This makes 3 in a row this week – I’ve listened to people who claim they are being sued by Capital One, when in fact it is an attorney’s office acting as a collector who is suing. What’s the difference? Plenty.
For one thing, it’s fraud. In each of the cases, the consumer called Capital One who confirmed they did not own the debt any more and had “assigned” the debt to Law Firm X. This changes the rules of the game in court significantly. If the Plaintiff in a lawsuit is a third party (not the original creditor), basically everything they say in court can be ruled as hearsay.
Why hearsay? The debt collector was not present when the debt was being formed and cannot give first-hand testify to the veracity of the debt, payments made or processed. Think about all the cases you’ve seen on Law and Order on TV. The debt collector’s testimony about a debt is tantamount to a witness who testifies that while he didn’t actually see a murder being committed, he heard about the details second hand. Second hand testimony is not valid and would be tossed out. In addition, the debt collector cannot present any documents unless they are authenticated as true and original copies by the original creditor, in this case Capital One. Can you see where this is going? With no evidence, they can’t win.
While a you can probably not get a case thrown out of court due to the “Incorrect Plaintiff” syndrome, you can:
1. Call your state’s Legal Bar Association and turn in the law firm and the attorney handling the case – this is strictly against the rules (it is fraud.) Make sure you inform the lawyer on the case that this is what you are doing. It could get them to back down and dismiss the case.
2. Have you or your lawyer file a motion to dismiss or amend the original complaint to correctly reflect the right Plaintiff
How to tell if Capital One (or indeed any credit card company) is NOT the real Plaintiff:
1. Look at past correspondence from the law firm. Does it say “This is communication from a debt collector” on it? If so, you can positively identify the law firm as the real Plaintiff.
2. How old is this debt? If it’s more than a year old, this is a red flag that the debt has been charged off. A phone call to the credit card company should confirm these suspicions.
Has this happened to you? Tell us about it! If you have a specific question – please, ask it at our forum discussion boards. We talk about this all the time!
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Hi
I need help.
I have received a summon where the plaintiff’s name is a big bank but in the correspondence that I have received from the law firm it is written: This is communication from a debt collector
In the summon a have a page that says:
I am an attorney-of -record (the law firm) for the Bank .
I want to know this law firm works for the bank or is a debt collector
I am being sued by Capital One for a Credit Card When the process server showed up at the door it was 9:15pm they asked for me and to see my ID I told them they had the wrong house I thought it was strange he did not state he was a process server I slammed the door in his face he frantically rang the doorbell my husband told him to get off the property or he would call the police he told my husband to go ahead and call the police he wouldnt leave.
My son watched him take a flashlight and look in all of our cars windows. We called 911 The police were very nice when they saw the police come down the street they took off but the police stopped them and rang the doorbell & told me they were process servers but they needed to escort one of them to the door & it was the lawsuit for capital one the police then talked to them for a long time they finally left and the police came back down the street to make sure they left I am filing an answer tomorrow if I bring a copy of the police report can I have this thrown out?
Not thrown out based on this alone, but certainly fought in court. Technically, you still may have been served. I would call the court house and find out if the case is proceeding. You don’t want to ignore this.
I just got served this morning by Capitol One or as they say. I read over the documents and I have to file a response in like 50 days. None the less I decided to call the yellow card on the citation that says there is still time to settle this please call this attorney for payment arrangements. So I called them and I told the lady that answered the phone and said that she is disclaiming she is attempting to collect a debt from the attorney’s office. I told her that this card was suppose to have been included in my Chapter 7 in 2006 of which I was discharged from in 2007. I watch my credit on a regular basis and I know that this debit has been sold and written off. We are talking over 4 years ago.
I told them I would be hiring an attorney come Monday morning.
I am being sued by a debt collector in Small Claims Court. I don’t agree with the amount they claim I owe and I made a settlement offer (in writing) before I found this forum. The offer I made was rejected (also in writing). Can or will my offer to settle hurt my chances in Court?
Many people pay off debts they do not owe. If you did not admit to the debt in your settlement offer, paying it or offering to pay it doesn’t an admission make.
For the past 3 years, I have been harassed by a Attorney who said, he was representing Capital One. At the time of the summons, I did not Validate it, because I thought it was coming from Capital One. Since I did not respond, I was in default. I did try to contact the Attorney, but they never returned my phone calls. They did though start garnishing my wages at work. In December of 2011, my husband tried to settle with them for $ 5,000. 00 My original debt was $ 4.033.59 and according to them with all the fees I owed $ 9553.00. They said Capital One turned down that offer and wanted $ 7,000.00. We were borrowing the money, so we had to say no. They sent at a garnishment and started garnishing my wages.
On March 18, 2011 the Attorney at question has been asked to surrender his law license and has agreed to never practice law or work as a debt collector. He also had to pay a fine. This came after numerous complaints about his tactics and his law firm. One of his allegations is he purposely misidentified or confused the identity of the client.
After finding this out, I contacted Capital One and they told me that my account had been closed and charged off in 2008 and that they had no information about my account. I asked to speak to someone and after being transferred five times, they gave me a number to call and it turned out to be NCO Financial Systems, who then gave me the number of the Attorney in question. This made me think that the debt had been sold, and they had been lying. The next day I contacted Capital One, again and the same thing happened, but this time they transferred me to the Attorney who use to be partners with the other Attorney. She had a new business under her name. At that time I was told by a person working there that I owed this date, and they would work with me, instead of garnishing my wages. I asked if they had any information or agreement with Capital One and she said we must or we couldn’t get a judgement. I said, can they send me a copy of the agreement with Capital One and she said, they did not have one, but their might be one in the court papers. I then went down and made copies and their was no such things. Just paperwork from them.
