I am being sued for a debt, but it has not gone to court yet. I called the attorney who is sueing me on behalf of the collection agency and they offered a terrible settlement. I talked with a bankruptcy attorney and wrote back counter offering less. I have received the green card back, but have not heard from them yet. I sent another letter asking for validation....ok I went about this backwards, wasn't thinking. Does this attorney have to respond to my counter offer, even if they don't accept? Do they have to send me validation of the debt? If I do not hear back from them, what is my next step, etiher before court or in court?
They are not required to respond to your counter offer. Obviously, no response means no go. Yes they must validate even if they filed suit. There is a letter at the ftc website under fdcpa opinion letters. I'm not sure which letter it is, but you should go there and look at the letters in the validation section.
If you are really interested in settling, AND bk is a viable option, the lawyer you contacted about filing bk should write a settlement letter. The letter needs to strongly imply that absent an agreement, you will file bk prior to a court hearing. The letter must also take away the other lawyers leverage by instructing them that they are no longer to communicate with you but to send all correspondence and phone calls to your lawyer. You may find that the old saying a bit of something beats all of nothing will come into play.
