Long story short... I had a Wells Fargo card that I had to stop paying on when the balance was $700. After it got sold to a collection company the balance was over $1600. I was contacted by an attorny last November of 2005 by the name of Wolpoff and Abramson. I tried working out a payment plan with them and they would not accept. They wanted the money right then. Well I just wound up hanging up on them because I was so frustrated. A week later I was served papers. I called again to try to work out a payment plan and they wouldn't do it, they wanted the full balance, which by then was $2038 after attorney and court fees. I thought the served papers were a scare tactic and I thought there was no way they would go to court for such a little amount. (keep in mind I have never been through this before, this is all new to me) So sure enough in mid February I get a paper in the mail saying a default judgement has been put against me. This really scarred me because I really want to pay what I owe but the only way I can do it was through payments. So fast forward to this month, April. I just pulled my credit report and it does not show any judgements on there. That is a bit weird. If the judgement was filed on February, 14 you would think it would be on there. None of the agencies have reported it. Anyways I just got a nice bonus at work this month and I now have the chance to pay this judgement off. However I am scared. Who should I pay? The original creditor or should I go through the law offices? I really want to pay this but I fear I am going to have to wind up paying a lot more than I should. Thanks!
Hi there and welcome Forgive me since it has been a while since I have been on here so my answers will not be exact, but pretty close. As far as the judgment not showing up yet, generally the CRA's send people down to the courthouse to pull public records and then they report what they find. You may get lucky and it never shows up, however it most likely is a matter of time, not to mention the CA can get a lien or garnishment and that is a pain as well. I think at this point, the law office owns the paper and you will have to deal with them. They do have to stay within reasonable fees and interest rates that they are charging, so I would look over your paperwork they sent you and also look over your state laws and make sure you are not paying more than you have to.
Alright thanks. Thankfully I am judgement proof and I live in Texas so my wages cannot be garnished. What I find strange is that the papers that W&A send me do not have any of the balances on them. Even the paper that they sent me saying they won a default judgement does not have the amount on there.
Before you do anything, contact the court and make sure that you actually do have a judgment against you. Make sure the papers are legal. If not, come back here for better advice on what to do. If they are legit, you will probably need to pay W&A. I don't know if they'll settle for less or not. If they can't garnish, and you say "I can send you a certified check for $xxx as soon as I get a written statement from you that this is paid in full and no further action will be taken" maybe they will settle.
I would suggest you pay through the law office, I think you might talk to them and see if they will let you do payments, many times they will go for the payments as long as you keep making them as promised. My experience has been that most of these people are actually willing to work something out with you. Wish you well, kansasdan http://www.acostajudgmentenforcement.com
