I am taking this off my counties small claims website: "Finally, as a general rule, you should seek to sue a person or business in the county in which he/she or it resides or does business." If a collection agency is collecting a debt from me, can I claim they are "doing business" here? or do I have to file where they are physically located (another state)? The latter would be impossible
Well, depending on what state you're in, you can seek out the "registered agent" of the collection agency in your county/city area. For example, I was about to sue WFNNB which is located somewhere in Ohio, one of those Dakotas, or somewhere. Anyway, by looking at Georgia's State Department website, I was able to find out that they have an RA in Fulton county. I would have had to file a claim in that county against them. While researching that, I didn't find many cases where you would have to fly out to that CA's state and file. They ARE doing business in your state (and should be liscensed to do so) if they are contacting you. I don't know exactly what your situation is, but try this... Call the CA and ask for the name of their registered agent in your metro area. When they ask why, inform them that you need it in order to file your small claims lawsuit in the amount of $ (maximum of 15K in GA!) for Defamation, FCDPA violation, etc. They will usually start to listen then. It's worked twice for Wifey and I against WFNNB and ACS! Smitty I don't always have a solution, but I most always admire the problem.
I was wondering this same thing. (And I think I may try that too Smitty!) But I thought I read somewhere that a suit can be filed in the county where the contract was supposedly signed or something to that affect. Is that wrong?
I've wondered a little about this...what happens if they are not licensed or registered in your state? I called the secretary of state and also the dept of revenue and both offices said the company isn't licensed here. I'm sending a letter so I can get a written response.
No, it's not wrong, but to enlighten the class a little further, this is off of one of the local law school's website: If you are suing a person, you must file suit in the county where he or she lives. If you are suing a business corporation, you must file in the county where it does business or is incorporated. You must also find out the name and address of the corporation's registered agent. If the business is not incorporated, you must sue the owner in the county where he or she lives. To find out if a business is incorporated, and the name of the owner or the registered agent, call the Georgia Secretary of State's Office, Corporation Division. Let me know what state you guys are in and I can probably dig up some more detailed info for ya. Smitty I dated a cheerleader once. She's in Chicago now, a lesbian... long story.
Smitty - I'm in NY. CA'a are also not required to be licensed here. Would they still have a registered agent? I'm all confused!!
There again, it depends on 2 things... who they are, and what the NY laws are. Who is the CA? Click here for the NY Sec. of State Corporation Database. I checked, and ACS has an RA in Huntington. It's really gonna depend on who the entity is. Smitty Best 2 vacation spots: Niagra Falls and the Viagra Lifts
The CA is Asset Acceptance Corp. I searched for them in the database in the link you provided but it didn't return any results.
OK, donnav025, I called Acceptance at 1.800.505.5166. Spoke to a brainless dickweed who wouldn't give me any info regarding a N.Y. contact without him first having a name or account number. Asked for the Legal Dept. (not sure if I really got it) and spoke to Renee Smith. She can be reached at 1.800.391.6744, extension 6744. If you decide to call, ONLY give her your account number. Don't discuss anything with her. All you want is the name/number/address of the person handling your account. Something along the lines of, "Hello, Renee, my name is donnav025 and I need to know who I should list in my $3000 (N.Y. limit) small claims lawsuit against your company for (defamation, whatever)." As I don't know what's going on, I can't really tell you much more than that. I do know, however, that they will usually try and "look over the account" to see what they can do once they know you mean business! If nothing else, at least you'll have a direct contact to deal with in the future. Smitty YOU may think I'm unstable, but anyone who really knows me... will swear by it!
Ooops! My bad. I listed the wrong number for Renee Smith. Here it is: 1.800.391.9419 extension 6744 Smitty Hey, $h!t happens!
Wow. Thanks so much Smitty!! I hadn't tried calling them - been avoiding them like the plague. I've sent validation and estoppel letters. No replies but they keep verifying with the CRA's. I planned to send an intent to sue letter tomorrow but maybe I should give that Renee person a call first and get the info. See what she has to say. Thanks again!
Smitty, Are you sure about the small claims thing? I'm not a legal expert, but I think you can file anywhere in the US no matter where the other party lives. In order to have the judgment stand, though, I thought you had to give proper notice (serve them). Just asking....
You're right, but you're wrong... sorta. You CAN file no matter where any BUSINESS is located... as long as they have an "entity" to approach near you. Unless, of course, you wanna spend thousands in airline tickets. Personal matters are a different breed of water-buffalo. I pretty much thought the same thing until I had to go through it. State and more particularly, COUNTY law has to be consulted before making a final step... they're so funny about this sorta stuff. Oh, and of course you have to serve 'em correctly. But most times, that's done by the Sherriff in their county. Hell, I've even heard of websites that serve people. The best way to be sure is to check you local Magistrate's or Small Claims court office. They're usually pretty responsive to any questions. To be honest, the farthest I wanted our situation to go was for me to get a copy of the suit to mail to them. I'm sure it would have worked the same way. This way, however, I avoided a few bucks ($75) worth of court costs. Smitty Nightly Lawyer. Open during R.E.M. sleep only.
