glasscrump

I appreciate all the responses so far. But again back to the main concern I had, which is that for whatever reason, if I choose to talk to the JDB on the phone asking them for a low monthly payment and they ask my income and expenses, what is a reasonable way to let them know that I want to keep the topic on just the monthly payment offer and not go into details of my financial background? Is it even reasonable to keep my income, expenses, and other hard-luck situation to myself if I'm the one contacting them on the phone to ask for a settlement payment plan?

Hi, there has been no judgment or any lawsuit yet. There was a letter by the JDB saying I could pay a lower amount than the full amount or pay a bit more but in installments, but all those options were too much for me to pay, so I was thinking about contacting them, either by phone or letter for an even lower monthly amount. But if I called to ask for lower payments, I wondered what kinds of questions I would need to answer when trying to explain my situation. If I request to pay a lower monthly payment, but then said something like, "I don't want to talk about my financial situation with you," I would assume the JDB would either just decline the request or make me sound unreasonable.

I was reading about how you should not answer questions by the JDB related to your financial situation. But what if I am trying to request a lowered monthly payment and total amount because I am on social security, with the ex paying me a few hundred to get by, and I barely have enough to make rent? How much of this should I reveal? Can I just ask for the lowered monthly payment without providing a reason for it? Also, if I do get asked a question, and I don't want to answer it, should I just say directly, "I don't want to answer that question"? It seems like I could sound unreasonable if some of those questions are legitimately trying to size up my situation to determine whether a lower amount should be granted.

Can anybody shed light on whether it is better to try to settle with a JDB vs. a law firm? Does a law firm usually demand higher or vice versa? If it is not certain that a law firm may sue, and I don't have a lot of disposable money, isn't it better to save up a bit per month and wait until I hear from a law firm instead of trying to settle with a JDB that may not like my low monthly payment plan? That way, by the time a law firm might contact me to threaten lawsuit, I would have more saved up which might allow me to negotiate down the total amount to pay if I can offer more up front.

If I failed to ask for DV in the first 30 days of a collector's contacting me and then later get sued, have I waived standing by not asking for validation in time, or is it a completely separate process to challenge standing with a court?