Please Help Being Sued by Collection Agency (payments, suing, credit)
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Do I fight it and hope that the judge will see that I cant pay the 300/mo and maybe make it more affordable?
The fact that you cannot pay is not relevant. The only issue to be decided is whether or not you owe the money, and how much is actually owed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by overmyhead
Also can the collection agency tack on 1000 bucks since it's was only 2K when they bought it???
They may or may not be able to charge interest. The interest they might be able to charge depends on what the state of Arizona says. Whether or not they can add fees is dependent on the terms of the contract.
The primary consideration here is whether your income will change significantly over the next 2 years. It either will or it will not and there is no "maybe" or "might" or "possibly" about it. Only you can answer that question.
If your income will not significantly change, then given your situation, you might want to consider bankruptcy before things get worse.
If you fail to answer the summons and complaint, they will get a default judgment, then you will be served a subpoena to appear at a Debtor's Examination/Hearing to show your assets and then measures will be taken to collect the debt from there, such as placing a lien on your home, freezing/seizing your bank accounts and other assets, and garnisheeing your wages.
If you want to buy time so that you can consult with a bankruptcy attorney, then answer the lawsuit. You can do that by appearing in person, or you can file an answer with the court.
If you choose to answer the complaint, answer in this manner for each numbered paragraph in the complaint:
Defendant lacks sufficient information to respond to the allegations in paragraph (insert paragraph #) of Plaintiff’s complaint and on that basis denies the allegations.
One paragraph in the complaint may state that you live or reside at a certain address. If true, then answer like this:
Defendant admits the allegations in paragraph (insert paragraph #) of Plaintiff’s complaint.
It may state that you live at this address and that on a certain date, you opened a credit card account. If so, answer like this:
Defendant admits that he resides at (insert address) and generally denies the balance of the allegations in paragraph (insert paragraph #) of Plaintiff's complaint on the basis of lack of knowledge or insufficient information.
I do have a good job now and my income will be going up in the future as well as some side work i'm going to start doing. I just want to pay back a fair amount. Maybe I could offer to pay a smaller amount for the next 6 months then increase it after that?
Don't worry about the lawsuit until you are actually served papers. This is a common tactic from collection agencies to try to get you to pay without taking you to trial.
They can take you to court, but they aren't going to bother doing that if you declare bankruptcy before or after any judgment is made. They need to understand that. Offer them a settlement, because the more time they spend on this the more money they'll lose if you declare bankruptcy.
They are going to shout and yell and call your mother bad names, but just hang up on them as soon as they start doing that. This is a business transaction and you don't have to listen to personal attacks of any kind. Once they figure out that you are willing to pay a reasonable amount toward the debt and that you are planning on declaring bankruptcy if you can't agree on an amount that works for both of you, they'll start negotiating.
Also, by negotiating with the company in good faith, you will show the judge in any trial that you are willing to pay but it is the collection agency that is being unreasonable. They didn't buy the debt for the full face value - they probably paid ten or fifteen cents on the dollar. They aren't going to lose money if you settle for 30 or 40 cents on the dollar - the threats of the lawsuit are just them trying to see how much they can get out of your pockets by turning you upside down and shaking you.
They want to settle, but they are going to try to scare you first to try to get more money out of you.
Well I have been served and I called them and they said I must pay 300/mo for the next 12 months then another 800 in attorney fees or they would continue the lawsuit. I have till this friday to file an answer.
I opened up a store credit card back in 2004 with a limit of $1500. After about 2 years late fees and interest accumulated to about $2000 and the minimum payment was too high for me to pay at that time. Since then they sold my account to a collections agency who somehow after 2 years is charging $3200.
The attorney they sent me to says I can pay $300/mo plus $800 in legal fees to stop a judgment from being entered against me.
I can't pay $300 per month so what are my options.
I currently rent a house, my car is upside down in the loan and I clear $2900 a month with expenses of $3,500 a month.
I have a school loan that is in default and 3 other collections agencies coming after me.
I also have back taxes I owe.
I had lost my business and income for over a year and that is why I got behind on everything.
I want to pay my debts but don't have the resources right now to do it.
What are my options? I mean if I somehow figured out how to pay the 300/mo what do I do about the other collectors that are going to sue me for what I owe them?
Thanks for any advice.
Ok. First of all, define the statement.... "the attorney they sent me to". WHat exactly are you saying?
Unless you have received a PETITION from a court you have not been sued. A Petition allows you 30 days to file an answer and then it is set for a hearing date. My guess is this "ATTORNEY" is NOT an attorney at all but is trying to bluff you into paying. If you have not received a petition, filed an answer and gone to court THERE IS NO JUDGMENT.
Without a judgment, they cannot garnish your wages nor attach your bank account. They are bluffing.
YOU call the agency back and tell them what YOU will pay them per month. Tell them you do not have any money, you don't make much money and if they garnish your wages you will simply quit your job. If they want to see ANY of this money AT ALL. Then they need to accept YOUR offer. Now then. Once you get them to accept your offer tell them to send you a letter IN WRITING covering the agreed-upon terms and conditions.
Secondly. You need to get your income tax situation cleared up BEFORE anything else. The IRS can put you in JAIL. They can attach your personal property they can mess you up! Forget about the credit card and concentrate EVERYTHING on paying off the tax debt first.
Thirdly. Do you work? What do you do? You say that your buisiness failed. Ok, what are you doing for income? You need to have at least two jobs going to pay off this tax thing and start paying on the other debts that you owe. You can usually get a job at night delivering pizza or waiting tables. You need to do ANYTHING that is available (that is legal, ofr course) to get caught up.
Finally, you need to listen to Dave Ramsey at www.daveramsey.com. Click on the "Listen to the DaVe Ramsey Show" on the nav bar and lsiten to it. IT will give you a strong sense of what you need to do to get your life in order.
Why don't you just file bankruptcy? Seriously, I can almost guarantee, at this point, that your credit is so messed up that it would actually improve by filing
Well I have been served and I called them and they said I must pay 300/mo for the next 12 months then another 800 in attorney fees or they would continue the lawsuit. I have till this friday to file an answer.
Then file an answer to buy time so that you can get more information to make sound decisions.
Well I have been served and I called them and they said I must pay 300/mo for the next 12 months then another 800 in attorney fees or they would continue the lawsuit. I have till this friday to file an answer.
I'm not a lawyer, but I've been there...
Did someone come to your door and personally hand you a "Summons" from the court? Or did you get a CERTIFIED LETTER that you signed for, from the court? If so, then you were served. (I'm pretty sure If you got a letter from an attorney, no matter how official looking, you were not served.
If you have been served, then go out TODAY and find a bankruptcy attorney. File immediately.
If you are not sure, then GO TO THE COURT with whatever you have and ask the clerk. Honestly, it seems to me like you only THINK you've been served, and the lawyer is bullying you. That's what they do.
And really take your time to read over what 20yrsinBranson said - it's good advice.
And then come back here and post about it because the thread might actually be of some value to people in the same situation that come here and do a search. That, and people are curious.
Bankruptcy for $3200? That's a waste! Just ignore the debt collectors until you can repay it. That is not a huge amount of money.
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