My question is, due to all this circumstance can I file a motion to vacate or put aside to find out if the debt I owe is actually going to Capital One? That Capital One is actually the ones that turned down my settlement?
They have no records of anything from Capital One in my file, this is what she told me. How can they file a judgement stating Capital One as the Plaintiff? I should at least be able to have the judgement validated.
Please tell me what you think. Thank you!
OMG! I’m glad I found this information. My Capital One account was charged off a while back and is on my credit reports as being charged off. I live in Michigan and I’m being sued for $3025.00. I noticed at the bottom of the summons that it says “This is a communication from a debt collector. I will definately do more research on this.
Just received a summons yesterday from “Capital One Bank” but on the last page of the summons, the very last sentence reads: This communication is from a debt collector. If you wish to resolve this matter please call ‘name’ at ‘phone number’. I assume this is an example of exactly what you’re talking about. Question, should I file the complaint with the Idaho Bar first or contact the atty first? Also, is it fairly easy to file the motion myself? So glad I found this. Thanks!
I recieved a Summons last night from Discover card being represented by Johnson Rodenburg. I want to respond but how do I know if they didnt buy the debt from my orginal creditor? Should I just call Discover up and ask them?
Thank you for your help
Hello, i just would like to ask a question regarding my summons. My summons states that the plaintiff is Capital One, but was filed by a attorney who is with Legal Recovery Law Offices,Inc and attorney of record for plaintiffs entitled action. It does not say “This is communication from a debt collector”. Does this mean the plaintiff is actually the law firm and not Capital One. Also, on one of the paragraphs on the last sentence, it says ” This credit is identified by the Plaintiff as an account having the last four digits XXXXXXXXXXXX8616 (the “Account(s)”). please help me, thank you very much.
I recently recieved a “summons” with only dates that have passed before I recieved this summons. Also there is no future date. it says I have 30 days to file a written response. All the paperwork looks legit and it lists Capital One Bank as the plantiff but it is filed an attorney.
I have read the bove posts and wonder if anyone has been to court yet and if they care to share their result? So I can know what to prepare for.
I have been served papers from Capital One. It says the Plaintiff is Capital One Bank but signed by counsel for the Plaintiff, Dominion Law Associates. There is a State Bar No. for the Attorney however, at the bottom of the page it says “Dominion Law Associates are Debt Collectors. This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.” Capital One has already written off my debt. They sent me a letter stating it had been charged off and it shows on my credit report. So is it legal for Dominion to serve this summons to me? They do have copies of some of the credit card statements attached to the summons but not the original signed application.
Can creditors or collection agencys granish my social security or pension from me or my bank? Can they put a lean on my mobile home? I might have $3000 if I could sell it for more than I owe. I owe 6000 to one creditor (Chase)& $4200 to another (Target & HSBC. Will these be more likely to sue me than those I owe $1 or $2000? Can you file bankruptcy to Debt Collectors? I get many calls a day few say who they are.
capital one is fraud, many of the attornys that represent them are fraud . fight on people
dont let the judges that rubber stamp this fraud to get away with that, report them and go to federal court if nessesery. in so far as nj courts are concern the judges there are pro law firm and will rule against you, they are not intersted in justice they are pro-creditor fraud
well I have both capital one and Citibank, both summons have them as the plantiff but for the capital one, they have in their statement that CO had the account was charged off in March 2010, and suing me for ‘breech of contract’, well this is not on CO letterhead, it is on Thomas & Thomas letterhead. Well I’m going to court myself and telling them if they do not dismiss this case of hearsay, in which they, the debt collector, was not present when the debt was formed and whatever they have is hearsay, I will contact Ohio Bar Association and let them know that this firm is handling fraud…. The other firm Javitch, Block &Rathbone went behind my back after I had a pre-trial set up on May 4, 2011 summary judgement entered on April 20, 2011 against me. I am appealing it, my lawyer just got a letter from them this past week, and I have turned them in to Ohio Attorney General, they are another debt collector that thinks they can do what they want when it is conveint for them, this is not going to happen either.
I was sued by Capital One back in 2009 thru the law offices of Rubin & Debski, P.A. Capital One did not appear only the lawyer for Rubin & Debski. It went on my credit as a judgment. Now almost 2 years later I receive a letter for a notic of taking a deposition. They want bank statements back 3 years, tax returns, etc. I am so pissed!!! I am currently unemployed, I have full custody of my disabled mother who lives with me that I care for full time and we are living off her social security which is not much. How can these people get away with this and what can I do??
I was just served for a debt on a Capitol One credit card. The debt is almost three years old now, and the papers list Capitol One as the Plaintiff. However, There is a law firms address written on it as well as a statement that says “This communication is from a debt collector and this is an attempt to collect a debt” yada yada. Also attached is a customer agreement (With no signature on it) and a paper showing my last payment, the last four digits of my credit card, and my balance owed. These attorneys are the ones that have been calling my house for over a year now, not Capitol One, so I think it’s safe to say my debt has been sold. I have 19 days now to respond. How should I respond? Should I call the Legal Bar Association before responding?
I am now being sued by Morgan and Assoc. on behalf of Capital One. I still have 13 days to respond to their summons. When I login to CapitalOne, it shows the balance as 0.00. And I haven’t logged in since 01Jul2010. This is for a car that already has been repossessed around 1 year ago. Is this even legal when they have the collateral back? I was in severe danger when they finally repossessed it. I was lucky that my roommates were able to help me out and take me to work. They want $5000 bucks on a car I no longer have! All this after I just secured another car. I may have to declare bankrupcy if they hit me. I’m already default on my student loan, i cant let both of these hit me!
Hi I received a summons from a layer representing midland collection agency who represented Citibank or dell from which my friend and I bought a computer in 2005. I responded to summons but im not sure if I said the right things im scared what do I do now