ky blueman Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 PLEASE! i paid off a mbna debt to a law firm in ohio last year,a lump sum of several thousand dollars. i get a call today saying i still owe this from yet another law firm. i sent them the letter from the ohio firm stating that i paid x amount of money. they said this was not good enough! because that ohio firm didn't have the ORIGINAL ACCOUNT NUMBER ON THE PAYOFF PAPER THEY SENT ME!. WHAT CAN I DO? THEY ARE THREATENING A CIVIL SUIT AGAINST ME. I TRIED TO GET HOLD OF MBNA,BUT THEY WERE OF NO HELP. is the burden of proof on me? im at wits end. do i need a lawyer, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocPC Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 The burdon of proof is NOT on you! It is on them to prove you owe this debt.They think if you are a sucker once, you will be again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codename_fortyseven Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 Write them and say "I dispute this debt entirely and request validation"If you want to have some real fun, get a tape recorder and call them back or wait for them to call.If you don't want to wait for them to call, add "it is inconvienent for you to contact me at any time or any place and my employer does not permit calls at work"Let the games begin!Also, calm down. CA's want you to get flustered and excited. They are trained to believe that all consumers just rack up bills with no intention of paying them back and that you have several thousand dollars sitting around ready to pay them. They don't want to sue, they just say that and hope that because they attach "law firm" to their name, you'll get scared.Law firm #1 probably sold the balance to law firm #2 with a note saying "thi s guy paid us"Are they reporting to the CRA's? What state are you in?How old is this debt?+1 to what DocPC said. They have to prove the debt exists. If not, case dismissed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ky blueman Posted June 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 this debt is probably five years old. i am in ky. i dont know what the laws are about credit card debt. i have tried my best to pay off my bills all my life. i paid this debt once and dont think i should pay it again. i am totally disabled, so you can imagine i just dont have a ton of money laying around. do you guys think i need a lawyer? thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codename_fortyseven Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 You may need a lawyer at some point, but don't get the first jackass that has a full page ad in the yellow pages. You want a consumer lawyer, so check Naca.net for one in your state. Make the CA prove the debt. I bet you it quickly falls apart after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ky blueman Posted June 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 my letter i got says"unless you notify this office within 30 days after recieving this notice that you dispute the validity of this debt or any portion thereof, this office will assume this debt is valid. if you notify this office in writing within 30 days of receiving this notice, this office will obtain verification of the debt or obtain a copy of a judgement and mail you a copy of such judgement or verification. if you request this office in writing within 30 days after receiving this notice,this office will provide you with the name and adress of original creditor, if different from the current creditor."is this the normal spew?what do you guys think? thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breathing_easier Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 this debt is probably five years old.The statute of limitations for cc debt in KY is five years. If you can prove that the date of last activity on the account was five or more years ago, you are in great shape. Please tell us exactly what the settlement letter from the first CA says. That will be helpful to us for recommending what your next steps should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breathing_easier Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 is this the normal spew?Yep, that's pretty much the normal "spew". Make certain to send your debt validation (DV) letter to the CA #2 within 30 days of your receiving it. Codename_fortyseven has already suggested one form of DV letter. I recommend another form, which is the sample letter which can be found under the Debt Validation link at the top of this page. You will need to rework it so that it doesn't sound like a form letter. Also, you will need to check KY state laws (or perhaps someone here knowledgeable about KY law will chime in) as to whether a CA has to be licensed and/or bonded in your state.In my view, JDBs such as your CA #2 are the lowest of the low of the JDBs. Buying and trying to collect on a debt which they know you believe to be settled in good faith and over. Slimebuckets, all of 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ky blueman Posted June 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 this debt is probably five years old.The statute of limitations for cc debt in KY is five years. If you can prove that the date of last activity on the account was five or more years ago, you are in great shape. Please tell us exactly what the settlement letter from the first CA says. That will be helpful to us for recommending what your next steps should be.i wish i could. but i got rid of that stuff when i thought i satisfied this debt. i've got a letter from the first law firm that says settlement for ecast. then it has the LAW FIRMS ACCOUNT NUMBER and FILE NUMBER. no original account number. i called the lady at the first law firm and she says they only use THEIR numbers. i told the lady at the second law firm that i only had two mbna accts in my life, i paid off one and the other will be paid off in december. she said "you may be telling the truth, but this letter from the first law firm dont meet the burden of proof, so you will HAVE TO PAY IT AGAIN!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breathing_easier Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 Was the "law firm" by chance Phillips and Cohen?The lady at CA #2 is full of horse pucky. As stated above, the burden of proof is entirely on them. Also, if it came to subpoenaing CA #1's records, you can bet they'd have documents reflecting your MBNA account number. If not, then it's too bad you paid them because they wouldn't have been able to validate the debt and would have lost in court if it had even gone that far.I wouldn't recommend talking to CA #2 on the phone unless KY is a one-party taping state and you can record the calls for possible FDCPA violations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ky blueman Posted June 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 the first firm was javitch block and rathbone. they had a judgement against me by the courts. i even sent the second law firm a release of the judgement by the courts which stated i satisfied the debt. i really dont know what to do. they KNOW deep down, that i paid this. i just feel like this is a