, it did. It was dated 23rd of February but not delivered by a process server until the middle of April. It has a court case number, filing date, signed by a District Judge and Court Clerk, looks like the whole nine yards. Page 1 says summons, page 2 starts out with Petition for Indebtedness. Looks real enough to me.
Ok, just checking. Make sure that you respond also to the court, however the process is in your state. The last thing anyone (except for them) wants is a default judgement. You'll want to also google their name, you'll find some interesting reading.
