I just got paperwork in the mail today to show up for court for a Motion to Confirm Arbitration Award... Below it shows that I can still have 30 days to dispute the validity of the debt or any portion, et al. There is also the address of the law firm in Seattle that is handling this for them. I live on the other side of the state, 4 hours away. What should I do from here??
Hi crow. Your name caught my eye lol. Since they're offering you 30 days to dispute, go ahead and dispute and request validation. It may buy you some time, or get you some violations you can use to set off the amount theyre suing you for. How much are they claiming the debt is for? (ballpark figure.) I'm not sure if you're actually being sued yet. A motion to confirm arbitration award? hmmm. Check your state's statutes and rules of civil procedure and see what you can do as far as an answer, defenses, and possibly a counterclaim is concerned. You may want to visit this forum: http://www.artofcredit.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=1 There are lots of knowledgeable, helpful people there who can help with lawsuit questions.
did they take you to arbitration with the national arbitration forum (NAF) and you just let it happen ? you should have rejected the arbitration hearing, but they still have to take you to court in YOUR county not 4 hours away. i don't care where the attorney is, it's his/her problem to get to your local courthouse. who exactly is taking you to court ? MBNA uses wolpoff & abramson as their trained pit-bulls. is it Wolpoff or MBNA ? obviously, they have an arbitration award from somewhere, they still have to take it to a *real* court before a *real* judge to get a judgment that they can collect on. they have to do this so don't ignore an court summons and go to present *your side*.
If you go to my website, linked below, you will find a letter to refuse arbitration. Send it. If there is a Court docket # on your "summons" send the motion to deny a judgment based on the arbitration award (follows the letter on my website) In addition, if there IS an actual filed claim, you should add a request for a change of venue to a Court in your own County.
Unfortunately, I didn't know all of you existed until now. I would have done things differently. Let me try to be clearer on whats happening. The summons is for MY county. The attorney firm is in Seattle, 4 hours away. They will have to make the trip. It is set for 8/12 at 1:30pm. This ALREADY went through arbitration. I didn't know any better. I received some advice, bad advice it appears, to allow it to arbitrate, go to a firm and then try to settle. The amount that they're asking for is about $29,000. That is about $11,000 more than what the CC was when I stopped paying on it. That is my primary concern. The cover sheet has that this is a Action to Compel/Confirm Private Binding Arbitration and that this is a motion to to Confirm Arbitration Award. Wolfoff and Abrahmson was the initial firm but now its with a firm in Seattle, Bishop, White, Miersma & Marshall. The Authority listed is RCW 7.04.150 which provides for confirmation of arbitration awards. One the first page in bold print it states that... Pursuant to Federal Law you are notified that unless you dispute the validity of the debt or any portion thereof within 30 days thats its assumed valid. Sounds like I need them to validate. I don't believe I've asked for that yet.
I spoke with an attorney for one of my new hubbies old (way out of SOL) credit cards. He said they charge rediculous interest everyday to make you feel like you are getting a good deal if they settle. Also, said they buy the debt for a small fraction of the cost and will usually settle for much less. He just settled a case that the gentleman owed 25k and it ended up 10k and a release. Chances are what they are charging as interest is ILLEGAL. The attorney my DH is using is charging a very small fee. I would say go that route if you can. These so called attorneys representing some credit card company should be thrown under the jail. What they are doing is predatory.
Thanks Kilo. I'm wondering if that might not be the way to go. What sort of attorney (practice area) would work best for this?
Try visiting www.naca.net to find a Consumer Advocacy lawyer in your area. If you aren't lucky there, let your fingers do the walking. Sounds like you might be wise to pay a couple hundred dollars for counsel in order to prevent you from paying thousands later. Ounce of prevention > pound of cure.