money grab. you know what i mean? i will send them the letter,but the second lady from the firm told me "those documents you sent me will not satisfy a court" my biggest concern is, when i originally paid this,they did reduce it(the first firm) im afraid the second firm will want it ALL if i was to lose. what do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breathing_easier Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 Don't be afraid...you are in a great position. CA #2 is trying to fluster you. Don't fall for it. Please stop talking to them on the phone until you find out whether or not you can tape them. If you get flustered on the phone, they may get you to say or agree to things that you don't want to say or agree to. You are not going to have to pay CA #2 a dime. When this is all said and done they may actually be paying you some $$$.Do you have a copy of the original Complaint? If not, then you can get a copy from the court or even the law firm. There most likely will be a small fee, but it will be well worth it. It will have most, if not all, of the information you need.You're absolutely right...it is a money grab. Sadly, it's not an unusual practice by bottom-feeding JDBs."...but the second lady from the firm told me "those documents you sent me will not satisfy a court" A Release of Judgment from a court won't satisfy a court? Gotta love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ky blueman Posted June 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 Don't be afraid...you are in a great position. CA #2 is trying to fluster you. Please stop talking to them on the phone until you find out whether or not you can tape them. If you get flustered on the phone, they may get you to say or agree to things that you don't want to say or agree to. You are not going to have to pay CA #2 a dime. When this is all said and done they may actually be paying you some $$$.Do you have a copy of the original Complaint? If not, then you can get a copy from the court or even the law firm. There most likely will be a small fee, but it will be well worth it.You're absolutely right...it is a money grab. Sadly, it's not an unusual practice by bottom-feeding JDBs."...but the second lady from the firm told me "those documents you sent me will not satisfy a court" A Release of Judgment from a court won't satisfy a court? Gotta love it.B.E. the original complaint from the first law firm, or the second? see the problem is, they can see on my credit report that i only have TWO mbna charges against me. but i dont have the ORIGINAL ACCOUNT NUMBER on the payoff letter, even though it says RE:ecast settlement. as you can tell im really pi$$ed off about this. i truely feel violated and cheated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breathing_easier Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 I'm referring to the Complaint from CA #1. It should have all of the information in it regarding the account -- number, balance, etc.Have you been sued by CA #2? Been served with a Summons and Complaint?Both of your MBNA accounts are reporting on your credit reports? For once, that's a good thing. Only a partial account number appears on your reports, but MBNA, if they're still updating the TL, does have your full account number. How does the tradeline for the MBNA account in question read on your reports? (Remind us -- after the current issue is put to bed -- to help you with having your negative tradelines deleted from your reports.) I can imagine that you're angry and upset. We've all been there. You're ahead of the game, though, in that you've found this board. You'll learn how to defeat CA #2. We'll help you through the process and then be here to celebrate with you when they run off with their tail between their legs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ky blueman Posted June 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 I'm referring to the Complaint from CA #1. It should have all of the information in it regarding the account -- number, balance, etc.Have you been sued by CA #2? Been served with a Summons and Complaint?Both of your MBNA accounts are reporting on your credit reports? For once, that's a good thing. Only a partial account number appears on your reports, but MBNA, if they're still updating the TL, does have your full account number. How does the tradeline for the MBNA account in question read on your reports? (Remind us -- after the current issue is put to bed -- to help you with having your negative tradelines deleted from your reports.) I can imagine that you're angry and upset. We've all been there. You're ahead of the game, though, in that you've found this board. You'll learn how to defeat CA #2. We'll help you through the process and then be here to celebrate with you when they run off with their tail between their legs.no i have not been sued by ca#2. yesterday was the first i ever heard from them. i have a credit report from last year,but really dont know how to read all the abbreviations. as far as the first law firm (ca#1) all i have from them is the letter stating i paid them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breathing_easier Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 I'm sorry, I should have explained what I meant by Complaint. I was speaking of the official Complaint filed with the court and served on you (in other words, a lawsuit) relative to CA #1.You will want to order copies of all three of your credit reports. You can obtain them for free under the new law (one new report per credit reporting agency per year). I'll have to hunt up the website. If your last report is a year old, you need to order new reports anyway to make sure there has been no fraudulent activity/identify theft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ky blueman Posted June 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 I'm sorry, I should have explained what I meant by Complaint. I was speaking of the official Complaint filed with the court and served on you (in other words, a lawsuit) relative to CA #1.You will want to order copies of all three of your credit reports. You can obtain them for free under the new law (one new report per credit reporting agency per year). I'll have to hunt up the website. If your last report is a year old, you need to order new reports anyway to make sure there has been no fraudulent activity/identify theft.yes, i do have the complaint that was filed against me by the court. does it have pertanent info on it.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breathing_easier Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 Yes, it should have pertinent info within the Complaint. MBNA filed the Complaint against you, not the court. The court issued the Judgment (was it a default judgment due to your failing to appear in court?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ky blueman Posted June 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 yes it was, i have it here in front of me. so once it reached this stage, i scraped up the money and paid it off.what should i look for on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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