BackFromTheDebt

That is something some people do. They refi for a higher amount, and a portion of the money is used to pay off the debts. In that case, you won't be saving $500 a month, because your principal will be higher. OTOH, you could find yourself in a situation in which the loans are paid off AND you are paying less money per month than you are now. No fear of ever getting sued, and a clean credit rating. The other side of it is, you would have a higher principal on your mortgage. AND, if you refi on a 30 year term, it will take you longer to pay it off. What I did -- I realized I could refi for a 15 year mortgage for less money per month than the 30 year mortgage I was in. I had over 15 years left on my mortgage. I am not saving very much $ per month, especially since the refi costs added thousands of dollars to my principal. But, I am saving a little bit of money per month, and I will pay off my mortgage a few years earlier. Maybe only about 2 or 3 years earlier, but when my mortgage is all paid off, I will certainly appreciate those 2-3 years.

MOST of the time you will have to pay off the accounts in collection. Realize, there are exceptions for everything. A little over a year ago, my wife and I refinanced our home. She had an account Vz had sold to a JDB, for about $600-700. It was close to the SOL. I talked to lenders, and none of them required us to pay off the debt. One lender suggested we attempt a Pay For Delete. We contacted PRA with a PFD offer, but they never responded. We wound up paying nothing, and getting the loan anyway. If you are already contacting banks, and being told you need to pay off the debts in collection, then you have two choices: 1. Pay off the loans in collection, get whatever terms you can get with a 620 credit score. Not great, but not bad. 2. Wait until the SOL has passed, and your credit score is higher, then refinance the mortgage under whatever terms you will be able to get in a few years. I basically did #2, because I had over $100k in charged-off debts, plus a foreclosure on my record. But you only have about $3k. The question is: are the benefits you can get with a refi now, rather than past the SOL, with a 620 credit score worth paying off $3k? Answer that question, and you will know exactly what to do.

AND -- make sure to file a police report. This is key. Filing a police report means a LOT in fighting fraud. If you haven't filed a police report, nobody will take you seriously. Once you have filed a report, you are taken much more seriously.

When you get to the mediation, tell the mediator that you and the plaintiff have agreed on private arbitration. Bring whatever documents you have showing that they agreed to it. If the mediator tries to get you guys to talk about settling the debt, just say you already have the agreement with the plaintiff. Others might chime in, but I don't see any harm in starting arbitration with AAA now. The plaintiff isn't fighting arbitration.

Good luck!

You need to do a little homework. There are many threads on this forum from people who have been in the the same situation. Synchron account, PRA, Rausch law firm. There is a way to win. @fisthardcheese put together a nice arbitration thread. There may be specifics for dealing with Texas. I would recommend doing a search on arbitration, and learning the basic techniques. Look at the specific Texas threads as well. @texasrocker may have some specific detail about Texas courts. Long story short: you can beat this with arbitration, but you have to do your homework to execute your plan. Good luck!

Credit card agreements can be found on the CFPB web site. If this is a non-CC loan, I don't know the answer.

Each case is unique. Your case is an outlier, so not much to compare it to. My Crap1 case had some similarities. The judge threw out their affidavit And statements, because in my state the law required personal knowledge of the account. The affiant was a “litigation specialist “ or something; not someone who dealt with the accounts on a daily basis. Things were different going forwards. The judge granted my arbitration motion. Back then, the state had a law that the judge could review the arbitration results to make sure they followed state law. This was before the ATT Concepcion case. In a nutshell, Crap1 bailed. They simply walked away from the case. Two differences between the cases: 1. Arbitration was in effect back then, under laws very favorable for me, since the case would be reviewed by that same judge. 2. I had some legitimate counter claims. Crap1 used some bottom feeder debt collectors back then who racked up tons of violations. Several debt collectors, all terrible. Maybe they didn’t want to explain that in arbitration or front of a very pro-consumer judge. I can’t read their minds So, what will happen in your case? I don’t know. Maybe Crap1 will suddenly lose interest in the case. Maybe not. The cases are similar enough it is a possibility, but different enough that you can’t extrapolate from one outlier to another outlier in a different state with a different contract years later. One possibility is to lay low, but prepare. Prepare any discovery, but don’t send it in yet. Wait and see if Crap1 is planning to pursue the case, or walk away from it.

Does Citi allow arbitration for small claims? Is this in small claims?

I assume you also sent a copy of everything to the opposing attorney. In addition, make sure you have copies of everything for the court. You will probably have to send copies of the JAMS initiation, and certainly the JAMS acceptance letter, to the court to prove you complied with the MTC. Good luck!

Smart of you to plan ahead. Yes, the DV is your first option. These days debt collectors almost always validate. In the old days I was able to walk away from debts when they didn’t validate. That situation is rare now, but is not impossible. We can’t tell you if arbitration is your best option. I am personally not familiar with the credit one arbitration agreement; whether it can be used in small claims, etc. Others may know. I personally always put a clause in my DV letter that I was invoking the arbitration agreement. Some disagree, but sometimes it worked in my favor. Another strategy is to negotiate a settlement. Realize that arbitration will take some time and money. For that small an amount it may be better for you to negotiate a settlement you can afford. The extra money you pay above what you would pay for arbitration may or may not be worth it to you to avoid the hassles of arbitration. A good time to negotiate a settlement is between the time you receive validation and when they file in court. If you send a DV letter at the end of January, they will usually respond some time in February. It is very common for people to use their tax refunds to pay settlements. If you have to contact them before you receive your refund, make it clear that you will pay the negotiated amount as soon as you receive your refund. In the final analysis, you need to find a solution that works for you.

I was going to reply to this thread, then I saw @nobk4me already said everything, probably better than I would've said it. This is a subtle hint that you got some very good advice.

I am a bit confused. Normally, a motion to vacate is a motion to set aside a judgment already made. I am not sure what judgment they are trying to vacate. One bit of advice: if you want arbitration, file a MTC. Don't complain that they didn't send an agreement with the suit. Download a Barclay's agreement, with the arbitration provision, and make them prove that the real agreement doesn't have an arbitration provision. It appears you are saying maybe there is and maybe there isn't an arbitration provision, who knows, but it would be cool to have arbitration. Take the initiative. Force arbitration down their throats. Most likely they will walk.

You are setting yourself up for a loss. Look at my advice from my first response. You need to invoke your arbitration agreement rights.

Did you file any motions for arbitration? If not, you may be shooting yourself in the foot. If yes, then put the request for judgement as being wanting arbitration.