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Hello dear friends. I am another one that has been caught in the claws of portfolio recovery for the amount of $3164.43. Complaints are "Account Stated" and "Open Book Account". The lawsuit contained Exhibits A and B which were a statement showing the last payment made (which was returned by the bank) and also a final statement showing that the account charged off. This is being done within the legal time frame. So far I have submitted a general denial with an Assertive defense of "Lack of Standing Because No Debtor/Creditor Relationship" to the court which has been stamped and I have made copies of each and sent the documents off to Hunt & Henriques in California (the lawyers for portfolio) along with A BOP with respect to the "Open Book Account" claim. Phew. I'm burnt out and I am awaiting my letter containing a trial date. My question is, what are my odds of being successful? Should I have just hired a lawyer? is it too late now? Does anyone have a reputable lawyer in California that wont gouge me? You're all I have right now!

Hello, I am new here but I see that there are lots of very active and knowledgable users here so I thought I'd seek some friendly advice. I am trying to help out my 80+ year old grandparents that have gotten themselves in some seriously unmanageable debt while trying to help another family member's difficult financial situation. Bless their hearts, but shame on them for digging themselves in a financial hole. They have a total of about $31k in credit card debts in 22 accounts.They have no real assets - not homeowners (rent), no business or properties, only have a pretty old car.Their only source of income is their social security retirement income.All payments to creditors have ceased as of this month (so the calls have just started).We have closed all the accounts (for some reason I thought this would stop late fees, but now I know thats not the case).I seeked free legal advice considering bankruptcy from a pro bono lawyer and I was informed that they are "judgement proof" and it is pointless to file a bankruptcy. Their income is protected and even if the creditor wins, they can't collect. While this may be true, I am concerned about the 6yr statue of limitations in NJ. This is not something I want to have to keep an eye out for such lengthy period of time. Perhaps if it was maybe a few accounts, but since its so many it would just be stressful answering to all of them. The biggest bankruptcy filing con is the cost - approx. $1200 with a lawyer. I am wondering if I may be able to do the paperwork myself. A friend of mines recently filed and I have reviewed the paperwork. Though it was alot of legal terminology, I have found help online and software programs that make it pretty straighforward. Is this something any of you would consider doing without a lawyer though? Am I being too confident here? Also while searching through another forum, I saw an old post where a user in a similar situation with her elderly mom said she was able dismiss the accounts directly with the creditors by sending them letters explaining to them her situation and that she was judgment proof along with a copy of her SS award letter. Should I do this as well? Has anyone tried this or had any success writing-off an account directly with a creditor? I guess it can't hurt to try or can it? Maybe if they knew it was going to be pointless to persue these accounts, they would just move their efforts towards onto other more successful accounts to collect on. Please let me know your thoughts and experiences. Thanks

My husband received one 1099c from chase. it say debt discharged ( H- expiration of non-payment testing period) He win but it was dismissed without prejudice, it was a jdb not chase, but my husband admit he owes chase but did not have the money to pay. He report it on this year taxes using the form 982 Part 1 line1b Discharged of Indebtedness and on Line 2 $3,000 and Part II line 10a $3,000 that all we did we did not provide any other paper. like the Insolvency Worksheet, because it say keep for your records. Did you think we need to filed and if we do did you think we did it correct? the amount was more but they said that if he pays they reduced to $3,000 my husband did not agree but it was dismissed because they requested and did not proceed to trial, they were more than 150 miles away from court, and they were DJB.