Credit card companies and junk debt buyers have turned to the courts with a vengeance as a method of collecting past due debts. I always recommend that people hire a lawyer when facing legal issues, if at all possible. Unfortunately, in the area of consumer law, there are very few attorneys who know the Fair Credit Reporting Act or the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. There are even fewer who have actually stepped into a court room. According to one of our our discussion board members, who is an attorney:
The other side always seems to call me the day before trial and settle the case. In the last several years, I have had only one civil jury trial go to verdict, which is more than the vast majority of civil litigators. I have friends at PI firms that have practiced for more than five years and still have not had a trial. They likely will never have a trial.
As a point of reference, and VERY interesting reading, check out this article, which reveals that most advertised personal injury lawyers in the above quoted attorney’s area had almost no courtroom experience:
Most cases settle for these reasons:
- Litigation costs a fortune. Most cases below a certain threshold of potential recovery can’t litigate because it is cost prohibitive. Pro se parties (meaning consumers who represent themselves in court) don’t realize that because their bill rate is $0. When you have to pay someone $250/hr, simple math by a client means settlement is highly likely. This is for the benefit of the client, not the attorney. If you want to pay an attorney $250/hr to work 25 hours on a case potentially worth $5000, I am sure they’ll line up to do so. They may ask you to pay upfront though!
- If you are being sued, getting a case dismissed is definitely a win. If the Plaintiff has no evidence or filed a case which is full of holes, a good attorney can get the case dropped. (Of course, you can also do this on your own pro se.)
Though I can’t understand it, many people, when having trouble finding a consumer attorney, turn to bankruptcy lawyers. Guess what advice a bankruptcy attorney will give? Yep. File bankruptcy. Other helpful advice given to consumers by lawyers not familiar with consumer law: just pay the debt, even if it’s old or not yours.
The site that is usually recommended to find an attorney: http://www.naca.net, which is the National Association Consumer Advocates website. Unfortunately, many of the lawyers contacted by consumers through these websites are sometimes not interested in taking the cases presented to them, most often because the consumer cannot afford their fees.
Here’s what to do when you are looking for a consumer attorney with real experience:
- Consult our list of consumer attorneys for your state.
- Go down to your courthouse and listen to some of the civil cases being presented. Were any of the defendants represented by attorneys? You may want to ask them to represent you as well.
- If you don’t have time to go to the court house, look up cases online in your country/state. Make note of attorneys who represented defendants (and hopefully who also won their cases) in consumer lawsuits.
Bottom line, it’s tough enough to find an attorney to represent you in a lawsuit with a creditor. Don’t insist they have trial experience. Handling a significant amount of consumer law cases (and having a winning record) is all you need.
Related posts:
- Being Sued but “Judgment Proof” – Do I Need to do Anything? Many people who receive a notice of a pending lawsuit...
- NY Attorney General Throws Out 100,000 Judgments for Consumer Debt New York State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo filed the...
- Improper Notification of Creditor Lawsuit Can Get Case Thrown Out There has been a dramatic increase in creditor lawsuits flooding...
- Minnesota Attorney General Sues National Arbitration Forum In what looks to be a landmark win for consumers,...
- Florida State Attorney General Files Suit Against Debt Settlement Firms Florida State Attorney General Bill McCollum recently filed two lawsuits...
Your readers and those that need help to fight credit card companies can go to:
credit_card_harassment @groups.yahoo.com for help. They can ask questions and I will answer them to the best of my ability.
I have sued in the Federal Courts as a pro se, did it myself litigant for a civil rights case against a sheriff and for a harassment case against Capital One Bank and beat them
I’ll give it a shot.
I had a collection letter from Jefferson Capital. I am a member and representative for prepaid legal services inc. I told them about my situation and they wrote a letter on my behalf. After that I haven’t received anything from them again and they are no longer on my credit. Pre-Paid Legal Services has been excellent for me and others because they allow you to ask questions on an unlimited amount of matters. As well as write letters.
I am suing! I have a very strong suspicion that this is also a “class Action lawsuit” so I am looking for anyone who has been in this situation.
21st Century Insurance Company sold out to AIG somewhere between 9/ 2007 and 4/2008. It is believed that when 21st Century sold out, if you did not renew your policy with this company, they packaged your bill and sold it on wall street to a company by the name of True North, AR, LLC.
If you have been contacted by this company or worse, you have had your credit report dinged several times by this company, please contact me, as this matter is now in Federal Court, ninth District.
It is possible given discussions with this attorney that he has no records to rely on. The OC has no records, and they have now been sold a second time…
The California Dept. of Insurance has been asked to do a full investigation. the FTC the same, but I need to know ASAP if there is anyone who has paid a bill they did not think was a bill, or has been told they own something they know they dont.
My guess is that this is a nation wide problem, not to mention that co defendants might have to be added should this attorney figure that out.
If you are an attorney that does class action suits and would like to participate in this venture please contact me as well, as it is not the money that drives me on this matter it is the principal of it all, not to mention the arrogance of the collection company to feel that they are entitled to something that was NEVER a BILL!
To Dave,
I tried to find your yahoogroup, but yahoo says no such group exists. Please send clickable link.
prylance