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BEWARE - Even with crappy lawyers, they're still getting better! My civil hearing was today. As the title states, I lost. I was unrepresented, as I could not afford a lawyer. Asset hired a local lawyer who was not well prepared. When the magistrate asked questions, she would say she did not know or did not have the requested information. She had obviously not studied the papers she did have because she was just as confused as I was AND didn't even realize there were 2 separate bills of sale until I started to question ownership. She started off by showing me a copy of a Dell/Citibank (OC) cardholder agreement that had no personal information on it. She then handed me 3 pages for a "bill of sale." All 3 pages looked exactly the same and were pretty generic. Somebody from Dell made a general statement saying they have access to accounts and have knowledge of the process of selling accounts and somebody from "WEBANK" (never heard of them) basically said the same thing. I did not see my account number anywhere. Believe me - I read and re-read everything! Also, it turned out there were actually 4 pages and at first, she told the magistrate she didn't have the missing page so I almost got her on that, BUT she decided to go through her folder again and after taking another look, she found it. Without it, she would not have been able to prove that Asset bought it from WEBANK & therefore, Asset would have had no standing to sue. Additionally, the lawyer showed me account records that belonged to Dell, which showed the original sale, all my payments, and late fees, and also showed that Dell charged-off the account in May 2011. I tried to get out of that by saying those are Dell's records and that somebody can't just take somebody else's records, put them in a file, and say "hey, those are my records." However, the magistrate ruled that it was admissible evidence. I was sworn in and the lawyer asked me many stupid questions that naturally, 5 years later, I don't remember the answers to most of. She wanted to know when I bought the stuff, when I received it, when I made the last payment, and also if it was one purchase or multiple and whether I still had the said items in my possession or had I surrendered them to Dell. The magistrate verified my previous addresses for the past 5 years as well. The magistrate asked if I had anything to add and I pointed out that my signature was nowhere to be found (I know it's electronic but hoped to catch them off-guard) and my account number was nowhere on the "bills of sale" either and that the said "bills of sale" did not state they had direct knowledge of MY particular account. The lawyer pretty much said it would be inconvenient to get a list of account numbers because they buy them in bulk and every other account number except mine would have to be redacted. (Yes, I know & that's why I tried that tactic.) On all points, he sided with her. By this time, I knew my chances of coming out on top were slim. Then, he surprised both of us by asking how long it had been since I got my drivers license. I wasn't sure what relevance that had but replied that I do not have one. He asked when the last time I did have one was. Never. Never had one. He just looked over at the lawyer, who said "I'm not sure what you're implying sir." He told her that if I didn't have a license then I couldn't have made the original agreement with Dell. I wish there would have been somebody else there to see how quickly she leapt from her chair, approached the bench, and started frantically searching for the license number on the documents she had presented to him. I thought maybe this would be my saving grace....until she said "if they don't have a license, sometimes a Photo ID can be used." Pop! My bubble was burst. Yes, I have one and yes, it was valid then and is valid now. That was that. I gave it my best shot but was soooo upset when I walked out. I will soon be receiving papers in regards to the over-$3k judgment plus court costs. In those papers will be instructions on how to appeal but I'm not sure it's even worth it. I can't hire a lawyer and don't want to hire one now, lose again, and lose even more money. I just don't understand how Asset can do this and how courts can rule in THEIR favor.