Rental debt from Texas from 2013, living in California now

[McBain II]

Originally Posted by Whitneeshae

They got one over on us because we weren’t given a chance to pay the $800 before they sold the account to a collection agency and tried to get us for $9000 instead. So tell me would you pay $9000 you don’t owe to someone just because they claim you do without any proof?? I’d like to think you wouldn’t, also this could go on a lot longer if I choose to pay the amount on my own rather than wait it out. I live in a different state,

I'm embarrassed to admit that I missed a key point here; what they're doing here is almost certainly illegal.

If the judge awarded them a judgment for $800, they cannot turn around and disregard that ruling and try to come after you for a higher amount. The matter was litigated and ruled on. What they're doing is called misrepresenting the legal status of the debt and it is very much a violation of the Fair Debt Collections Practice Act and probably California state law as well. Since they're reporting this to the credit bureaus, you can chock up Fair Credit Reporting Act violations as well. FDCPA violations include $1000 in statutory penalties plus damages and legal fees. Same for the FCRA ($1000 per violation, plus damages and legal fees).

You should bring this up to a consumer attorney, because there is a good chance they could end up paying you several thousand dollars when all is said and done.

[Whitneeshae]

Originally Posted by McBain II

I'm embarrassed to admit that I missed a key point here; what they're doing here is almost certainly illegal.

If the judge awarded them a judgment for $800, they cannot turn around and disregard that ruling and try to come after you for a higher amount. The matter was litigated and ruled on. What they're doing is called misrepresenting the legal status of the debt and it is very much a violation of the Fair Debt Collections Practice Act and probably California state law as well. Since they're reporting this to the credit bureaus, you can chock up Fair Credit Reporting Act violations as well. FDCPA violations include $1000 in statutory penalties plus damages and legal fees. Same for the FCRA ($1000 per violation, plus damages and legal fees).

You should bring this up to a consumer attorney, because there is a good chance they could end up paying you several thousand dollars when all is said and done.

I actually never thought of that and no need to be embarrassed, I didn’t make it clear in my post which I apologize for. I do appreciate the advice though and I’m going to look into this because honestly this has put a huge damper on my life. Not the eviction so much but rather the large collection amount, I can’t seem to build my credit because of this.

So again thank you and I really appreciate it! I had no idea it was illegal, I’ve tried finding out but wasn’t able to ask the right question I guess.